Charity not accepted from Hypocrites & Rebellious
9. [at-Tawbah, Meidan 113, 9 H after Tabuk]
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
قُلْ
أَنفِقُواْ
طَوْعًا أَوْ
كَرْهًا لَّن
يُتَقَبَّلَ
مِنكُمْ ...
9: 53. Say:
"Spend (for the cause) willingly or unwillingly: not from you will it be accepted:
C1314. The Hypocrites, who secretly plotted against Islam, might sometimes (and they did) make a show of making some contribution to the Cause in order to keep up their pretence.
Their contributions were not acceptable, whether they seemed to give willingly or unwillingly, because rebellion and disobedience were in their hearts. Three reasons are specifically given for their rejection, in the next verse:
1. they did not believe;
2. their prayers were not earnest, but for mere show: and
3. in reality their hearts were not behind the contributions which they offered.
Nothing is acceptable to Allah which does not proceed from a pure and sincere heart.
...إِنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ قَوْمًا فَاسِقِينَ ﴿٥٣﴾
for ye are indeed a people rebellious and wicked."
وَمَا
مَنَعَهُمْ
أَن تُقْبَلَ
مِنْهُمْ
نَفَقَاتُهُمْ
إِلاَّ أَنَّهُمْ
كَفَرُواْ
بِاللّهِ
وَبِرَسُولِهِ...
9: 54. The only reasons why their contributions are not accepted are:
- that they reject Allah and His Messenger;
...وَلاَ يَأْتُونَ الصَّلاَةَ إِلاَّ وَهُمْ كُسَالَى...
- that they come to prayer without earnestness;
...وَلاَ يُنفِقُونَ إِلاَّ وَهُمْ كَارِهُونَ ﴿٥٤﴾
- and that they offer contributions unwillingly.
وَمِنْهُم
مَّنْ عَاهَدَ
اللّهَ لَئِنْ
آتَانَا مِن
فَضْلِهِ
لَنَصَّدَّقَنَّ...
9: 75. Amongst them are men who made a Covenant with Allah that if He bestowed on them of His bounty, they would give (largely) in charity,
...وَلَنَكُونَنَّ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ ﴿٧٥﴾
and be truly amongst those who are righteous.
فَلَمَّا
آتَاهُم مِّن
فَضْلِهِ بَخِلُواْ
بِهِ وَتَوَلَّواْ
وَّهُم مُّعْرِضُونَ ﴿٧٦﴾
9: 76. But when He did bestow of His bounty, they became covetous, and turned back (from their Covenant), averse (from its fulfillment).
فَأَعْقَبَهُمْ
نِفَاقًا فِي
قُلُوبِهِمْ
إِلَى يَوْمِ
يَلْقَوْنَهُ
بِمَا أَخْلَفُواْ
اللّهَ...
9: 77. So He hath put as a consequence hypocrisy into their hearts, (to last) till the day whereon they shall meet Him:
C1332. If men are false to their covenants and words, the natural consequence will be hypocrisy to cover their falsehood. Such consequences will last till the Day of Judgment, when they will have to account for their deeds.
They may think that they are deceiving men by their hypocrisy, but they cannot deceive Allah, to Whom all their most secret thoughts and plots and doings are known.
...مَا وَعَدُوهُ وَبِمَا كَانُواْ يَكْذِبُونَ ﴿٧٧﴾
because they broke their Covenant with Allah, and because they lied (again and again).
أَلَمْ
يَعْلَمُواْ
أَنَّ اللّهَ
يَعْلَمُ سِرَّهُمْ
وَنَجْوَاهُمْ...
9: 78. Know they not that Allah doth know their secret (thoughts) and their secret counsels,
...وَأَنَّ اللّهَ عَلاَّمُ الْغُيُوبِ ﴿٧٨﴾
and that Allah knoweth well all things unseen?
الَّذِينَ يَلْمِزُونَ
الْمُطَّوِّعِينَ
مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ
فِي الصَّدَقَاتِ...
9: 79. Those who slander such of the believers as give themselves freely to (deeds of) charity,
...وَالَّذِينَ لاَ يَجِدُونَ إِلاَّ جُهْدَهُمْ فَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنْهُمْ...
as well as such as can find nothing to give except the fruits of their labor, and throw ridicule on them,
C1333. When financial help is necessary for the Cause, every Muslim contributes what he can. Those who can afford large sums are proud to bring them in of their own free-will, and those who are very poor contribute their mite or their labour.
Both kinds of gifts are equally precious because of the faith and good-will behind them, and only cynics will laugh at the scantiness of the one or the lavishness of the other.
Sometimes they not only laugh, but attribute wrong motives to the givers. Such conduct is here reprimanded.
...سَخِرَ اللّهُ مِنْهُمْ وَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ أَلِيمٌ ﴿٧٩﴾
Allah will throw back their ridicule on them:
and they shall have a grievous penalty.
