9:58 At-Tawba (The Repentance)

أي‏:‏ ومن هؤلاء المنافقين من يعيبك في قسمة الصدقات، وينتقد عليك فيها، وليس انتقادهم فيها وعيبهم لقصد صحيح، ولا لرأي رجيح، وإنما مقصودهم أن يعطوا منها‏.‏ ‏{‏فَإِنْ أُعْطُوا مِنْهَا رَضُوا وَإِنْ لَمْ يُعْطَوْا مِنْهَا إِذَا هُمْ يَسْخَطُونَ‏}‏ وهذه حالة لا تنبغي للعبد أن يكون رضاه وغضبه، تابعا لهوى نفسه الدنيوي وغرضه الفاسد، بل الذي ينبغي أن يكون هواه تبعا لمرضاة ربه، كما قال النبي ـ صلى الله عليه وسلم ـ ‏:‏ ‏(‏لا يؤمن أحدكم حتى يكون هواه تبعا لما جئت به‏)

يقول تعالى " ومنهم " أي ومن المنافقين " من يلمزك " أي يعيب عليك " في " قسم " الصدقات " إذا فرقتها ويتهمك في ذلك وهم المتهمون المأبونون وهم مع هذا لا ينكرون للدين وإنما ينكرون لحظ أنفسهم ولهذا " إن أعطوا " من الزكاة " رضوا وإن لم يعطوا منها إذا هم يسخرون " أي يغضبون لأنفسهم. قال ابن جريج: أخبرني داود بن أبي عاصم قال: أتي النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم بصدقة فقسمها ههنا وههنا حتى ذهبت قال ووراءه رجل من الأنصار فقال ما هذا بالعدل فنزلت هذه الآية وقال قتادة في قوله " ومنهم من يلمزك في الصدقات " يقول ومنهم من يطعن عليك في الصدقات وذكر لنا أن رجلا من أهل البادية حديث عهد بأعرابية أتى النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وهو يقسم ذهبا وفضة فقال يا محمد والله لئن كان الله أمرك أن تعدل ما عدلت فقال نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم " ويلك فمن ذا الذي يعدل عليك بعدي؟"ثم قال نبي الله احذروا هذا وأشباهه فإن في أمتي أشباه هذا يقرءون القرآن لا يجاوز تراقيهم فإذا خرجوا فاقتلوهم ثم إذا خرجوا فاقتلوهم ثم إذا خرجوا فاقتلوهم وذكر لنا أن نبي الله صلى الله عليه وسلم كان يقول والذي نفسي بيده ما أعطيكم شيئا ولا أمنعكموه إنما أنا خازن وهذا الذي ذكره قتادة يشبه ما رواه الشيخان من حديث الزهري عن أبي سلمة عن أبي سعيد في قصة ذي الخويصرة واسمه حرقوص لما اعترض على النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم حين قسم غنائم حنين فقال له اعدل فإنك لم تعدل فقال لقد خبت وخسرت إن لم أكن أعدل ثم قال رسول الله صلى الله عليه وإله وسلم وقد رآه مقفيا إنه يخرج من ضئضئي هذا قوم يحقر أحدكم صلاته مع صلاتهم وصيامه مع صيامهم يمرقون من الدين مروق السهم من الرمية فأينما لقيتموهم فاقتلوهم فإنهم شر قتلى تحت أديم السماء وذكر بقية الحديث ثم قال تعالى منبها لهم على ما هو خير لهم من ذلك.

Hypocrites question the Integrity of the Messenger when distributing Alms

Allah said next,

وَمِنْهُمُ

(And of them), among the hypocrites,

مَّن يَلْمِزُكَ

(who accuse you) or question your integrity,

فِى

(concerning), division of,

الصَّدَقَـتِ

(the alms), when you divide them. They question your fairness, even though it is they who deserve that their integrity be questioned. The hypocrites do not do this in defense of the religion, but to gain more for themselves. This is why,

أُعْطُواْ مِنْهَا

(If they are given) meaning, from the Zakah,

رَضُواْ وَإِن لَّمْ يُعْطَوْاْ مِنهَا إِذَا هُمْ يَسْخَطُونَ

(They are pleased, but if they are not given thereof, behold! They are enraged!) 9:58, angry for themselves. Qatadah commented on Allah's statement,

