Surah Al-Hashr (59) — Ayah 9

(Ayah 9) ➊ {وَ الَّذِيْنَ تَبَوَّؤُ الدَّارَ وَ الْاِيْمَانَ مِنْ قَبْلِهِمْ : ’’ بَوَّأَ يُبَوِّءُ‘‘} (taf‘īl) To give place, to provide a dwelling, as He said: «وَ لَقَدْ بَوَّاْنَا بَنِيْۤ اِسْرَآءِيْلَ مُبَوَّاَ صِدْقٍ» [ یونس : ۹۳ ] “And indeed, We settled the Children of Israel in a noble dwelling.” {’’ تَبَوَّأَ يَتَبَوَّأُ ‘‘} To make a place a dwelling, to reside. In {’’ الدَّارَ ‘‘}, the definite article al- is for a specific house, that house in which the emigrants arrived after migration. “Dār al-Hijrah” is the title of Madinah Munawwarah; Imam Malik, may Allah have mercy on him, is called {’’إِمَامُ دَارِ الْهِجْرَةِ ‘‘} for this reason, because he lived in Madinah Munawwarah. That is, the wealth of fay’ is for the poor emigrants and for those who made a place in the abode of migration and in faith before the emigrants arrived, meaning those who already lived in Madinah and had believed. For believing, the phrase “made a place in faith” is used here. This is a metaphor in which faith is likened to a strong refuge and shelter, into which they had already entered. These people refer to all the Ansar, including those who believed at a time when no emigrant had yet come to Madinah, i.e., the Ansar of the First Pledge of ‘Aqabah, and also those who had believed before the arrival of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), when some emigrants had arrived and some were yet to come, and all the Ansar who became Muslim until the conquest of Makkah, because they too believed before many emigrants.

➋ { يُحِبُّوْنَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ اِلَيْهِمْ :} This is the second virtue of the Ansar: they love those who come to them after migrating. In reality, the way the Ansar embraced the emigrants is unparalleled. They shared their property, homes, lands, and orchards with the emigrants, and insisted so much on hosting each one in their homes that the emigrants had to be distributed among their homes by drawing lots, as Umm ‘Ala’ Ansariyyah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: [ أَنَّهُمُ اقْتَسَمُوا الْمُهَاجِرِيْنَ قُرْعَةً، قَالَتْ فَطَارَ لَنَا عُثْمَانُ بْنُ مَظْعُوْنٍ، وَأَنْزَلْنَاهُ فِيْ أَبْيَاتِنَا ] [ بخاري، التعبیر، باب رؤیا النساء : ۷۰۰۳ ] “The Ansar distributed the emigrants by drawing lots; in our share came ‘Uthman bin Maz‘un, so we hosted him in our homes.”

A manifestation of this love was the bond of brotherhood (mu’ākhāt), due to which Sa‘d bin Rabi‘ Ansari (may Allah be pleased with him) offered ‘Abdur Rahman bin ‘Awf (may Allah be pleased with him) half of his entire property and all his houses, and to divorce one of his two wives so that he could marry her, to which he prayed for him but did not accept the offer. (See Bukhari: 2049) Anas (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the emigrants said: [ يَا رَسُوْلَ اللّٰهِ! مَا رَأَيْنَا مِثْلَ قَوْمٍ قَدِمْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ أَحْسَنَ مُوَاسَاةً فِيْ قَلِيْلٍ، وَلاَ أَحْسَنَ بَذْلاً فِيْ كَثِيْرٍ، لَقَدْ كَفَوْنَا الْمَؤنَةَ، وَأَشْرَكُوْنَا فِي الْمَهْنَأِ، حَتّٰی لَقَدْ حَسِبْنَا أَنْ يَذْهَبُوْا بِالْأَجْرِ كُلِّهِ، قَالَ لاَ، مَا أَثْنَيْتُمْ عَلَيْهِمْ، وَدَعَوْتُمُ اللّٰهَ عَزَّوَجَلَّ لَهُمْ ] [مسند أحمد : ۳ /۲۰۰، ۲۰۱، ح : ۱۳۰۷۵، قال المحقق إسنادہ صحیح علی شرط الشیخین۔ ترمذي : ۲۴۸۷ ] “O Messenger of Allah! We have not seen people like those to whom we have come, who show such good sympathy in little and spend so generously in abundance. They work hard in our place and have made us partners in their income, to the extent that we fear they will take all the reward.” He (peace be upon him) said: “No, as long as you praise them and pray to Allah for them.” Anas bin Malik (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) called the Ansar to write for them the region of Bahrain as a fief. They said: “We will not take it unless our emigrant brothers get the same.” He (peace be upon him) said: [ إِمَّا لاَ، فَاصْبِرُوْا حَتّٰی تَلْقَوْنِيْ، فَإِنَّهُ سَيُصِيْبُكُمْ بَعْدِيْ أَثَرَةٌ ] [ بخاري، مناقب الأنصار، باب قول النبي صلی اللہ علیہ وسلم للأنصار : ’’اصبروا حتٰی تلقوني علی الحوض ‘‘ : ۳۷۹۴ ] “If you do not take it, then be patient until you meet me, for after me, others will be preferred over you.” Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Ansar said to the Prophet (peace be upon him): “O Messenger of Allah! Divide our date palms between us and our emigrant brothers.” He (peace be upon him) said: “No.” So the Ansar said (to the emigrants): “You will work in our place and we will share the fruit with you.” The emigrants said: “We have heard and obeyed.” [ بخاري، الحرث والمزارعۃ، باب إذا قال اکفني مؤونۃ النخل… : ۲۳۲۵ ]

