Medinan · Surah 47 of 114

Muhammad 47:38

Muhammad · ayah 38 of 38

هَٰٓأَنتُمْ هَٰٓؤُلَآءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنفِقُوا۟ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ فَمِنكُم مَّن يَبْخَلُ ۖ وَمَن يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَن نَّفْسِهِۦ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ ٱلْغَنِىُّ وَأَنتُمُ ٱلْفُقَرَآءُ ۚ وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْا۟ يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَكُونُوٓا۟ أَمْثَٰلَكُم

Ha antum haola-itudAAawna litunfiqoo fee sabeeli Allahi faminkum manyabkhalu waman yabkhal fa-innama yabkhalu AAan nafsihi wallahualghaniyyu waantumu alfuqarao wa-in tatawallaw yastabdilqawman ghayrakum thumma la yakoonoo amthalakum

"Here you are - those invited to spend in the cause of Allāh - but among you are those who withhold [out of greed]. And whoever withholds only withholds [benefit] from himself; and Allāh is the Free of need, while you are the needy. And if you turn away [i.e., refuse], He will replace you with another people; then they will not be the likes of you."

Saheeh International translation

Recitation by Mishary Alafasy

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Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

"though now you are called upon to give [a little] for the sake of God, some of you are grudging. Whoever is grudging is so only towards himself: God is the source of wealth and you are the needy ones. He will substitute other people for you if you turn away, and they will not be like you."

Pickthall (classic)+

"Lo! ye are those who are called to spend in the way of Allah, yet among you there are some who hoard. And as for him who hoardeth, he hoardeth only from his soul. And Allah is the Rich, and ye are the poor. And if ye turn away He will exchange you for some other folk, and they will not be the likes of you."

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

"Behold, ye are those invited to spend (of your substance) in the Way of Allah: But among you are some that are niggardly. But any who are niggardly are so at the expense of their own souls. But Allah is free of all wants, and it is ye that are needy. If ye turn back (from the Path), He will substitute in your stead another people; then they would not be like you!"

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

Showing the Triviality of the Worldly Life and encouraging Spending

Expressing the insignificance and worthlessness of the worldly life, Allah says,

إِنَّمَا الْحَيَوةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ

(This worldly life is only amusement and diversion.) which means that such is its outcome, except for that which is done for the sake of Allah. Because of this, Allah says,

وَإِن تُؤْمِنُواْ وَتَتَّقُواْ يُؤْتِكُمْ أُجُورَكُمْ وَلاَ يَسْـَلْكُمْ أَمْوَلَكُمْ

(And if you believe and have Taqwa of Allah, He will grant you your rewards, and will not ask from you (to sacrifice all of) your possessions.) meaning, He is in no need of you, and asks you for nothing. He only ordained giving charity from your wealth so that you would help your needy brothers. The benefit of that would then come back to you, as well as the rewards. Allah then says,

ؤإِن يَسْـَلْكُمُوهَا فَيُحْفِكُمْ تَبْخَلُواْ

(If He would demand of you all of it and urge you, you would withhold.) meaning, if He pressures you much, you would become stingy.

وَيُخْرِجْ أَضْغَـنَكُمْ

(And He will expose your (secret) ill--wills.) Qatadah said, "Allah knows that extracting wealth (i.e., money from people) brings about ill-wills. " Indeed, Qatadah has said the truth, because money is dear to the people, and they do not spend it except in things that are dearer to them than it. Allah then says,

هَآ أَنتُمْ هَـؤُلاَءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنفِقُواْ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنكُم مَّن

(Here you are now invited to spend in Allah's cause; but among you are those who withhold (stingily).) meaning, they refuse to spend. Allah continues,

يَبْخَلُ وَمَن يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَن

(And whoever acts stingily is but stingy toward himself.) meaning, he only reduces his own rewards, and the bad outcome of that will come back to him.

نَّفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ

(For Allah is indeed Al-Ghani) Allah is in need of nothing else, whereas everything is ever in need of Him. Thus, Allah says,

الْغَنِىُّ وَأَنتُمُ

(while you are the needy.) meaning, specifically of Him. The description of Allah as Al-Ghani (in no need) is a necessary description of Allah; on the other hand, the description of the creation as Faqr (needy) is a necessary description for them that they cannot avoid. Allah then says,

وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْاْ

(And if you turn away, ) which means, if you turn away from obeying Him and adhering to His Laws.

تَتَوَلَّوْاْ يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْماً غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لاَ يَكُونُواْ

(He will replace you with other people; then they will not be like you.) meaning, rather, they will be people who will listen to Him and obey His commands. This concludes the Tafsir of Surat Al-Qital. And Allah is worthy of all praise and gratitude.

Read full Surah Muhammad All 114 surahs

Barakahبركة

Medinan · Surah 47 of 114

Muhammad 47:38

Muhammad · ayah 38 of 38

Saheeh International translation

Recitation by Mishary Alafasy

Free, no login. Tap play.

