سُوْرَةُ الْمُجَادَلَةِ
Surah Al-Mujaadila (58) — Ayah 12
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ إِذَا نَـٰجَيْتُمُ ٱلرَّسُولَ فَقَدِّمُوا۟ بَيْنَ يَدَىْ نَجْوَىٰكُمْ صَدَقَةً ۚ ذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ وَأَطْهَرُ ۚ فَإِن لَّمْ تَجِدُوا۟ فَإِنَّ ٱللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ ﴿12﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
O you who believe! When you (want to) consult the Messenger (Muhammad صلى الله عليه وسلم) in private, spend something in charity before your private consultation. That will be better and purer for you. But if you find not (the means for it), then verily, Allâh is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا
yāayyuhā
O you who believe
ٱلَّذِينَ
alladhīna
O you who believe
ءَامَنُوٓا۟
āmanū
O you who believe
إِذَا
idhā
When
نَـٰجَيْتُمُ
nājaytumu
you privately consult
ٱلرَّسُولَ
l-rasūla
the Messenger
فَقَدِّمُوا۟
faqaddimū
then offer
بَيْنَ
bayna
before
يَدَىْ
yaday
before
نَجْوَىٰكُمْ
najwākum
your private consultation
صَدَقَةًۭ ۚ
ṣadaqatan
charity
ذَٰلِكَ
dhālika
That
خَيْرٌۭ
khayrun
(is) better
لَّكُمْ
lakum
for you
وَأَطْهَرُ ۚ
wa-aṭharu
and purer
فَإِن
fa-in
But if
لَّمْ
lam
not
تَجِدُوا۟
tajidū
you find
فَإِنَّ
fa-inna
then indeed
ٱللَّهَ
l-laha
Allah
غَفُورٌۭ
ghafūrun
(is) Oft-Forgiving
رَّحِيمٌ
raḥīmun
Most Merciful
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.
12. O you who believe! When you wish to converse privately with the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, then offer charity (to the needy) before your private conversation. That is better and purer [16] for you. But if you do not find anything to give, then surely Allah is Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.
[16]
The Temporary Requirement of Giving Charity Before Private Consultation with You and Its Benefits:
Some hypocrites had the habit of starting private conversations with you merely to highlight their own personalities and to boast, wasting so much of your time in useless talk that others were deprived of the opportunity to benefit from you ﷺ. Or, at times when you desired privacy, you would not get such an opportunity. Then, seeing the hypocrites, some Muslims also began to do the same, and you would be ready to listen to everyone and, due to kindness and good manners, would not refuse anyone. This resulted in various kinds of harm. Therefore, Allah Himself placed a restriction on such freedom and said that whoever wishes to have a private conversation with you must first give some charity. Only then would he be permitted to have a private conversation, and there were many benefits in this command. For example: serving the needy, purification of the soul of the one giving charity, preventing anyone from harboring ill thoughts, distinguishing between the sincere and the hypocrite, and reducing the number of those seeking private conversation, etc. The only exception in this command was that if someone was truly extremely poor and genuinely needed to have a private conversation, he could do so without giving charity. Due to their inherent miserliness, the hypocrites abandoned this habit, and the Muslims also understood that excessive private conversation is not liked by Allah and what harms it can cause.
[16]
The Temporary Requirement of Giving Charity Before Private Consultation with You and Its Benefits:
Some hypocrites had the habit of starting private conversations with you merely to highlight their own personalities and to boast, wasting so much of your time in useless talk that others were deprived of the opportunity to benefit from you ﷺ. Or, at times when you desired privacy, you would not get such an opportunity. Then, seeing the hypocrites, some Muslims also began to do the same, and you would be ready to listen to everyone and, due to kindness and good manners, would not refuse anyone. This resulted in various kinds of harm. Therefore, Allah Himself placed a restriction on such freedom and said that whoever wishes to have a private conversation with you must first give some charity. Only then would he be permitted to have a private conversation, and there were many benefits in this command. For example: serving the needy, purification of the soul of the one giving charity, preventing anyone from harboring ill thoughts, distinguishing between the sincere and the hypocrite, and reducing the number of those seeking private conversation, etc. The only exception in this command was that if someone was truly extremely poor and genuinely needed to have a private conversation, he could do so without giving charity. Due to their inherent miserliness, the hypocrites abandoned this habit, and the Muslims also understood that excessive private conversation is not liked by Allah and what harms it can cause.
