Shaytanic Doubts Concerning Spending in Charity
Allah said,
[الشَّيْطَـنُ
يَعِدُكُمُ
الْفَقْرَ
وَيَأْمُرُكُم
بِالْفَحْشَآءِ
وَاللَّهُ
يَعِدُكُم
مَّغْفِرَةً
مِّنْهُ
وَفَضْلاً
وَاللَّهُ
وَسِعٌ
عَلِيمٌ ]
(Shaytan threatens you with poverty and
orders you to commit Fahsha'; whereas Allah promises
you forgiveness from Himself and bounty, and Allah is All-Sufficient for His
creatures' needs, All-Knower.)
Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that `Abdullah
bin Mas`ud said that the Messenger of Allah said,
«إِنَّ
لِلشَّيْطَانِ
لَمَّةً
بِابْنِ آدَمَ،
وَلِلْمَلَكِ
لَمَّةً،
فَأَمَّا
لَمَّةُ الشَّيطَانِ
فَإِيعَادٌ
بِالشَّرِّ،
وَتَكْذِيبٌ
بِالْحَقِّ،
وَ أَمَّا
لَمَّةُ الْمَلَكِ
فَإِيعَادٌ
بِالْخَيْرِ،
وَتَصْدِيقٌ
بِالْحَقِّ،
فَمَنْ
وَجَدَ
ذَلِكَ فَلْيَعْلَمْ
أَنَّهُ مِنَ
اللهِ،
فَلْيَحْمَدِ
اللهَ،
وَمَنْ وَجَدَ
الْأُخْرَى
فَلْيَتَعَوَّذْ
مِنَ الشَّيْطَان»
(Shaytan has an effect on the son of
Adam, and the angel also has an effect. As for the effect of Shaytan, it is by his threatening with evil repercussions
and rejecting the truth. As for the effect of the angel, it is by his promise
of a good end and believing in the truth. Whoever finds the latter,
let him know that it is coming from Allah and let him thank Allah for it.
Whoever finds the former, let him seek refuge - with
Allah - from Shaytan.)
The Prophet then recited,
[الشَّيْطَـنُ
يَعِدُكُمُ
الْفَقْرَ
وَيَأْمُرُكُم
بِالْفَحْشَآءِ
وَاللَّهُ
يَعِدُكُم
مَّغْفِرَةً
مِّنْهُ
وَفَضْلاً]
(Shaytan threatens you with poverty and
orders you to commit Fahsha'; whereas Allah promises
you forgiveness from Himself and bounty)
This is the narration that At-Tirmidhi
and An-Nasa'i collected in the book of Tafsir in their Sunan
collections. Allah said,
[الشَّيْطَـنُ
يَعِدُكُمُ
الْفَقْرَ]
(Shaytan threatens you with poverty), so
that you hold on to whatever you have and refrain from spending it in Allah's
pleasure.
[وَيَأْمُرُكُم
بِالْفَحْشَآءِ]
(And orders you to commit Fahsha'),
meaning, "Shaytan forbids you from spending in
charity because of the false fear of becoming poor, and he encourages evil
deeds, sins, indulging in what is prohibited, and immoral conduct.'' Allah
said,
[وَاللَّهُ
يَعِدُكُم
مَّغْفِرَةً
مِّنْهُ]
(Whereas Allah promises you forgiveness from Himself) instead of
the evil that Shaytan enjoins on you,
[وَفَضْلاً]
(And Bounty) as opposed to the poverty that Shaytan
frightens you with,
[وَاللَّهُ
وَسِعٌ
عَلِيمٌ]
(And Allah is All-Sufficient for His creatures' needs, All-Knower.)
The Meaning of Al-Hikmah
Allah said,
[يُؤْتِى
الْحِكْمَةَ
مَن يَشَآءُ]
(He grants Hikmah to whom He wills.)
`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "That is
knowledge of the Qur'an. For instance, the abrogating
and the abrogated, what is plain and clear and what is not as plain and clear,
what it allows, and what it does not allow, and its parables.'' Imam Ahmad
recorded that Ibn Mas`ud
said that he heard the Messenger of Allah saying,
«لَا
حَسَدَ
إِلَّا فِي
اثْنَتَيْنِ:
رَجُلٌ آتَاهُ
اللهُ مَالًا
فَسَلَّطَهُ
عَلَى هَلَكَتِهِ
فِي
الْحَقِّ،
وَرَجُلٌ
آتَاهُ اللهُ
حِكْمَةً
فَهُوَ
يَقْضِي
بِهَا
وَيُعَلِّمُهَا»
(There is no envy except in two instances: a person whom Allah has
endowed with wealth and he spends it righteously, and a person whom Allah has
given Hikmah and he judges by it and teaches it to
others.)
This was also collected by Al-Bukhari,
Muslim, An-Nasa'i, Ibn Majah.
Allah's statement,
[وَمَا
يَذَّكَّرُ
إِلاَّ
أُوْلُواْ
الأَلْبَـبِ]
(But none remember (will receive admonition) except men of
understanding.) means, "Those who will benefit
from the advice are those who have sound minds and good comprehension with
which they understand the words (of advice and reminder) and their
implications.''