اسْتَغْفِرْ
لَهُمْ أَوْ
لاَ تَسْتَغْفِرْ
لَهُمْ إِن
تَسْتَغْفِرْ
لَهُمْ...
9: 80. Whether thou ask for their forgiveness or not, (their sin is unforgivable):
...سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَن يَغْفِرَ اللّهُ لَهُمْ...
if thou ask seventy times for their forgiveness, Allah will not forgive them:
C1334. An awful warning for those who actively oppose the Cause of Allah.
The Holy Prophet was by nature full of mercy and forgiveness. He prayed for his enemies. But in such a case even his prayers are nullified by their attitude of rejecting Allah.
...ذَلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُواْ بِاللّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ...
because they have rejected Allah and His Messenger;
...وَاللّهُ لاَ يَهْدِي الْقَوْمَ الْفَاسِقِينَ ﴿٨٠﴾
and Allah guideth not those who are perversely rebellious.
9: 53
Asad Say: “You may spend [anything], willingly or unwillingly, [pretending that you do it for the sake of God:] it shall never be accepted from you [note 76] – for, verily, you are people bent on iniquity!”
Pickthall Say: Pay (your contribution), willingly or unwillingly, it will not be accepted from you. Lo! ye were ever froward folk.
Transliteration Qul anfiqu_ tau'an au karhal lay yutaqabbala minkum, innakum kuntum qauman fa_siqin(a).
[[ Asad’s note 76 – I.e., “if shall never be acceptable to God”: an allusion to the readiness on the part of many hypocrites to contribute financially to “good causes”, ostensibly for the sake of moral consideration but, in reality, “only to be seen and praised by men” (cf. 2: 264 and 4:38).
[[ Ali’s note - 1314 The Hypocrites, who secretly plotted against Islam, might sometimes (and they did) make a show of making some contribution to the Cause in order to keep up their pretence. Their contributions were not acceptable, whether they seemed to give willingly or unwillingly, because rebellion and disobedience were in their hearts. Three reasons are specifically given for their rejection, in the next verse: (1) they did not believe; (2) their prayers were not earnest, but for mere show: and (3) in reality their hearts were not behind the contributions which they offered. Nothing is acceptable to Allah which does not proceed from a pure and sincere heart. (9.53) ]]
9: 54
Asad For, only this prevents their spending from being accepted from them: they are bent on refusing to acknowledge God and His Apostle, and never pray without reluctance and never spend without resentment
Pickthall And naught preventeth that their contributions should be accepted from them save that they have disbelieved in Allah and in His messenger, and they come not to worship save as idlers, and pay not (their contribution) save reluctantly.
Transliteration Wa ma_ mana'ahum an tuqbala minhum nafaqa_tuhum illa_ annahum kafaru_ billa_hi wa bi rasu_lihi wa la_ ya'tu_nas sala_ta illa_ wa hum kusa_la_ wa la_ yunfiqu_na illa_ wa hum ka_rihu_n(a).
9: 75
Pickthall And of them is he who made a covenant with Allah (saying): If He give us of His bounty We will give alms and become of the righteous.
Transliteration Wa minhum man 'a_hadalla_ha la'in a_ta_na_ min fadlihi lanassaddaqanna wa lanaku_nanna minas sa_lihin(a).
[[ Ali’s notes -
The reference is to a plot made by the Prophet's enemies to kill him when he was returning from Tabuk. The plot failed. It was all the more dastardly in that some of the conspirators were among the men of Madinah who were enriched by the general prosperity that followed the peace and good government established through Islam in Madinah. Trade flourished: justice was firmly administered with an even hand. And the only return that these men could make was a return of evil for good. That was their revenge, because Islam aimed at suppressing selfishness, stood for the rights of the poorest and humblest, and judged worth by righteousness rather than by birth or position. (9.74)]]
[[ Asad’s notes - 102 – See the first sentence of verse 61 above, and the corresponding note 86. The allegation that the Prophet deceived himself in the matter of revelation is, naturally, equivalent to disbelief in the outcome revelation, i.e., the Quran.
103 – Lit., “which they were unable to attain to”. The classical commentators take this as a reference to an abortive plot, on the part of some of the hypocrites, to kill the Prophet during the expedition to Tabuk. However, without contesting the validity of this historical interpretation, I believe that the above allusion has a far deeper meaning – namely, the existential impossibility of one’s ever attaining to inner peace without a positive belief that man’s life has meaning and purpose, either of which can be glimpsed only through the revelations bestowed on those exceptionally gifted and receptive personalities, the prophets. (As indirect reference to divine revelation as the only source of this kind of cognition appears in 96:5, that is, in the earliest Quranic passage revelaed to the Prophet.) Thus, torn between their half-hearted desire to “surrender themselves to God” and their unwillingness to accept the divine guidance offered them by the Prophet, the hypocrites “were aiming at something which was beyond their reach.”
