سُوْرَةُ النِّسَآءِ
Surah An-Nisaa (4) — Ayah 37
ٱلَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ ٱلنَّاسَ بِٱلْبُخْلِ وَيَكْتُمُونَ مَآ ءَاتَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ ۗ وَأَعْتَدْنَا لِلْكَـٰفِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًا ﴿37﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
Those who are miserly and enjoin miserliness on other men and hide what Allâh has bestowed upon them of His Bounties. And We have prepared for the disbelievers a disgraceful torment.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
Those who
يَبْخَلُونَ
yabkhalūna
are stingy
وَيَأْمُرُونَ
wayamurūna
and order
ٱلنَّاسَ
l-nāsa
the people
بِٱلْبُخْلِ
bil-bukh'li
[of] stinginess
وَيَكْتُمُونَ
wayaktumūna
and hide
مَآ
mā
what
ءَاتَىٰهُمُ
ātāhumu
(has) given them
ٱللَّهُ
l-lahu
Allah
مِن
min
of
فَضْلِهِۦ ۗ
faḍlihi
His Bounty
وَأَعْتَدْنَا
wa-aʿtadnā
and We (have) prepared
لِلْكَـٰفِرِينَ
lil'kāfirīna
for the disbelievers
عَذَابًۭا
ʿadhāban
a punishment
مُّهِينًۭا
muhīnan
humiliating
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
37. Those who are stingy and encourage others to be stingy, and conceal what Allah has given them out of His bounty [70]—We have prepared a humiliating punishment for such deniers of blessings.
[70] One of the characteristics of such boasters is that they conceal whatever Allah has granted them out of His bounty. This divine gift may refer to knowledge or to wealth. Although this verse was revealed concerning the Jews, who used to try to conceal every verse that went against their self-made law or their religion, and because of usury and unlawful consumption, miserliness had penetrated every fiber of their being, nevertheless, the ruling of this verse is general and applies to Muslims as well. Among Muslims, every sect tries to hide from its followers any verse or hadith that goes against its school of thought or creed, except those whom Allah wills.
The Condemnation of Miserliness:
Among Muslims too, there are such people whom Allah has granted abundant wealth and riches. But they neither spend according to their means on themselves, nor on their families, nor do they spend in the way of Allah as commanded, nor do they help their relatives. And they live a life of poverty and hardship, falling below their means. This extreme miserliness is, in fact, ingratitude for Allah’s blessings. Thus, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that when Allah bestows a blessing upon a servant, He likes that the effect of that blessing be visible on the servant. That is, in his way of living, clothing, food, charity, and in everything, the blessing given by Allah should be apparent. That is why both these types of miserliness have been described as ingratitude or disbelief, and it has been stated that they will have a humiliating punishment. The disease of concealing Allah’s bestowed blessings and wealth from others is so widespread that no one tells another about all his sources of income or his earnings. And it remains a secret what someone actually possesses. In the present age, banks also fully assist their account holders in this matter of concealment. The amounts of money people deposit with them are kept confidential by the banks as their responsibility. No one can find out another person’s bank balance, nor do the bank officials disclose it. Except if the account holder himself gives someone written permission to find out the bank balance.
[70] One of the characteristics of such boasters is that they conceal whatever Allah has granted them out of His bounty. This divine gift may refer to knowledge or to wealth. Although this verse was revealed concerning the Jews, who used to try to conceal every verse that went against their self-made law or their religion, and because of usury and unlawful consumption, miserliness had penetrated every fiber of their being, nevertheless, the ruling of this verse is general and applies to Muslims as well. Among Muslims, every sect tries to hide from its followers any verse or hadith that goes against its school of thought or creed, except those whom Allah wills.
The Condemnation of Miserliness:
Among Muslims too, there are such people whom Allah has granted abundant wealth and riches. But they neither spend according to their means on themselves, nor on their families, nor do they spend in the way of Allah as commanded, nor do they help their relatives. And they live a life of poverty and hardship, falling below their means. This extreme miserliness is, in fact, ingratitude for Allah’s blessings. Thus, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said that when Allah bestows a blessing upon a servant, He likes that the effect of that blessing be visible on the servant. That is, in his way of living, clothing, food, charity, and in everything, the blessing given by Allah should be apparent. That is why both these types of miserliness have been described as ingratitude or disbelief, and it has been stated that they will have a humiliating punishment. The disease of concealing Allah’s bestowed blessings and wealth from others is so widespread that no one tells another about all his sources of income or his earnings. And it remains a secret what someone actually possesses. In the present age, banks also fully assist their account holders in this matter of concealment. The amounts of money people deposit with them are kept confidential by the banks as their responsibility. No one can find out another person’s bank balance, nor do the bank officials disclose it. Except if the account holder himself gives someone written permission to find out the bank balance.