[وَمَآ
أَنفَقْتُم
مِّن
نَّفَقَةٍ
أَوْ نَذَرْتُم
مِّن نَّذْرٍ
فَإِنَّ
اللَّهَ يَعْلَمُهُ
وَمَا
لِلظَّـلِمِينَ
مِنْ
أَنصَارٍ -
إِن
تُبْدُواْ
الصَّدَقَـتِ
فَنِعِمَّا
هِىَ وَإِن
تُخْفُوهَا
وَتُؤْتُوهَا
الْفُقَرَآءَ
فَهُوَ
خَيْرٌ
لَّكُمْ وَيُكَفِّرُ
عَنكُم مِّن
سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ
وَاللَّهُ
بِمَا
تَعْمَلُونَ
خَبِيرٌ ]
(270. And whatever you spend for spendings
(e.g., in Sadaqah) or whatever vow you make, be sure
Allah knows it all. And for the wrongdoers there are no helpers.) (271. If you
disclose your Sadaqat (almsgiving), it is well; but
if you conceal them and give them to the poor, that is better for you. (Allah)
will expiate you some of your sins. And Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you
do.)
Allah states that He has perfect knowledge of the good deeds
performed by all of His creation, such as charity and various vows, and He
rewards tremendously for these deeds, provided they are performed seeking His
Face and His promise. Allah also warns those who do not work in his obedience,
but instead disobey His command, reject His revelation and worship others
besides Him:
[وَمَا
لِلظَّـلِمِينَ
مِنْ
أَنصَارٍ]
(And for the wrongdoers there are no helpers.) meaning,
who will save them from Allah's anger and torment on the Day of Resurrection.
The Virtue of Disclosing or Concealing Charity
Allah said,
[إِن
تُبْدُواْ الصَّدَقَـتِ
فَنِعِمَّا
هِىَ]
(If you disclose your Sadaqat, it is
well) meaning, "It is well if you make known the charity that you give
away.''
Allah's statement,
[وَإِن
تُخْفُوهَا
وَتُؤْتُوهَا
الْفُقَرَآءَ
فَهُوَ
خَيْرٌ
لَّكُمْ]
(But if you conceal them and give them to the poor,
that is better for you.) this indicates that
concealing charity is better than disclosing it, because it protects one from
showing off and boasting. However, if there is an apparent wisdom behind
disclosing the charity, such as the people imitating this righteous act, then
disclosing it becomes better than concealing it. The Messenger of Allah said,
«الْجَاهِرُ
بِالْقُرْآنِ
كَالْجَاهِرِ
بِالصَّدَقَةِ،
وَالْمُسِرُّ
بِالْقُرآنِ
كَالْمُسِرِّ
بِالصَّدَقَة»
(He who utters aloud Qur'anic recitation
is just like he who discloses charity acts. He who conceals Qur'anic
recitation is just like he who conceals charity acts.)
The Ayah indicates that it is better that acts of charity be
concealed, as reiterated by the Hadith that the Two Sahihs
recorded from Abu Hurayrah that the Messenger of
Allah said,
«سَبْعَةٌ
يُظِلُّهُمُ
اللهُ فِي
ظِلِّهِ يَوْمَ
لَا ظِلَّ
إلَّا
ظِلُّهُ:
إِمَامٌ عَادِلٌ،
وَشَابٌّ
نَشَأَ فِي
عِبَادَةِ
اللهِ،
وَرَجُلَانِ
تَحَابَّا
فِي
اللهِ،اجْتَمَعَا
عَلَيْهِ
وَتَفَرَّقَا
عَلَيْهِ،
وَرَجُلٌ
قَلْبُهُ
مُعَلَّقٌ
بِالْمَسْجِدِ،
إِذَا خَرَجَ
مِنْهُ حَتَّى
يَرْجِعَ
إِلَيْهِ،
وَرَجُلٌ
ذَكَرَ اللهَ
خَالِيًا
فَفَاضَتْ
عَيْنَاهُ، وَرَجُلٌ
دَعَتْهُ
امْرَأَةٌ
ذَاتُ مَنْصِبٍ
وَجَمَالٍ،
فَقَالَ:
إِنِّي
أَخَافُ اللهَ
رَبَّ
الْعَالَمِينَ،
وَرَجُلٌ
تَصَدَّقَ
بِصَدَقَةٍ
فَأَخْفَاهَا،
حَتَّى لَا
تَعْلَمَ
شِمَالُهُ
مَا تُنْفِقُ
يَمِينُه»
(Allah will give shade to seven on the Day when there will be no
shade but His. (They are:) a just ruler, a youth who has been brought up in the
worship of Allah, two persons who love each other only for Allah's sake who
meet and part in Allah's cause only, a man whose heart is attached to the Masjids from the time he departs the Masjid
until he returns to it, a person who remembers Allah in seclusion and his eyes
are then flooded with tears, a man who refuses the call of a charming woman of
noble birth for illicit intercourse with her and says, `I fear Allah, Lord of
the worlds', and a man who gives charitable gifts so secretly that his left
hand does not know what his right hand has given.)
Allah's statement,
[وَيُكَفِّرُ
عَنكُم مِّن
سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ]
((Allah) will expiate you some of your sins) means, in return for
giving away charity, especially if it was concealed. Therefore, you will gain
goodness by your rank being raised, and your sins being forgiven.
Allah's statement,
[وَاللَّهُ
بِمَا
تَعْمَلُونَ
خَبِيرٌ]
(And Allah is Well-Acquainted with what you do) means, "No
good deed that you perform escapes His knowledge, and He shall reward for it.''