Surah Al-Hadid (57) — Ayah 7

(Ayah 7) ➊ { اٰمِنُوْا بِاللّٰهِ وَ رَسُوْلِهٖ:} From the beginning of the Surah up to this point, after the declaration of the fact that everything in the heavens and the earth has declared Allah’s (freedom from every defect and deficiency), more than ten attributes of Allah Almighty have been mentioned, which are: {’’ الْعَزِيْزُ ، الْحَكِيْمُ ، لَهٗ مُلْكُ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَ الْاَرْضِ، يُحْيٖ وَ يُمِيْتُ، وَ هُوَ عَلٰى كُلِّ شَيْءٍ قَدِيْرٌ ، هُوَ الْاَوَّلُ وَ الْاٰخِرُ وَ الظَّاهِرُ وَ الْبَاطِنُ ، وَ هُوَ بِكُلِّ شَيْءٍ عَلِيْمٌ ، يُوْلِجُ الَّيْلَ فِي النَّهَارِ وَ يُوْلِجُ النَّهَارَ فِي الَّيْلِ ‘‘} After mentioning these attributes, there is an invitation to believe in Allah, the possessor of these attributes, and in the one who has brought His message. Although the disbelievers are also addressed, it is clear from the subsequent context that from here the address is to those Muslims who had already believed but were falling short in fulfilling the requirements of faith and were avoiding sacrificing their lives and wealth in jihad in the way of Allah. This is the same thing that is mentioned in Surah An-Nisa, Ayah (136): « يٰۤاَيُّهَا الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْۤا اٰمِنُوْا بِاللّٰهِ وَ رَسُوْلِهٖ » (O you who have believed! Believe in Allah and His Messenger). The meaning is that you should strengthen your faith and act upon its requirements, one of the greatest of which is spending in His way.

➋ { وَ اَنْفِقُوْا:} Here, spending does not mean spending in general acts of goodness, but rather spending for jihad in the way of Allah and for the needs of the Mujahideen and the emigrants. The evidence for this is in the upcoming Ayah (10): «وَ مَا لَكُمْ اَلَّا تُنْفِقُوْا فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ » “And what is [the matter] with you that you do not spend in the way of Allah.” And {’’ فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ ‘‘} is specifically applied to jihad. See the commentary of Surah At-Tawbah, Ayah (60).

➌ {مِمَّا جَعَلَكُمْ مُّسْتَخْلَفِيْنَ فِيْهِ:} In this, there is encouragement to spend in several ways: one is that this wealth is not yours, but it is Allah Almighty’s, which He had given to those before you, and now He has made you successors in it after them, and He wants to see whether you spend it according to His will or not. (See Al-An’am: 165) It is not the slave’s job to refrain from spending the master’s wealth where he is told to spend it, but to spend it according to his own will or to start hoarding it. Secondly, just as it did not remain with those before you, it will not remain with you either. If you spend it in the way of Allah, it will become your treasure for the Hereafter, and if you do not spend it, then others will become successors in it after you. Then, if they spend it in goodness, they will be better than you, for the wealth which you could not spend in goodness, they did, and you were deprived; and if they spend it in evil, then your wealth also became an aid in their evil. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ يَقُوْلُ الْعَبْدُ مَالِيْ مَالِيْ، إِنَّمَا لَهُ مِنْ مَّالِهِ ثَلَاثٌ، مَا أَكَلَ فَأَفْنٰی أَوْ لَبِسَ فَأَبْلٰی أَوْ أَعْطٰی فَاقْتَنٰی، وَمَا سِوَی ذٰلِكَ فَهُوَ ذَاهِبٌ وَتَارِكُهُ لِلنَّاسِ ] [مسلم، کتاب الزھد والرقائق، باب الدنیا سجن للمؤمن وجنۃ للکافر : ۲۹۵۹ ] “A servant says: ‘My wealth, my wealth,’ but of his wealth, only three things are truly his: what he ate and consumed, or what he wore and wore out, or what he gave and stored up (for the Hereafter), and whatever is besides that is going to depart and will be left for the people.”

➍ {فَالَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا مِنْكُمْ وَ اَنْفَقُوْا:} Among those who believed and spent, the very first is Abu Bakr (may Allah be pleased with him), who was the first to believe in the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and, on the occasion of Tabuk, brought all his wealth at the announcement of charity. Among them is also Umar (may Allah be pleased with him), who brought half his wealth, and Uthman (may Allah be pleased with him), and all those noble Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) who spent in times of ease and, despite hardship, worked hard and gave charity. For more details, see the commentary of Surah At-Tawbah (79).

➎ {لَهُمْ اَجْرٌ كَبِيْرٌ:} For the virtue of those who spend “in the way of Allah,” see Surah Al-Baqarah (274) and Surah Al-Anfal (60).

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

7. Believe in Allah and His Messenger [9], and spend from that which He has made you successors [10] over. So those among you who believe and spend, for them is a great reward.

[9] The chronological order and the content suggest that this surah was revealed after the Battle of Ahzab. Until that time, it was the Quraysh of Makkah who repeatedly attacked and assaulted the Muslims. After the conclusion of the Battle of Ahzab and the disbelievers' retreat, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ had, in a sense, declared that after today, the disbelievers would not attack us again. However, the dominance of the Muslims was still a distant matter. Even in such uncertain circumstances, there were some Muslims and emigrants who had firm faith in the promises of Allah and His Messenger ﷺ, and despite their poverty, they spent whatever they could in this battle between truth and falsehood without hesitation. But there were also some new Muslims who were in a state of indecision. They neither sincerely strove in this battle between truth and falsehood, nor were they willing to spend their wealth for the sake of jihad. These verses address such people, who, despite having embraced Islam, were not ready to offer sacrifices of life, wealth, or body for Islam. And what is meant by believing in Allah and His Messenger is to believe with sincerity of intention, support the Messenger of Allah, and consider the promises he made as certain.

[10] That is, the wealth from which you are reluctant to spend in the way of Allah or for the sake of jihad, you are not the true owners of this wealth. Its real owner is Allah. Your status is only that of a deputy and trustee. This wealth will certainly leave your ownership at the time of death, and it can leave even before that. And the second meaning is that previously this wealth was in the possession of others, and today you have control over it because you are their successors. Therefore, do not consider this wealth as your own property, and spend it according to Allah's guidance and pleasure. Only such wealth spent will become a cause of great reward for you. And the third meaning is that whatever wealth you spend, Allah will give you as much or even more in return.