Tafsir of Surah At-Taubah - Verse 79

Hypocrites defame Believers Who give the Little Charity They can afford

Among the traits of the hypocrites is that they will not leave anyone without defaming and ridiculing him in all circumstances even those who give away charity. If, for instance, someone gives away a large amount, the hypocrites say that he is showing off. If someone gives away a small amount they say that Allah stands not in need of this man's charity. Al-Bukhari recorded that `Ubaydullah bin Sa`id said that Abu An-Nu`man Al-Basri said that Shu`bah narrated that Sulayman said that Abu Wa'il said that Abu Mas`ud said, "When the verses of charity were revealed, we used to work as porters. A man came and distributed objects of charity in abundance and they (hypocrites) said, `He is showing off.' Another man came and gave a Sa` (a small measure of food grains); they said, `Allah is not in need of this small amount of charity.' Then the Ayah was revealed;

الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ

(Those who defame the volunteers...)" Muslim collected this Hadith in the Sahih. Al-`Awfi narrated that Ibn `Abbas said, "One day, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ went out to the people and called them to bring forth their charity, and they started bringing their charity. Among the last to come forth was a man who brought a Sa` of dates, saying, `O Allah's Messenger! This is a Sa` of dates. I spent the night bringing water and earned two Sa` of dates for my work. I kept one Sa` and brought you the other Sa`. ' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ ordered him to add it to the charity. Some men mocked that man, saying, `Allah and His Messenger are not in need of this charity. What benefit would this Sa` of yours bring' `Abdur-Rahman bin `Awf asked Allah's Messenger ﷺ, `Are there any more people who give charity' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«لَمْ يَبْقَ أَحَدٌ غَيْرُك»

(None besides you!) `Abdur-Rahman bin `Awf said, `I will give a hundred Uqiyah of gold as a charity.' `Umar bin Al-Khattab said to him, `Are you crazy' `Abdur-Rahman said, `I am not crazy.' `Umar said, `Have you given what you said would give' `Abdur-Rahman said, `Yes. I have eight thousand (Dirhams), four thousand I give as a loan to my Lord and four thousand I keep for myself.' The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«بَارَكَ اللهُ لَكَ فِيمَا أَمْسَكْتَ وَفِيمَا أَعْطَيْت»

(May Allah bless you for what you kept and what you gave away). However, the hypocrites defamed him, `By Allah! `Abdur-Rahman gave what he gave just to show off.' They lied, for `Abdur-Rahman willingly gave that money, and Allah revealed about his innocence and the innocence of the fellow who was poor and brought only a Sa` of dates. Allah said in His Book,

الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ فِي الصَّدَقَـتِ

(Those who defame such of the believers who give charity voluntarily) 9:79."' A similar story was narrated from Mujahid and several others. Ibn Ishaq said, "Among the believers who gave away charity were `Abdur-Rahman bin `Awf who gave four thousand Dirhams and `Asim bin `Adi from Bani `Ajlan. This occurred after the Messenger of Allah ﷺ encouraged and called for paying charity. `Abdur-Rahman bin `Awf stood and gave away four thousand Dirhams. `Asim bin `Adi also stood and gave a hundred Wasaq of dates, but some people defamed them, saying, `They are showing off.' As for the person who gave the little that he could afford, he was Abu `Aqil, from Bani Anif Al-Arashi, who was an ally of Bani `Amr bin `Awf. He brought a Sa` of dates and added it to the charity. They laughed at him, saying, `Allah does not need the Sa` of Abu `Aqil."' Allah said,

فَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنْهُمْ سَخِرَ اللَّهُ مِنْهُمْ

(so they mock at them (believers); Allah will throw back their mockery on them) rebuking them for their evil actions and defaming the believers. Truly, the reward, or punishment, is equitable to the action. Allah treated them the way mocked people are treated, to aid the believers in this life. Allah has prepared a painful torment in the Hereafter for the hypocrites, for the recompense is similar to the deed.

Commentary

Mentioned in the first verse (79) are taunts thrown at Muslims who gave away in charity on a voluntary basis (Nafli Sadaqat). It appears ؓ in the Sahih of Muslim that Sayyidna Abu Masud ؓ said: ` we had orders from Allah Ta` ala that we must give Sadaqah and, believe it, we used to do manual labor for that (that is, we had no money or thing with us. We used to take out that Sadaqah too from whatever we earned through this very manual labor). Thus, Abu 'Aqil offered Sadaqah to the measure of 0.5 Sa` (approximately 1.75 kilos). Then, someone came and gave a little more than that. The hypocrites mocked at them for having brought something so insignificant in the name of Sadaqah. Allah never needs things like that. And whoever gave a little more in Sadaqah, they accused him that he had done it to show off before people. Thereupon, this verse was revealed.

Please note that, in the sentence: سَخِرَ‌ اللَّـهُ مِنْهُمْ (mocked they are by Allah - 79), the word 'mocked' stands for 'punished for their mockery'.

In the second verse (80), there is a statement about the hypocrites. It has been addressed to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . He has been told whether or not he seeks forgiveness for them makes no difference - and no matter how many times he seeks forgiveness for them, they shall not be forgiven. A detailed explanation of this appears under the comments on verse 84: لَا تُصَلِّ عَلَىٰ أَحَدٍ مِّنْهُم (and never offer a prayer on anyone of them who dies) appearing a little later.

That person is a hypocrite in the eyes of God who prays to God for the blessing of wealth and when God makes him wealthy, forgets to keep aside God’s share. When a man has no wealth, he finds fault with wealthy persons, saying that they are wasting wealth in improper ways; and that if he were to be blessed with wealth by God, he would spend it on good and charitable causes. But when he receives wealth, his mentality changes. He forgets what he had said earlier and what feelings he had expressed. Now, he thinks that his wealth is the result of his own diligence and talents, which gives him the right to sole possession of it. He forgets to set aside God’s share in his wealth. Such people, in order to cover up their weaknesses, indulge in further arrogance by ridiculing those who spend their wealth for the cause of God. If a person spends more, they belittle him by calling him ostentatious, and of one who can spend only a little, in view of his circumstances, they ask derisively whether God was in need of this man’s charity. Those people who are in this way obsessed with their own greatness, are never able to see the higher realities outside themselves.