104 - …………to their lack of gratitude for the spiritual and material benefits which they had derived from it. ]]
[[ Ruby’s note 9:74 – The reference of bounty here implies all the social, political and economic enrichment and empowerment due to victories of the Muslim community and the social stability, security and trade that followed. The hypocrites in order to enjoy the success associated themselves with the community and declared themselves as “believers” however in truth they still remained ambivalent or doubters or even rejecters of the revelation. That is why they could deliberately taunt the Prophet of being hallucinated. There were repeated attempt or inclinations to spread this idea of doubt among the followers and the community members and promote rejection among others. The way this verse is articulated here seems to imply that the hypocrites were not comfortable that these benefits were coming from being followers of the Prophet. The nature of these activities at a time of war or a major confrontation with an enemy could amount to treason, particularly, at that time when the fundamental premise of those confrontations and fight came from the need of preserving the rights, security and continuity of the believers against the onslaught of the enemies who were determined to eradicate the Muslims or violate their rights.]]
9: 76
Asad But as soon as He has given them [aught] out of His bounty, they cling to it niggardly, and turn away in their obstinacy [from all that they have bowed]:
Pickthall Yet when He gave them of His bounty, they boarded it and turned away, averse;
Transliteration Falamma_ a_ta_hum min fadlihi bakhilu_ bihi wa tawallau wa hum mu'ridu_n(a).
9: 77
Asad whereupon He causes hypocrisy to take root in their hearts, [therein to remain] until the Day on which they shall meet Him [note 105] - because they have failed to fulfill the vow which they had made unto God, and because they were wont to lie [note 106].
Pickthall So He hath made the consequence (to be) hypocrisy in their hearts until the day when they shall meet Him, because they broke their word to Allah that they promised Him, and because they lied.
Transliteration Fa a'qabahum nifa_qan fi qulu_bihim ila_ yaumi yalqaunahu_ bima_ akhlafulla_ha ma_ wa'adu_hu wa bima_ ka_nu_ yakzibu_n(a).
[[ Asad’s note 105 – Lit., “He has caused hypocrisy to become for them a consequence (a’qabahum) in their hearts until the Day of on which they shall meet Him”…………..Thus, the Quran states that it is excessive love of worldly possessions which gives rise, in a certain type of mean, to the attitude of mind described as “hypocrisy” – and not vice versa (see also note 29:11 and the corresponding note 7). Cf. in this connection the Prophet’s saying, reported as Abu Hurayrah: “The mark (ayah) of the hypocrite is threefold: when he speaks, he lies; and when he promises, he breaks his promise; and when he is trusted, he betrays” (Bukhari, Muslim Trimidhi and Nasa’I;……………….]]
9: 78
Pickthall Know they not that Allah knoweth both their secret and the thought that they confide, and that Allah is the Knower of Things Hidden?
Transliteration Alam ya'lamu_ annalla_ha ya'lamu sirrahum wa najwa_hum wa annalla_ha 'alla_mul guyu_b(i).
9: 79
Pickthall Those who point at such of the believers as give the alms willingly and such as can find naught to give but their endeavors, and deride them Allah (Himself) derideth them. Theirs will be a painful doom.
Transliteration Alazina yalmizu_nal muttawwi'ina minal mu'minina fis sadaqa_ti wallazina la_ yajidu_na illa_ juhdahum fa yaskharu_na minhum, sakhiralla_hu minhum, wa lahum 'azu_bun alim(un).
9: 80
Pickthall Ask forgiveness for them (O Muhammad), or ask not forgiveness for them; though thou ask forgiveness for them seventy times Allah will not forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allah and His messenger, and Allah guideth not wrongdoing folk.
Transliteration Istagfir lahum au la_ tastagfir lahum, in tastagfir lahum sab'ina marratan fa lay yagfiralla_hu lahum, za_lika bi annahum kafaru_ billa_hi wa rasu_lih(i), walla_hu la_ yahdil qaumal fa_siqin(a).
[[ Ali’s notes -
1332 If men are false to their covenants and words, the natural consequence will be hypocrisy to cover their falsehood. Such consequences will last till the Day of Judgment, when they will have to account for their deeds. They may think that they are deceiving men by their hypocrisy, but they cannot deceive Allah, to Whom all their most secret thoughts and plots and doings are known. (9.77)
1333 When financial help is necessary for the Cause, every Muslim contributes what he can. Those who can afford large sums are proud to bring them in of their own free-will, and those who are very poor contribute their mite or their labour. Both kinds of gifts are equally precious because of the faith and good-will behind them, and only cynics will laugh at the scantiness of the one or the lavishness of the other. Sometimes they not only laugh, but attribute wrong motives to the givers. Such conduct is here reprimanded. (9.79)
1334 An awful warning for those who actively oppose the Cause of Allah. The Holy Prophet was by nature full of mercy and forgiveness. He prayed for his enemies. But in such a case even his prayers are nullified by their attitude of rejecting Allah. (9.80) ]]