➌ { وَ لَا يَجِدُوْنَ فِيْ صُدُوْرِهِمْ حَاجَةً مِّمَّاۤ اُوْتُوْا :} That is, the Ansar have such love and sympathy for the emigrants that if something is given to the emigrants, the Ansar do not even desire it for themselves, let alone demand it, as the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) gave all the lands and orchards left by Banu Nadir to the emigrants, and the Ansar happily accepted it.

➍ {وَ يُؤْثِرُوْنَ عَلٰۤى اَنْفُسِهِمْ وَ لَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ: ’’خَصَّ يَخَصُّ خَصَاصَةً وَخَصَاصًا وَخَصَاصَاءً (ع )‘‘ ’’اِفْتَقَرَ‘‘} To be in need. {’’ خَصَاصَةٌ ‘‘} Poverty and destitution. Spending what is surplus to one’s needs is indeed a virtue, but to spend on others what little one has, enduring poverty and hunger oneself, is a very high station. Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that he asked: “O Messenger of Allah! Which charity is best?” He (peace be upon him) said: [ جُهْدُ الْمُقِلِّ وَابْدَأْ بِمَنْ تَعُوْلُ ] [ أبو داوٗد، الزکاۃ، باب الرخصۃ في ذٰلک : ۱۶۷۷، وقال الألباني صحیح ] “The effort of one who has little, and start with those whom you support.”

Abu Hurairah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that a man came to the Prophet (peace be upon him), and he (peace be upon him) sent a message to his wives, and they replied that they had nothing except water. So the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ مَنْ يَضُمُّ أَوْ يُضِيْفُ هٰذَا؟ ] “Who will take this guest with him?” One of the Ansar said: “I will take him.” So he took him to his wife and said: “Honor the guest of the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him).” She said: “We have nothing except the children’s food.” He said: “Prepare the food, light the lamp, and when the children ask for food, put them to sleep.” She prepared the food, lit the lamp, and put the children to sleep. Then she got up as if to fix the lamp and turned it off. Both of them pretended to eat in front of the guest, but they spent the night hungry. In the morning, when the Ansari went to the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), he (peace be upon him) said: [ ضَحِكَ اللّٰهُ اللَّيْلَةَ أَوْ عَجِبَ مِنْ فَعَالِكُمَا ] “Allah laughed or was amazed at what you both did last night.” So Allah revealed this verse: « وَ يُؤْثِرُوْنَ عَلٰۤى اَنْفُسِهِمْ وَ لَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ وَ مَنْ يُّوْقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهٖ فَاُولٰٓىِٕكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُوْنَ » [ الحشر: ۹ ] “And they give preference over themselves, even though they are in severe need. And whoever is saved from the greed of his soul, then those are the successful.” [ بخاري، مناقب الأنصار، باب قول اللّٰہ عزوجل: «و یؤثرون علی أنفسہم …» : ۳۷۹۸۔ مسلم : ۲۰۵۴ ] In Sahih Muslim, the name of this Ansari is also mentioned: he was Abu Talhah (may Allah be pleased with him).