وَمِنْهُمْ مَّن يَلْمِزُكَ فِي الصَّدَقَـتِ

(And of them are some who accuse you concerning the alms. ) "Allah says, `Some of them question your integrity in the matter of distribution of the alms.' We were told that a bedouin man, who had recently embraced Islam, came to the Prophet , when he was dividing some gold and silver, and said to him, `O Muhammad! Even though Allah commanded you to divide in fairness, you have not done so.' The Prophet of Allah said,

«وَيْلَكَ فَمَنْ ذَا الَّذِي يَعْدِلُ عَلَيْكَ بَعْدِي؟»

(Woe to you! Who would be fair to you after me then) The Prophet of Allah said next,

«احْذَرُوا هَذَا وَأَشْبَاهَهُ فَإِنَّ فِي أُمَّتِي أَشْبَاهُ هَذَا يَقْرَءُونَ الْقُرآنَ لَا يُجَاوِزُ تَرَاقِيهِمْ فَإِذَا خَرَجُوا فَاْقْتُلُوهُمْ، ثُمَّ إِذَا خَرَجُوا فَاقْتُلُوهُمْ، ثُمَّ إِذَا خَرَجُوا فَاقْتُلُوهُم»

(Beware of this man and his likes! There are similar persons in my Ummah who recite the Qur'an, but the Qur'an will not go beyond their throat. If they rise (against Muslims rulers) then kill them, if they rise, kill them, then if they rise kill them.) We were also told that the Prophet of Allah used to say,

«وَالَّذِي نَفْسِي بِيَدِهِ مَا أُعْطِيكُمْ شَيْئًا وَلَا أَمْنَعُكُمُوهُ إِنَّمَا أَنَا خَازِن»

(By He in Whose Hand is my life! I do not give or withhold anything; I am only a keeper.)" This statement from Qatadah is similar to the Hadith that the Two Shaykhs narrated from Abu Sa`id about the story of Dhul-Khuwaysirah, whose name was Hurqus. Hurqus protested against the Prophet's division of the war spoils of Hunayn, saying, "Be fair, for you have not been fair!" The Prophet said,

«لَقَدْ خِبْتُ وَخَسِرْتُ إِنْ لَمْ أَكُنْ أَعْدِل»

(I would have become a loser and a failure if I was not fair!) The Messenger ﷺ said after that man left,

«إِنَّهُ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ ضِئْضِىءِ هَذَا قَوْمٌ يَحْقِرُ أَحَدُكُمْ صَلَاتَهُ مَعَ صَلَاتِهِمْ وَصِيَامَهُ مَعَ صِيَامِهِمْ، يَمْرُقُونَ مِنَ الدِّينِ مُرُوقَ السَّهْمِ مِنَ الرَّمِيَّةِ، فَأَيْنَمَا لَقِيتُمُوهُمْ فَاقْتُلُوهُمْ؛ فَإِنَّهْم شَرُّ قَتْلَى تَحْتَ أَدِيمِ السَّمَاء»

(Among the offspring of this man will be some with whose prayer, when one of you sees it, would belittle his prayer, and his fast as compared to their fast. They will be renegades from the religion, just like an arrow goes through the game's body. Wherever you find them, kill them, for verily, they are the worst dead people under the cover of the sky.) Allah said next, while directing such people to what is more beneficial for them than their behavior,

وَلَوْ أَنَّهُمْ رَضُوْاْ مَآ ءَاتَـهُمُ اللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُ وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ سَيُؤْتِينَا اللَّهُ مِن فَضْلِهِ وَرَسُولُهُ إِنَّآ إِلَى اللَّهِ رَغِبُونَ

(Would that they were content with what Allah and His Messenger gave them and had said: "Allah is sufficient for us. Allah will give us of His bounty, and so will His Messenger (from alms). We implore Allah (to enrich us).") This honorable Ayah contains a gracious type of conduct and an honorable secret. Allah listed; contentment with what He and His Messenger give, trusting in Allah alone -- by saying;

وَقَالُواْ حَسْبُنَا اللَّهُ

(and they had said: Allah is sufficient for us), and hoping in Allah alone, and He made these the indications of obedience to the Messenger ﷺ, adhering to his commands, avoiding his prohibitions, believing his narrations and following his footsteps.

