Surah Ar-Rum 30:28-40 - Quran Translation Commentary

(30:28) He strikes for you an example from yourselves: ³⁵ Do you have among those your right hands own, partners in what We have provided you, so that you are equal in it, fearing for them as your fear for yourselves? ³⁶ That is how We explain the signs for a people who think.³⁷

(30:29) Nay, but the transgressors followed their own caprices, without knowledge. Then who shall guide those whom Allah led into error? And they shall not have any helpers.³⁸

(30:30) So set your face steadfastly to the religion, upright – Allah’s original, upon which He originated mankind.³⁹ There is no changing Allah’s creation.⁴⁰ That is the Straight Religion, ⁴¹ but most of the people know not.⁴²

(30:31) Turning in repentance to Him, fear Him (alone). Perform the Prayer (in good spirit), and be not of the idolaters.

(30:32) Of those who split their religion and are sects: every group rejoicing in what they have.⁴³

(30:33) And when an affliction touches the people, they call upon their Lord turning to Him in repentance. But when He gives them the taste of mercy from Him, lo, a party of them assigns associates to their Lord.⁴⁴

(30:34) So as to be ungrateful for what We have given them. So enjoy a little, soon shall you know.

(30:35) Or, have We sent down an authority⁴⁵ upon them which speaks of what they are associating with Him?

(30:36) And, when We give the people a taste of mercy, they rejoice in it; but if an adversity touches them, as an outcome of what their own hands have forwarded, behold, they despair.⁴⁶

(30:37) Have they not noticed that Allah extends the provision to whomsoever He will, or restricts. Surely, in that are signs for a people who would believe.⁴⁷

(30:38) Give therefore the kin his right, ⁴⁸ as well as to the needy and the wayfarer.⁴⁹ That is better for those who seek Allah’s Countenance; and such indeed are the prosperers.

(30:39) And what you give out in usury⁵⁰ that it may grow upon people’s wealth, does not grow with Allah.⁵¹ But rather, that which you give out as charity by which you seek Allah’s Countenance, such indeed, they are the augmenters.⁵²

(30:40) Allah it is who created you and nourishes you.⁵³ Then He will deal you death, and thereafter bring you back to life. Is there any of your associates (in Divinity) who does aught of that? Glory to Him, high above that they associate (with Him).

Commentary

35. This is a parable of the idolaters and those who associate partners with Allah. He asks them whether they consider their slaves on equal footing with themselves? Are they equally concerned of them? Do they fear that they might share their wealth after them? In the like manner, Allah (swt) has no partners with a share in His creation (Ibn Kathir).

36. One opinion is that it means, “You fear that they might inherit your wealth as one of you inherits others.” Another and more sound opinion is that “You fear that these people (the slaves) might split up your wealth between themselves, as some of you do with others when those others are not circumspect.” This was the opinion of Abu Mijlaz (Tabari).

In any case, adds Razi, is there any comparison between the relationship between you and your slaves on the one hand, and, on the other, between yourselves and your Lord? The ownership of the slaves you have is transferable, while your slavery to Allah is intransferable. Your slaves share all human and spiritual qualities with you, while you share no quality with your Lord. Finally, the slaves you own are but Allah’s bestowal on you. How can you then, if you do not like to be equal to your slaves (despite so many similarities), approve of partners for Allah in His Divinity?

37. Yusuf Ali expounds the theme of the verse: “Allah is far higher above His Creation than any, the highest, of His creatures can be above any, the lowest, of His creatures. And yet would a man share his wealth on equal terms with his dependants? Even what he calls his wealth is not really his own, but given by Allah. It is “his” in common speech by reason merely of certain accidental circumstances. How then can men raise Allah’s creatures to equality with Allah in worship?‏”

38. When the unbelievers abandoned Allah, by associating partners with Him, He too abandoned them, and, in consequence, they shall not find any helpers (Razi).

39. Fitrah, rooted in fatarah has several meanings. One is to split. Another is to create, but, more specifically, to originate. Ibn `Abbas said that he did not know this meaning until he heard a Bedouin claiming watering rights to a well say,

أنا فَطَرْتـُها

“I originated it.”

Fitrah then is the original, uncorrupted state, or, “a frame of mind that has belief in God laid deep down at its sub-conscious level” (Au.).