➎ {وَ مَنْ يُّوْقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهٖ … : ’’ يُوْقَ ‘‘ ’’وَقٰي يَقِيْ وِقَايَةً‘‘} (to save) is a passive imperfect verb, originally {’’يُوْقٰي‘‘}, the alif dropped due to the jussive of {’’ مَنْ ‘‘}. Raghib said: {’’اَلشُّحُّ بُخْلٌ مَعَ حِرْصٍٍٍ وَذٰلِكَ فِيْمَا كَانَتْ عَادَةً۔‘‘} “Shuhh is miserliness accompanied by greed, and that is when it is a person's habit.” That is, “shuhh” is not that a person is miserly or greedy at times, but that both are his habit. Some scholars said that “shuhh” is to be miserly with what one has and greedy for what one does not have. {’’ وَ مَنْ يُّوْقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهٖ ‘‘} shows that this habit is found in every human, only those are saved whom Allah saves, and those who are saved from this evil trait are the successful ones. The verse emphasizes the virtue of avoiding “shuhh,” and whoever strives, Allah saves him, as He said: «وَالَّذِیْنَ جَاھَدُوْْا فِیْنَا لَنَھْدِیَنَّھُمْ سُبُلَنَا وَاِنَّ اللہ لَمَعَ الْمُحْسِنِیْنَ» [ العنکبوت : ۶۹ ] “And those who strive for Us, We will surely guide them to Our ways, and indeed Allah is with the doers of good.” Abu Sa‘id al-Khudri (may Allah be pleased with him) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ وَمَنْ يَّسْتَعْفِفْ يُعِفَّهُ اللّٰهُ، وَمَنْ يَّسْتَغْنِ يُغْنِهِ اللّٰهُ، وَمَنْ يَّتَصَبَّرْ يُصَبِّرْهُ اللّٰهُ، وَمَا أُعْطِيَ أَحَدٌ عَطَاءً خَيْرًا وَ أَوْ سَعَ مِنَ الصَّبْرِ ] [بخاري، الزکاۃ، باب الاستعفاف عن المسئلۃ : ۱۴۶۹ ] “Whoever refrains (from asking), Allah will make him refrain; whoever seeks self-sufficiency, Allah will make him self-sufficient; and whoever strives for patience, Allah will grant him patience. And no one is given a gift better and more comprehensive than patience.” And Jabir bin ‘Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ اِتَّقُوا الظُّلْمَ فَإِنَّ الظُّلْمَ ظُلُمَاتٌ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَاتَّقُوا الشُّحَّ فَإِنَّ الشُّحَّ أَهْلَكَ مَنْ كَانَ قَبْلَكُمْ، حَمَلَهُمْ عَلٰی أَنْ سَفَكُوْا دِمَاءَهُمْ وَاسْتَحَلُّوْا مَحَارِمَهُمْ ] [مسلم، البروالصلۃ، باب تحریم الظلم : ۲۵۷۸ ] “Beware of oppression, for oppression will be darknesses on the Day of Resurrection, and {’’شُحَّ‘‘} (miserliness and greed), for shuhh destroyed those before you. It led them to shed their blood and make lawful what was forbidden to them.”

