Surah Al-Maaida (5) — Ayah 64

(Ayah 64)➊ {وَ قَالَتِ الْيَهُوْدُ يَدُ اللّٰهِ مَغْلُوْلَةٌ ……:} When Allah Almighty encouraged spending in His way with these words: “Who is it that will lend Allah a goodly loan,” even though that wealth belonged to Allah Almighty, He is the One who gave it, and they were to give from what He had given them, the Jews, instead of reflecting on Allah’s manner of expression and His grace and bounty, and understanding that Allah is encouraging charity to give them manifold in return and is calling it a loan, said: “Allah is poor and we are rich, that is why He asks us for a loan.” This was the utmost miserliness and baseness of the Jews. The same baseness is mentioned in this verse in other words, that the Jews said: “Allah’s hand is tied,” meaning He is stingy, gives nothing, rather asks. In response, Allah Almighty said that their hands are tied and miserliness is their attribute, and because of these insolences and basenesses, they are cursed. Allah Almighty’s both hands are open, He is the Owner of immense grace and bounty and gives without limit or account, all treasures are with Him, He spends as He wills, He alone fulfills every need and necessity of all creation, whether it arises or may arise. He said: «وَ اٰتٰىكُمْ مِّنْ كُلِّ مَا سَاَلْتُمُوْهُ وَ اِنْ تَعُدُّوْا نِعْمَتَ اللّٰهِ لَا تُحْصُوْهَا اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ لَظَلُوْمٌ كَفَّارٌ» [إبراہیم : ۳۴ ] “And He gave you from all that you asked of Him, and if you count the blessings of Allah, you will not be able to count them. Indeed, man is most unjust, most ungrateful.” The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: “Indeed, Allah’s right hand is full, spending does not diminish it in any way. Have you seen how much He has spent since He created the heavens and the earth? Yet what is in His right hand has not decreased.” [ بخاری، التوحید، باب : { وكان عرشه علي الماء :} ۷۴۱۹ ] In another hadith, he said: “Both of Allah’s hands are right.” [ مسلم، الامارۃ، باب فضیلۃ الأمیرالعادل…… : ۱۸۲۷ ]

➋ From this verse and many other verses and hadiths, it is proven that Allah Almighty has hands. Some people translate this as “power,” “authority,” etc., and deny the hands, saying that if we accept that He has hands, He will become like us, even though nothing is like Him. Their statement is not correct, because this would only be the case if we said that His hands are like our hands. When we say that Allah has hands but not like ours, rather as befits His majesty, then there is no problem, whereas denying His hands leads to denying many hadiths and verses of the Qur’an. Now, we hear and see, Allah Almighty also hears and sees, so will He become like us? No, rather His hearing and seeing are not like ours, but as befits His majesty. Similarly, Allah exists and we exist, so will He become like us? The result would be that, due to similarity, one would have to deny even the existence of Allah Almighty. [ اِنَّا لِلّٰہِ وَاِنَّا اِلَیْہِ رَاجِعُوْنَ ] No, rather He exists, is All-Hearing and All-Seeing, His face, His eyes, His hearing and seeing, and His existence—all are proven from the Qur’an and must be accepted, but that existence, hearing, seeing, and hands are not like ours or any creature’s, but as befits Him. Allah’s essence is unique, and His attributes are also unique. There are also many unfortunate ones who, due to this very doubt, openly deny Allah Almighty’s hearing, seeing, and coming to the earth on the Day of Resurrection, and make up some meaning from their own concoction. May Allah Almighty grant guidance.

➌ {وَ لَيَزِيْدَنَّ كَثِيْرًا ……:} That is, if these people were seekers of guidance, then every verse and hadith revealed to you would increase and enhance their faith like the faith of the Companions, but since their hearts are filled with malice, stubbornness, and envy, whatever is revealed to you from your Lord will only increase many of them in rebellion and disbelief. As a result, as the Qur’an was revealed, their rebellion and disbelief kept increasing.