Ibn Zayd and Mujahid have said that the allusion by the words “Allah’s original” (Fitrata Allah) is to Islam (the religion of submission) – a faith planted into every individual, to which Allah alluded in (7: 172),

وَإِذْ أَخَذَ رَبُّكَ مِن بَنِي آدَمَ مِن ظُهُورِهِمْ ذُرِّيَّتَهُمْ وَأَشْهَدَهُمْ عَلَى أَنفُسِهِمْ أَلَسْتَ بِرَبِّكُمْ قَالُواْ بَلَى شَهِدْنَا - الأعراف _ 172)

“And when Your Lord took from the loins of Adam’s children their offspring and made them testify concerning themselves, ‘Am I not your Lord?’ They replied, ‘Yes. We do testify’…” (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Kathir). Accordingly, points out Razi, “If you ask them, who created the heavens and the earth, they will surely say, “Allah.” But this instinctual belief (fitri) is not sufficient to win salvation.

However, points out Qurtubi, another possible meaning of “fatara” is creation. Several Qur’anic usages can be cited as examples.

Ibn Jarir and Ibn Kathir also report that `Umar (ra) happened to pass by Mu`adh ibn Jabal. He asked him, “What is the mainstay (qiwam) of this Ummah?” He answered, “Three; and they are the means of deliverance too: Sincerity which is the Original (fitrah) upon which Allah created the creation, Prayers, which (leads to the establishment of) the Ummah, and obedience which is the safeguarding (mechanism).” `Umar remarked, “You spoke the truth.”

40. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah, Sa`id b. Jubayr, Ibn Zayd and Ibrahim have all interpreted the textual word “khalq” as the religion of Allah (Ibn Jarir). This is how Bukhari understood it. And, on the topic of Allah’s creation created on the faith of Oneness of Allah we have several reports coming down from the Prophet. One is in Nasa’i narrated by Aswad b. Surayye`. He said,

عن الأسود بن سريع قال: أتيت النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم وغزوت معه فأصبت ظفراً وقتل الناس يومئذ حتى قتلوا الولدان - وقال مرة: الذرية - فقال رجل: يا رسول الله إنما هم أبناء المشركين؟ ثم قال: "إن خياركم أبناء المشركين". ثم قال: "ألا لا تقتلوا ذرية ألا لا تقتلوا ذرية ألا لا تقتلوا ذرية فإن كل نسمة تولد على الفطرة حتى يعرب عنها لسانها فأبواها يهودانها أو ينصرانها". رواه أحمد بأسانيد والطبراني في الكبير والأوسط كذلك إلا أنه قال: فبلغ ذلك النبي صلى الله عليه وسلم فقال "ما بال أقوام جاوز بهم القتل حتى قتلوا الذرية؟". فقال رجل،والباقي بنحوه. وبعض أسانيد أحمد ورجاله رجال الصحيح. (الهيثمي)

“Once I went to the Prophet and participated in a battle. I came out quite successful in it. Generally, the people too fought quite hard that day, killing even children. The Prophet was informed. He remarked, ‘What’s wrong with the people that they overdo in fighting to the extent that they kill even children.’ A man said, ‘Messenger of Allah, are they not progeny of the idolaters?’ He answered, ‘No. The best of you are progeny of the idolaters.’ Then he added, ‘Do not kill children. Do not kill children.’ He said further, ‘Every soul is born on fitrah until its tongue begins to express for it. Thereafter its parents Christianize it, or Judaize it.’” The Sahihayn have a report according to which the Prophet was asked about the children of the pagans, (i.e., where will they be after death?) He answered, “When Allah created them, He knew how they would act.”

Another report of Ahmad and Muslim is worth reproducing. `Iyad b. Himar al-Mujashe`i reported that Allah’s Messenger said while delivering a sermon:

أَلاَ إِنَّ رَبِّى أَمَرَنِى أَنْ أُعَلِّمَكُمْ مَا جَهِلْتُمْ مِمَّا عَلَّمَنِى يَوْمِى هَذَا كُلُّ مَالٍ نَحَلْتُهُ عَبْدًا حَلاَلٌ وَإِنِّى خَلَقْتُ عِبَادِى حُنَفَاءَ كُلَّهُمْ وَإِنَّهُمْ أَتَتْهُمُ الشَّيَاطِينُ فَاجْتَالَتْهُمْ عَنْ دِينِهِمْ وَحَرَّمَتْ عَلَيْهِمْ مَا أَحْلَلْتُ لَهُمْ وَأَمَرَتْهُمْ أَنْ يُشْرِكُوا بِى مَا لَمْ أُنْزِلْ بِهِ سُلْطَانًا وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ نَظَرَ إِلَى أَهْلِ الأَرْضِ فَمَقَتَهُمْ عَرَبَهُمْ وَعَجَمَهُمْ إِلاَّ بَقَايَا مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ وَقَالَ إِنَّمَا بَعَثْتُكَ لأَبْتَلِيَكَ وَأَبْتَلِىَ بِكَ وَأَنْزَلْتُ عَلَيْكَ كِتَابًا لاَ يَغْسِلُهُ الْمَاءُ تَقْرَؤُهُ نَائِمًا وَيَقْظَانَ وَإِنَّ اللَّهَ أَمَرَنِى أَنْ أُحَرِّقَ قُرَيْشًا فَقُلْتُ رَبِّ إِذًا يَثْلَغُوا رَأْسِى فَيَدَعُوهُ خُبْزَةً قَالَ اسْتَخْرِجْهُمْ كَمَا اسْتَخْرَجُوكَ وَاغْزُهُمْ نُغْزِكَ وَأَنْفِقْ فَسَنُنْفِقَ عَلَيْكَ وَابْعَثْ جَيْشًا نَبْعَثْ خَمْسَةً مِثْلَهُ وَقَاتِلْ بِمَنْ أَطَاعَكَ مَنْ عَصَاكَ. قَالَ وَأَهْلُ الْجَنَّةِ ثَلاَثَةٌ ذُو سُلْطَانٍ مُقْسِطٌ مُتَصَدِّقٌ مُوَفَّقٌ وَرَجُلٌ رَحِيمٌ رَقِيقُ الْقَلْبِ لِكُلِّ ذِى قُرْبَى وَمُسْلِمٍ وَعَفِيفٌ مُتَعَفِّفٌ ذُو عِيَالٍ - قَالَ - وَأَهْلُ النَّارِ خَمْسَةٌ الضَّعِيفُ الَّذِى لاَ زَبْرَ لَهُ الَّذِينَ هُمْ فِيكُمْ تَبَعًا لاَ يَتْبَعُونَ أَهْلاً وَلاَ مَالاً وَالْخَائِنُ الَّذِى لاَ يَخْفَى لَهُ طَمَعٌ وَإِنْ دَقَّ إِلاَّ خَانَهُ وَرَجُلٌ لاَ يُصْبِحُ وَلاَ يُمْسِى إِلاَّ وَهُوَ يُخَادِعُكَ عَنْ أَهْلِكَ وَمَالِكَ ». وَذَكَرَ الْبُخْلَ أَوِ الْكَذِبَ - وَالشِّنْظِيرُ الْفَحَّاشُ - صحيح مسلم

“Lo, my Lord has commanded me that I should teach you that which you are ignorant of. Out of what He taught me this day (are the following): All that I have conferred upon My slaves is lawful for them. I have created My servants as those with a natural tendency (to the true religion) but it is Satans who turn them away from the right religion and make unlawful for them that which has been declared lawful. And they command them to ascribe partnership to Me, although I have not sent down any authority for that. Verily, Allah looked at the peoples of the world and He strongly disliked them: the Arabs of them and the non-Arabs of them, except for a few remnants from the People of the Book. And He (further) said to me: ‘I have sent you in order to put you to test and put others to test through you. And I have sent a Book to you which cannot be washed away with water, that you may recite while awake or asleep.’ Verily, Allah commanded me to burn the Quraysh. I said: ‘My Lord, they will break my head (like the breaking) of bread.’ Allah replied: ‘You turn them out as they turned you out. You fight against them. We shall help you in this. And, you spend, you will be conferred upon. You send an army and I shall send an army five times greater than it. Fight against those who disobey you in the company of those who obey you.’ The Prophet also said, ‘The inmates of Paradise are (of) three (kinds): One who wields authority and is just and fair; one who is truthful and has been endowed with power to do good deeds. (A second) who is merciful and kind hearted towards his kin and (towards every) Muslim. And (a third) who does not stretch his hand in spite of having a large family to support.’ He also said, ‘The inmates of Hell are five: the weak one who lacks power to (avoid evil): the (carefree) ones who pursue (everything irrespective of the fact that it is good or evil) and who do not have any care for their family or for their wealth; the dishonest ones whose greed cannot be concealed even in minor affairs. And those who betray you morning and evening, in regard to your family and your property.’ He also made mention of the miser and the liar and those who are in the habit of abusing people and using obscene and foul language. (Muslim - Ibn Kathir.

The report of Muslim is also mentioned by Qurtubi in passing who has a somewhat detailed discussion on the topic of children born on fitrah. What exactly does it mean? Are they who are born as Muslims believers in tawhid? He prefers the opinion of a sizable number of scholars who have thought that the allusion is to belief in Allah as the Lord God of the world. He presents his own master’s opinion: Allah creates the hearts of Adam’s progeny prepared and ready to accept the truth as He creates their sensory organs ready to hear or see. So long as the hearts remain on their original creation, they accept the truth when it becomes evident. This is supported by the hadith which says, “At birth (infants are) just like the young of the animals when they emerge. Do you see any one of them severed of earlobes or mutilated?” That is, just like animals are born whole, but their masters mutilate them, human beings take birth on fitrah. It is their parents (the term “parents” has here the wider meaning of “social influence” or “environment” – Asad), who turn them Christians, Jews or Magians.