➏ In this verse, the qualities described for the Ansar do not mean that they are exclusive to them, but they were also present in the emigrants to the highest degree. Their migration itself encompasses all these qualities, because it is not possible for a person to migrate for Allah, His Messenger, and the believers, and to prefer them over his own life and wealth, without love for them. Then, on every occasion, the emigrants, like the Ansar, sacrificed their wealth and lives in the way of Allah, as is well known. At the time of the Battle of Tabuk, Abu Bakr al-Siddiq (may Allah be pleased with him) brought all that was in his house, and ‘Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) brought half his belongings. These are the highest examples of being safe from shuhh and of selflessness. Similarly, the qualities mentioned in the first verse for the emigrants are not exclusive to them, but were also present in the Ansar. The proof is that Allah mentioned both together and declared them friends and true believers of one another. Thus He said: «اِنَّ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ هَاجَرُوْا وَ جٰهَدُوْا بِاَمْوَالِهِمْ وَ اَنْفُسِهِمْ فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ وَ الَّذِيْنَ اٰوَوْا وَّ نَصَرُوْۤا اُولٰٓىِٕكَ بَعْضُهُمْ اَوْلِيَآءُ بَعْضٍ » [ الأنفال : ۷۲ ] “Indeed, those who believed and emigrated and strove with their wealth and their lives in the way of Allah, and those who gave shelter and helped, they are friends of one another.” And after that He said: «وَ الَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ هَاجَرُوْا وَ جٰهَدُوْا فِيْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ وَ الَّذِيْنَ اٰوَوْا وَّ نَصَرُوْۤا اُولٰٓىِٕكَ هُمُ الْمُؤْمِنُوْنَ حَقًّا » [ الأنفال : ۷۴ ] “And those who believed and emigrated and strove in the way of Allah, and those who gave shelter and helped, they are the true believers.” In short, neither the emigrants nor the Ansar are less in virtue, but the emigrants have a kind of superiority over the Ansar due to their migration, so in these verses they are mentioned first. The Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him), addressing the Ansar at the distribution of the spoils of Hunayn, said: [ أَتَرْضَوْنَ أَنْ يَّذْهَبَ النَّاسُ بِالشَّاةِ وَالْبَعِيْرِ، وَتَذْهَبُوْنَ بِالنَّبِيِّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ إِلٰی رِحَالِكُمْ؟ لَوْلاَ الْهِجْرَةُ لَكُنْتُ امْرَأً مِنَ الْأَنْصَارِ، وَلَوْ سَلَكَ النَّاسُ وَادِيًا وَشِعْبًا لَسَلَكْتُ وَادِيَ الْأَنْصَارِ وَشِعْبَهَا، الْأَنْصَارُ شِعَارٌ وَالنَّاسُ دِثَارٌ ] [بخاري، المغازي، باب غزوۃ الطائف في شوال سنۃ ثمان : ۴۳۳۰ ] “Do you not like that people return with sheep and camels, and you return with the Prophet (peace be upon him) to your homes? If there had been no migration, I would have been one of the Ansar, and if people walked in a valley or a mountain pass, I would walk in the valley and mountain pass of the Ansar. The Ansar are the inner garment (close to the body), and other people are the outer garment.”

9. 1. By this, the Ansar of Madinah are meant, who were settled in Madinah before the arrival of the Muhajirin, and even before the Muhajirin migrated, faith had already taken root in their hearts. This does not mean that the Ansar had believed before the Muhajirin, because the majority of them embraced faith after the Muhajirin. That is, the meaning of من قبلھم is من قبل ھجرتھم, and by دار is meant دار الھجرۃ, i.e., Madinah.

9. 2. That is, they do not feel envy regarding whatever Allah’s Messenger ﷺ gives to the Muhajirin, just as the Muhajirin were declared the foremost deserving of the Fay’. But the Ansar did not take it badly.

9. 3. That is, they prefer the needs of the Muhajirin over their own; they themselves remain hungry but feed the Muhajirin. As in a hadith, an incident is mentioned that a guest came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, but there was nothing in his ﷺ house. So, an Ansari took him to his home. When he went home and told his wife, she said that there is only food for the children. They consulted each other and decided to put the children to bed hungry that night, and they themselves would also sleep without eating, but when feeding the guest, they would extinguish the lamp so that he would not know that they were not eating with him. In the morning, when that companion presented himself before the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, he ﷺ said to him that Allah Almighty has revealed these verses about you both: ویوثرون علی انفسھم۔ الایۃ (Sahih Bukhari). Another remarkable example of their selflessness is that an Ansari had two wives, so he offered to divorce one so that after her waiting period, his Muhajir brother could marry her. (Sahih Bukhari, Kitab al-Nikah).

9. 4. It is mentioned in a hadith: “Beware of greed, for this greed of the soul destroyed those before you; it incited them to bloodshed and made them treat the unlawful as lawful.” (Sahih Muslim)

And (it is also) for those who settled in the city (of Madinah) and had adopted faith before them. They love those who emigrated to them, and find no desire in their hearts for what is given to them (the emigrants) [11], but give them preference over themselves, even though they themselves are in need. And whoever is saved from the greed [12] of his soul, it is they who are the successful.

[11]
The Ansar’s Selflessness for the Muhajirin and Their Share in Fay’:

In this verse, Allah Almighty has described the great virtue of those who, before the Muslims migrated to Madinah, had already believed due to the pledge of Aqabah, and who embraced the emigrant Muslims as soon as they arrived. And in the matter of settling the Muhajirin, they set such an example that the entire history of the world is unable to present anything like it. These earliest Ansar included the Muhajirin in their properties, homes, and orchards. Thus, Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ narrates that at that time the Ansar of Madinah said to the Prophet ﷺ: “Please divide the date-palm trees between us and our Muhajir brothers.” The Prophet ﷺ replied: “That cannot be (the property will remain yours).” Then the Ansar said to the Muhajirin: “Alright, do this: you take care of the trees, and we will share the produce with you.” The Muhajirin said: “Very good! We have heard and we accept.” [بخاری۔ کتاب الشروط۔ باب الشروط فی المعاملۃ]