Some of them defame you concerning the apportioning of voluntary almsgivings; if they are given a share of them they are content but if they are given none then they are enraged.

Commentary

Mentioned in the previous verses were bad morals and bad deeds of the hypocrites. The same subject continues in the verses quoted above. As for the statement in verse 55 -- where it has been declared that the wealth and children of hypocrites should not be taken as a blessing for them as these are, in fact, a form of punishment from Allah -- it has a reason. Is it not that love for and engrossment in worldly life becomes a punishment right here in this world? One starts with desires to acquire worldly wealth, then goes through a series of hard work to establish the necessary channels, day in and day out, sacrificing sleep, comfort and family life. After that, if one succeeds, come the concerns of increasing and retaining it - a round the clock punishment indeed. A serious loss or sickness could become unwelcome cans of worries, and if one happens to get everything one wants, the vicious circle continues either through apprehensions of decreasing wealth or cravings of increasing it further. There is just no respite anytime.

Finally, these things go out of one's hands. This may happen at the time of death, or much earlier. Whenever it does, despair takes over. What is this, if not punishment? Man surrounds himself with articles of comfort and calls it comfort. Real comfort, the peace and comfort of the heart is something man has yet to find. But, in the meantime, man has to rely on material means and things for satisfaction, not realizing that these agents will keep snatching away his share of peace in this world and will also become the prelude to the punishment in the world to come.

Can Sadaqah be given to a disbeliever?

The last two verses show that the hypocrites used to receive a share from properties available as Sadaqat (plural of Sadaqah, meaning a donation through which one seeks reward with Allah Ta` ala, usually referred to as alms or charity). But, when they did not get these as they wished, they became angry and started accusing and cursing. If, at this place, Sadaqat are taken in their general sense - which includes all Sadaqat, necessary (wajib) and voluntary (nafl) - then, there is no problem, because non-Muslims can be given out of the voluntary Sadaqat. This is permissible on the basis of the consensus of Muslim Ummah and stands proved from Sunnah. However, even if Sadaqat at this place mean what is obligatory, like Zakah and ` Ushr, then, we should remember that the hypocrites were given a share from it on the basis that they claimed to be Muslims. Since they claimed to believe in all the necessary articles of faith and their kufr was hidden in their hearts, with no conclusive proof in their apparent claims they were treated as Muslims to the extent of this worldly life and Allah Ta` ala had, in His wisdom, given the orders that the hypocrites should be treated as Muslims. (Bayan a1-Qur'an)

Signs of Hypocrites and Warning for Muslims

In verse 54, two signs of hypocrites have been given: (1) they come to the Sa ل ah lazily and listlessly, and (2) that they spend in the way of Allah unwillingly.

Muslims have been warned here that sloth in Salah and being sour at heart while spending in the way of Allah, that is, Zakah and Sadaqah, are signs of nifaq (hypocrisy). All Muslims should make conscious effort to stay safe from these signs.

(And of them is he who defameth thee in the matter of the alms�) [9:58]. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tha�labi informed us> �Abd Allah ibn Hamid> Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn al-Hasan al-Hafiz> Muhammad ibn Yahya> �Abd al-Razzaq> Ma�mar> al-Zuhri> Abu Salamah ibn �Abd al-Rahman> Abu Sa�id al-Khudri who said: �While the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, was dividing alms, Ibn Dhu Khuwaysirah al-Tamimi (Hurqus ibn Zuhayr, the origin of the Kharijites) came to him and said: �Be fair with us, O Messenger of Allah!� The Prophet replied to him: �Woe unto you, who is going to be fair if I am not?� And then the verse (And of them is he who defameth thee in the matter of the alms�) was revealed�. This was narrated by Bukhari from �Abd Allah ibn Muhammad from Hisham from Ma�mar. Al-Kalbi said: �This was revealed about those whose hearts are to be reconciled, i.e. the hypocrites. One of them, whose name is al-Jawaz, said to the Prophet, Allah bless him and give him peace: �You did not divide [the alms] fairly!� And so Allah, exalted is He, revealed (And of them is he who defameth thee in the matter of the alms)�.