➍ {وَ اَلْقَيْنَا بَيْنَهُمُ الْعَدَاوَةَ وَ الْبَغْضَآءَ …… :} That is, one result of Allah Almighty’s curse upon them is that mutual enmity and hatred among them has reached such a level that they can never be united until the Day of Resurrection, rather they are divided into many sects, and as an effect of this curse, instead of striving for peace and security in the world, they keep igniting the fire of war somewhere in the world, but whenever they kindle this fire, Allah Almighty extinguishes it. All their efforts are to spread corruption in the world, whereas Allah Almighty does not like corruption. Anyone who knows the history of the Jews and their current situation knows how there is a hidden Jewish hand behind every conflict; it is only Allah’s grace that He does not let their plans succeed. Alas! Now, most of the scholars and common people among the Muslims are in almost the same state, that they have abandoned acting upon Allah’s religion, and whenever they get a chance, they do not refrain from denying or disrespecting some command of Islam. This is a Jewish trait, because of which, even after being owners of Muslim countries, they are subjugated by the disbelievers and deprived of those blessings which they would have attained by acting upon the Book and Sunnah and striving in jihad to prevent evil.

64. 1. This is the same thing that is mentioned in Surah Al-Imran, verse 181, that when Allah Almighty encouraged spending in His way and described it as giving a goodly loan to Allah, these Jews said that Allah Almighty is poor, 'He is asking people for a loan,' and they could not understand the beauty of the expression that was hidden in it. That is, everything is given by Allah. And spending some of what Allah has given in His way is not a loan. But it is His utmost kindness that He grants a great reward for this as well, even increasing a single grain up to seven hundred grains. And it is described as a goodly loan for this reason, that whatever you spend, Allah Almighty will return it to you many times over. The meaning of مغلولۃ is miserly (meaning miserly. That is, the Jews' intention was not that Allah's hands are literally tied. Rather, their intention was that He has withheld His hands from spending. (Ibn Kathir)) Allah Almighty said, their hands are tied, meaning miserliness is their habit. Allah Almighty's both hands are open, He spends as He wills. He is Vast in bounty and Generous in giving, all treasures are with Him. Also, He has arranged for all the needs and necessities of His creatures; whatever things we need or may need at night or day, in travel or at home, and in all other conditions, He alone provides them. (وَاٰتٰىكُمْ مِّنْ كُلِّ مَا سَاَلْتُمُوْهُ ۭ وَاِنْ تَعُدُّوْا نِعْمَتَ اللّٰهِ لَا تُحْصُوْهَا ۭ اِنَّ الْاِنْسَانَ لَظَلُوْمٌ كَفَّارٌ) 14:34 "Whatever you asked from Him, He gave it to you. Allah's blessings are so many that you cannot count them. Man is indeed ignorant and extremely ungrateful." It is also mentioned in the hadith that the Prophet ﷺ said that Allah's right hand is full, He spends night and day but there is no decrease in it. Just look, since He created the heavens and the earth, He has been spending, but there has been no decrease in the treasures of His hand.

64. 2. That is, whenever they plot against you or create causes for war, Allah Almighty nullifies them and turns their plot back upon themselves. And He puts them in a situation like "the pit digger faces the pit himself."

64. 3. It is their second nature that they always make reprehensible efforts to spread corruption in the land, whereas Allah Almighty does not like the corrupters.

64. The Jews say [105], "Allah’s hand is tied up." It is their own hands that are tied, and they are cursed for what they say. Rather, both His hands are outstretched; He spends as He wills. And what has been revealed to you from your Lord has surely increased many of them in rebellion [106] and disbelief. So We have cast enmity [107] and hatred among them until the Day of Resurrection. Whenever they kindle the fire of war [108], Allah extinguishes it. They strive to spread corruption [109] in the land, and Allah does not love those who spread corruption.

[105]
The Jews Accusing Allah of Being Miserly:

The Jews were both consumers of the forbidden and usurers. The characteristic of usury is that it breeds selfishness and miserliness in a person. Their miserliness had reached such an extent that when they were asked to spend in the way of Allah or to give a goodly loan, they would start uttering all sorts of nonsense. It has already been mentioned in Surah Al-Imran, verse 181, that when they were asked to give a goodly loan, they said that this meant Allah had become poor and they were rich, otherwise why would He ask them for a loan? In this verse, it is mentioned that when, due to their evil deeds, Allah’s blessings and favors were withheld from them, they said that now Allah had become miserly. Allah replied that it was they themselves who were miserly. Moreover, the nonsense they uttered was a double crime, and for this reason, they were accursed. There was no change in Allah’s attitude. He is always spending with both hands. But He spends where He wills. People of evil character like them cannot be the recipients of His spending. Accordingly: Sayyiduna Abu Hurairahؓ says that the Prophetﷺ said, “Both of Allah’s hands are full. Spending during the night and day does not diminish what is in them at all. Just look, from the creation of the heavens and the earth until today, how much He has spent, but what is in His hand has not decreased.”
[بخاري كتاب التوحيد باب قول الله لِمَا خَلَقْتُ بِيَدَيَّ ]

