Muhammad (Muhammad)

38. Behold! You are those who are called to spend in the Cause of Allah yet among you are some who are miserly. And whoever is miserly, it is solely at the expense of his own self. But Allah is All-Sufficient and you are poor. And if you turn away, He will exchange you for some other people and they will not be your likes [in terms of frailty of faith and miserliness].

People are to be called to spend in the Cause of Allah and help others; however, they should be free to think and make their choice. One who is miserly assumes that he has deprived people of his possessions. The last Verse emphasizes what has already been raised in the preceding Verses concerning material possessions and attachments to them and spending in the Cause of Allah saying: Behold!

You are the same people who are called to spend in the Cause of Allah; some of you obey the Divine Injunction but some others are miserly;

(“yet among you are some who are miserly”).

A question is raised here: God does not want your possessions in the preceding Verses; how come that the Injunction in this Verse concerns spending in the Cause of Allah? The Verse provides the answer to the question.

Firstly It says:

“whoever is miserly, it is solely at the expense of his own self,”

since he will enjoy the consequences of his own spending in the Cause of Allah. In this manner, class gaps are diminished and security and peacefulness prevail in the society, and love and sincerity replaces animosity - this is your mundane reward. You will be compensated in this world and the Hereafter by Divine Bounties and Favors for each and every cent of your expenses in the Cause of Allah.

Such Bounties and Favors are not imaginable. Therefore, the more you are miserly, the more you will pay for it!

In other words, spending in the Cause of Allah ad hoc refers to spending for jihad and the phrase

“in the Way or Cause of Allah” (fi sabil ‘llah)

is consistent with the denotation in question. Rendering any assistance in the Cause of jihad for Allah evidently guarantees the maintenance of the integrity, independence, and dignity of the society.

The other answer to the question is that :

“Allah is All-Sufficient and you are poor.”

He is Needless of your spending and your obedience, but it is you who are in need of Divine Favor, Mercy, and Reward in this world and the Hereafter. All possible beings besides God are actually in need and the only All-Sufficient Being by essence is God.

Possible beings are essentially and permanently dependent on Him and benefit at all times from His incessant fountainhead of emanation. Even if He ceases the emanation for one single moment, all existent beings vanish and

“all mold will shatter!”

The last sentence of the Verse is a warning to all Muslims to appreciate the great Divine Favor that He appointed you as the guardians of His pure religion so that you may support the Islamic faith and His Prophet (S).

Nonetheless,

“if you turn away, He will exchange you for some other people and they will not be your likes [in terms of frailty of faith and miserliness].”

If you do not comprehend the significance of your situation and neglect such great responsibility, God Almighty will raise another people, far superior to you in terms of sacrificing their life and possession in the Cause of Allah, to fulfill such great mission.

A similar great warning is attested elsewhere in the Holy Qur’an:

“O you who believe! Whoever from among you turns back from his religion [may never harm Allah], Allah will bring a people whom He will love and they will love Him; humble toward the believers, stern toward the disbelievers, fighting in the Way of Allah, and never fear of the blame of the blamers”1 .

It is interesting to note that the majority of exegets have related that following the revelation of the Verse a number of the Companions of the Prophet (S) inquired:

“Who are the people mentioned in this Verse?”

Salman sat close to the Prophet (S).

The prophet (S) put his hand on Salman’s foot (or his shoulder as per another narration) and replied:

“This [man] and his people [i.e., Persians]. I swear to Him in Whose hand lies my life, if faith be attached to Pleiad (Thurayya, a star proverbial for remoteness), a group of Persians will get their hands on it.”

The above tradition and its likes have been recorded by prominent Sunni traditionists like Bayhaqi and Tirmidhi and Shi’i and Sunni exegets of renown, e.g. authors of Tafsir Qurtubi, Ruh al-Bayan, and Majma’ al-Bayan, and Fakhr al-Din Razi, Maraghi, and Abu ‘l-Futuh Razi, have unanimously transmitted them as genuine traditions. A number of similar traditions are to be found in the exegetic work titled Durr al-Manthur under the Verse in question.¹

Another tradition narrated on the authority of Imam Sadiq (as) may serve as a supplement to the above tradition, saying:

“I swear by God that He has kept His Promise and a far better non-Arab people have replaced them.”3

Taking a glance, devoid of any prejudice, at the history of Islam and Islamic sciences bears testimony to non-Arab, particularly Persian, contributions to jihad against the enemies of the Islamic faith on the one hand and their works in the field of Islamic sciences on the other. Space limitations hinder us from details in this respect.

It would be of interest to close the Chapter with a number of traditions on miserliness:

The Messenger of God (S) said:

“It is not befitting a believer to be miserly and timid.”4

The Messenger of God (S) said:

“The twain character traits of miserliness and bad temper may not be found in a Muslim.”5

Imam Husayn (as) said:

“The miserly person is he who is too miserly to greet.”6

Imam Sadiq (as) said:

“The best of you are your generous people and the worst of you are your miserly ones. Doing righteous good deeds and struggling to meet their demands are out of pure faith.”7

Imam Ridha (as) said:

“The miserly person is far from God, Paradise, and People.”8