Al-Munaafiqoon (The Hypocrites)

10. And expend of that with which We have provided you before death comes to any of you when he says: “My Lord! If only You would give me respite for a little while, then I should give alms and be amongst the righteous.

Man expends alms in Allah's Cause and acts upon his religious obligations if he believes the he will die and there will be Resurrection in the Hereafter.

It is in this vein that the blessed Verse in question enjoins the believers to expend alms in Allah's Cause, saying:

“expend of that with which We have provided you before death comes to any of you when he says: 'My Lord! If only You would give me respite for a little while, then I should give alms and be amongst the righteous.'“

Enjoining the believers to expend alms in Allah's Cause herein is interpreted by some Qur’an exegetes in the sense of the immediate requirement of expending the alms tax and other religious obligations, though the contextual meaning of the blessed Verse reflects that any kind of obligatory and supererogatory expending alms is hereby intended which may serve as a means of man's salvation in the Hereafter.

It would be of interest to note that the blessed Verse says:

“I should give alms and be amongst the righteous.”

Such expression demonstrates the profound impression made by expending in Allah's Cause on righteousness. However, some Qur’an exegetes hold that righteousness herein connotes performing the rituals for pilgrimage to Mecca and there are traditions explicitly substantiating such interpretation, though it may be regarded as one of the explicit instances of the same.

The clause

“before death comes to any of you”

makes a reference to man's encounter with death and the reflection of its tokens, since one may not utter such words posthumously.

The clause

“of that with which We have provided you”

is not restricted to worldly possessions but connotes all Bounties reflecting that man has been granted such Bounties by God Almighty for a few days. Thus, miserliness would be meaningless. Upon taking a glimpse at the purgatory in the last moments, many people find out that they are at the threshold of the Resurrection Day.

The veils of ignorance are cast asunder and they notice that they have to leave behind all their worldly possessions and regret that they have not made any provisions for such a long journey. Thus, they ask to return to this world even for a short while to compensate for their losses, but they are denied of such return, since Divine Decree makes it impossible to return.