[106]
Who Goes Astray Because of the Quran:

Just as wholesome foods do not benefit an incurable patient, and sometimes even worsen his illness, similarly, their moral state has become so degraded and their spiritual diseases so complicated that the admonishing words of the Quran do not benefit them; rather, they increase their rebellion and disbelief. When the Quran warns Muslims about any of their mischiefs, telling them to be cautious, instead of accepting the admonition, they become even more enraged and start plotting even worse mischiefs than before.
[107] The Jews and Christians have such mutual enmity that it will last until the Day of Judgment. Similarly, every group has its own sects with differences, malice, and enmities. Although they unite against the Muslims, their internal divisions will not let them succeed, and ultimately, they will be defeated by the Muslims.

[108]
The Mischief of Shamas the Jew in Inciting War:

A clear example of this is that when the Muslims were victorious at the Battle of Badr, the Jews, in addition to the hypocrites, were enraged. An old Jew named Shamas incited some young Jews to go wherever the people of Aws and Khazraj were gathered and recite the poems each side had said during the Battle of Bu'ath. So, when one of their young Jews recited these poems in such a gathering, the tribal chauvinism of both Aws and Khazraj was rekindled, and they became agitated and ready to fight. The battlefield was set, and people began to gather armed. It was close to the point that all the Ansar would have been caught up in a terrible war, when the Messenger of Allahﷺ was informed. He immediately arrived at the scene and said, “Such words of ignorance in my presence?” At this, the Ansar were startled and immediately realized that they had been deceived by Satan. Then they embraced each other and began to weep. The Jews were always ready for such mischief. It is another matter that their efforts would not bear fruit, and Allah would immediately extinguish the fire they kindled.
[109] That is, whatever they think, say, or do, it is all for the purpose of causing mischief and corruption. Some of their mischiefs are mentioned in the following hadiths:

1.
The Mischief of the Jews: The Poisoned Goat Invitation:

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairahؓ says, “When Khaybar was conquered, a goat was presented to the Prophetﷺ as a gift, in which poison had been mixed. The Prophetﷺ ordered that all the Jews present be gathered. When they were brought before him, he asked, ‘Did you mix poison in this goat’s meat?’ They replied, ‘Yes.’ The Prophetﷺ asked, ‘What made you do this?’ They said, ‘We wanted that if you are a liar, we would be rid of you, and if you are a true Prophet, the poison would not harm you.’”
[بخاری۔ کتاب الطب۔ باب مایذکر فی سم النبی]

2.
The Jews’ Unjust Killing and Qasamah (Oaths):

Sahl bin Abi Hathmah says that three men (Abdur Rahman, Huwayyisah, and Muhayyisah) came to the Prophetﷺ and said: O Messenger of Allah! We had gone to Khaybar, and there we found one of our men (Abdullah bin Sahl) murdered. The Prophetﷺ said, “Let the eldest speak.” Then he said, “Do you have any witnesses who saw the killer committing the murder?” They said, “We have no witnesses.” The Prophetﷺ said, “Then the Jews will take (fifty) oaths.” They said, “We are not satisfied with the oaths of the Jews.” And in Abu Qilabah’s narration, it is added that then the Messenger of Allahﷺ said to them, “Will you fifty men swear that indeed our companion was killed by the Jews?” They said, “We cannot take such oaths.” Then the Prophetﷺ disliked that the blood of Abdullah bin Sahl should go in vain. So he gave one hundred camels from the zakat camels as blood money to his heirs.
[بخاری۔ کتاب الدیات۔ باب القسامۃ]

From these hadiths, it becomes clear that the Jews were so mischievous that they were always active and seeking opportunities to harm, even kill, the Prophet of Islam and the Muslims. Also, due to their repeated breaches of trust, they had become so unreliable in the eyes of the Muslims that the Muslims would not even trust the oaths of fifty of their men.