The next level of selflessness was that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that the Muhajirin do not know farming. So the Ansar also helped their Muhajir brothers in this matter, and accepted to give them half the produce. And now, when it was time to distribute the wealth of Banu Nadir as fay’, the Ansar themselves said: “Distribute this wealth among the Muhajirin, and let our previous orchards remain with us (i.e., now the Muhajirin will not share in them). In fact, if you ﷺ deem it appropriate, we are ready to give from them as well.” This was the selflessness due to which their rank became very high, and Allah especially praised these Ansar. Allah Almighty declared as a right that such selfless Ansar should also be given special consideration in the wealth of fay’, but they, out of selflessness, relinquished their right in favor of their Muhajir brothers. The place this selflessness earned in the hearts of the Muhajirin is clear from the following hadith: Sayyiduna Umar ؓ (at the time of his death) advised: “Whoever becomes the caliph after me should recognize the right of the Muhajirin and also the right of the Ansar, who, before the migration of the Noble Prophet ﷺ, had settled in Madinah and upheld faith. The caliph must value those among them who are good, and overlook the faults of those who are bad.” [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]

And the happiness the Ansar felt at the arrival of the Muhajirin is evident from the following hadith:

The Happiness of the Ansar at the Arrival of the Muhajirin:

Sayyiduna Bara’ bin Azib ؓ says that (in Madinah) the first among the companions of the Prophet ﷺ to come to us were Mus‘ab bin ‘Umair ؓ and Abdullah bin Umm Maktum. Both of them taught us the Quran. Then ‘Ammar bin Yasir ؓ, Bilal ؓ, and Sa‘d bin Abi Waqqas ؓ came. Then Sayyiduna Umar ؓ came, bringing twenty men with him. After them, you ﷺ arrived. The people of Madinah had never been as happy as they were at your ﷺ arrival. Even the boys and girls were saying: “Look! The Messenger of Allah ﷺ has arrived!” I had already memorized Surah Al-A‘la and several other surahs like it before your arrival. [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير۔ سورة الاعليٰ]

During those days, an individual incident also occurred in which an Ansari demonstrated remarkable selflessness. The hadith scholars have also included this incident in the commentary of this verse. And the hadith is as follows:

A Unique Story of the Ansar’s Selflessness:

Sayyiduna Abu Hurairah ؓ says that a man (Abu Hurairah) came to the Prophet ﷺ and said: “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! I am very hungry.” The Prophet ﷺ inquired among his wives, but nothing was found there. Then the Prophet ﷺ said to the companions: “Is there anyone who will host this man tonight? May Allah have mercy on him.” An Ansari (Abu Talhah) said: “O Messenger of Allah ﷺ! I will host him.” And he took this man (Abu Hurairah) to his home and said to his wife (Umm Sulaym): “This man is a guest sent by the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, so feed him whatever is available.” She said: “By Allah, I have only enough food for the children.” Abu Talhah said: “Alright, do this: when the children ask for food, put them to sleep. And when we (I and the guest) sit to eat, extinguish the lamp. In this way, we both will not eat anything tonight (and the guest will eat).” So Umm Sulaym did just that. In the morning, when Abu Talhah came to the Prophet ﷺ, the Prophet ﷺ said: “Allah Almighty was very pleased with such-and-such man (Abu Talhah) and such-and-such woman (Umm Sulaym), and He laughed.” At that time, Allah Almighty revealed this verse: ﴿وَيُؤْثِرُوْنَ عَلٰٓي اَنْفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌ﴾ [بخاري۔ كتاب التفسير]

[12]
The Lexical Meaning of ﴿شُحَّ﴾:

In ﴿شُحَّ﴾, there are two aspects: one is being greedy in accumulating wealth, and the other is being extremely stingy in spending wealth. And the person in whom both these vices are combined is called shaheeh and shahaah. Now, such a person can develop qualities like narrow-mindedness, lack of tolerance, hard-heartedness, and lack of compassion, etc., and everyone can estimate their effects. Although love of wealth is part of human nature, to become blindly obsessed with wealth and a worshipper of it is an extremely vile trait, from which only Allah can save. Islam, to cure this bad trait, shows the way of spending in the path of Allah, charity, and selflessness, through which generosity, broad-mindedness, sympathy, compassion, and brotherhood are fostered. Thus, being saved from ﴿شح﴾ is a great success and becomes a means of entering Paradise.