Other English translations

Abdel Haleem (Oxford)+

Pickthall (classic)+

Yusuf Ali (classic)+

Tafsīr · classical commentary

Ibn Kathir

Abridged English, public domain

Showing the Triviality of the Worldly Life and encouraging Spending

Expressing the insignificance and worthlessness of the worldly life, Allah says,

إِنَّمَا الْحَيَوةُ الدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ

(This worldly life is only amusement and diversion.) which means that such is its outcome, except for that which is done for the sake of Allah. Because of this, Allah says,

وَإِن تُؤْمِنُواْ وَتَتَّقُواْ يُؤْتِكُمْ أُجُورَكُمْ وَلاَ يَسْـَلْكُمْ أَمْوَلَكُمْ

ؤإِن يَسْـَلْكُمُوهَا فَيُحْفِكُمْ تَبْخَلُواْ

(If He would demand of you all of it and urge you, you would withhold.) meaning, if He pressures you much, you would become stingy.

وَيُخْرِجْ أَضْغَـنَكُمْ

هَآ أَنتُمْ هَـؤُلاَءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنفِقُواْ فِى سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنكُم مَّن

(Here you are now invited to spend in Allah's cause; but among you are those who withhold (stingily).) meaning, they refuse to spend. Allah continues,

يَبْخَلُ وَمَن يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَن

(And whoever acts stingily is but stingy toward himself.) meaning, he only reduces his own rewards, and the bad outcome of that will come back to him.

نَّفْسِهِ وَاللَّهُ

(For Allah is indeed Al-Ghani) Allah is in need of nothing else, whereas everything is ever in need of Him. Thus, Allah says,

الْغَنِىُّ وَأَنتُمُ

وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْاْ

(And if you turn away, ) which means, if you turn away from obeying Him and adhering to His Laws.

تَتَوَلَّوْاْ يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْماً غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لاَ يَكُونُواْ

Read full Surah Muhammad All 114 surahs

Tafsir Saʿdi

English translation, public domain

Вам надлежит расходовать свое имущество на пути Аллаха для того, чтобы вы могли обеспечить себе благополучное бытие как на земле, так и в Последней жизни. Но несмотря на то, что выгода от военных походов очевидна, некоторые из вас скупятся на пожертвования. А если их попросят помочь кому-либо безвозмездно, они тем более откажутся. Скупец причиняет вред себе самому. Он не способен навредить Аллаху, но зато лишает себя вознаграждения и великого блага. Аллах ни в чем не нуждается, а вы бедны и каждый миг, в любом своем начинании нуждаетесь в Его помощи и поддержке. Если вы отвернетесь от веры и откажитесь повиноваться Аллаху, то Он заменит вас другим народом, и тот не будет похож на вас. Он не будет убегать от повиновения Ему, а будет послушно выполнять повеления Аллаха и Его посланника, да благословит его Аллах и приветствует, и всей душой любить их. Этот аят похож на следующее высказывание Всевышнего: «О те, которые уверовали! Если кто-нибудь из вас отступит от своей религии, то Аллах приведет других людей, которых Он будет любить и которые будут любить Его. Они будут смиренны перед верующими и непреклонны перед неверующими, будут сражаться на пути Аллаха и не будут бояться порицания порицающих» (5:54).

Maʿārif al-Qur'ān

Mufti Shafi Usmani, English

تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ فَمِنكُم مَّن يَبْخَلُ "... you are called upon to spend in Allah's way, but some of you withhold in miserliness". Further the verse reads: وَمَن يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَن نَّفْسِهِ (and he who withholds in miserliness withholds against himself - 47:38) it means that any person practising miserliness will himself suffer loss or detriment because he will have to carry the burden of failing to fulfill his obligation and thus will be deprived of reward in the Hereafter. This point is made even more clear by saying "_ and Allah is the Need-Free, and you are the needy." In other words, Allah is free of want and beyond any need but man is in need of means of comfortable subsistence. So spending in the way of Allah is for man's own good and to fulfill his own needs.

وَإِن تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَ‌كُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُم (...And if you turn away, He will replace you by some other people, then they will not be like you. - 47:38) This verse has explained that Allah is the most need-free of all. This attribute is described so lucidly that it brings to our mind the fact that let alone people's wealth, He does not even need their existence. If they stop acting upon His injunctions, He will bring another people who will not turn away from the sacred injunctions, but will obey Him completely as long as Allah wants to maintain the religion of truth, Islam. Sayyidna Hasan Basri (رح) says that the reference in this verse is to non-Arabs and Sayyidna ` Ikramah ؓ says that the reference is to Persians and Romans. Sayyidna Abu Hurairah ؓ reports that when Allah's Messenger ﷺ recited this verse in the presence of the Companions ؓ they asked him: "Who are those people that will be brought instead of us if we, God forbid, turn away from Allah's injunctions and those people will not turn away like us?" Sayyidna Salman Farisi ؓ عنہ was sitting among the Companions ؓ ، the Holy Prophet ﷺ slapped on his thigh and said: "If Faith [ i.e. the religion of truth ] were to go up to the Pleiades [ accessibility to which is difficult ], a man of Persian descent will acquire it from there and act upon it”.

Shaikh Jalal-ud-Din Suyuti wrote a book on the biography of Abu Hanifah (رح) where he identifies him and his disciples as being the people referred to in the Hadith quoted earlier, because no group among the Persians reached that high point of knowledge where Abu Hanifah (رح) and his disciples reached.