Mufti Shafi` summarizes Shah Waliyullah’s exposition in Hujjatullahi al-Baligha to the effect that Allah has placed natural instinct or disposition in all His creations. He said (20: 50):

{أَعْطَى كُلَّ شَيْءٍ خَلْقَهُ ثُمَّ هَدَى} [طه: 50]

“He gave everything its instinct and then guided (it).”

It is by this instinct that a bee knows how to collect nectar and convert into honey. In a similar manner, He places in every human He creates a natural disposition to belief in Him. This is the fitrah.”

Also see Yusuf Ali’s note below.

41. The textual “Qayyim” has been understood to mean “mustaqim” i.e., straight, correct, upright, etc. - that which has no crookedness in it” (Ibn Jarir).

42. Yusuf Ali seems to sum up the thoughts of many scholars on the topic: “As turned out from the creative hand of Allah, man is innocent, pure, true, free, inclined to right and virtue, and endowed with true understanding about his own position in the Universe and about Allah’s goodness, wisdom, and power. That is his true nature, just as the nature of a lamb is to be gentle and of a horse is to be swift. But man is caught in the meshes of customs, superstitions, selfish desires, and false teaching. This may make him pugnacious, unclean, false, slavish, hankering after what is wrong or forbidden, and deflected from the love of his fellow-men and the pure worship of the One True God. The problem before the Prophets is to cure this crookedness, and to restore human nature to what it should be under the Will of Allah.”

43. Allah (swt) describes those who committed shirk as “those who split up their religion and are sects: every group rejoicing in what they have.” For, of the mushirkin there are kinds and classes. There are those who associate the Jinn in divinity; those who associate angels; those who associate their forefathers in divinity; those who associate their kings and rulers; those others who associate priests and religious leaders in divinity; yet others who associate stones and trees. Then, there are those who associate stars and planets in divinity; others who associate fire; those others who associate (the phenomenon of) day and night; yet others who associate false values, personal inclinations and greed. Thus, there are endless varieties of shirk. And (23: 53),

{كُلُّ حِزْبٍ بِمَا لَدَيْهِمْ فَرِحُونَ} [المؤمنون: 53]

“Every group rejoicing in what it has” while true values are unchanging and inalterable which lead their adherents to none other than one Allah, by whose command the heaven and earth remain in place, to whom belong all that is there in the heavens and the earth, and to whom have surrendered all that are therein” (Sayyid).

44. Yusuf Ali comments: “It is trouble, distress, or adversity that makes men realize their helplessness and turns their attention back to the true Source of all goodness and happiness. But when they are shown special Mercy - often more than they deserve - they forget themselves and attribute it to their own cleverness, or to the stars, or to some false ideas to which they pay court and worship, either to the exclusion of Allah or in addition to the lip-worship which they pay to Allah. Their action in any case amounts to gross ingratitude; but in the circumstances it looks as if they had gone out of their way to show ingratitude.”

Imam Razi sheds light on another aspect: If someone attributes his deliverance from calamity to other than Allah, he commits open shirk (shirk jaliyy). On the other hand, if someone attributed his deliverance to natural means and causes, then too he committed shirk, although of a lower order (shirk khafiyy), but shirk all the same. For example, to say after one finds a wooden plank, that he escaped drowning because of it, or, at the encounter with a ferocious animal, that it was the sudden appearance of a man which saved his life, is shirk khafiyy. One condition being he believed the plank or the man had independent power. Indeed, if one says “Allah saved me by means of the plank, or the man,” then too it is some kind of shirk, although of a minor kind.

45. Qurtubi points out that technically “sultan” is something by which one staves off a punishment that he is due to receive (for a wrong he committed). E.g., Allah said (27: 21):

لأُعَذِّبَنَّهُ عَذَاباً شَدِيداً أَوْ َلأ َذْبَحَنَّهُ أَوْ لَيَأْتِيَنِّي بِسُلْطَانٍ مُّبِينٍ – (النمل - 21)

“Assuredly, I shall chastise him with a painful chastisement or I shall slaughter him unless he brings me a good excuse.”

46. After shirk jaliyy, Allah now describes shirk khafiyy (Razi).

47. A believer should not look at what comes down: good or bad, plenitude or adversity, but rather, he should see “who” has sent it, viz., Allah. He should therefore rejoice at all events. This is the mark of a true believer. Hence Allah ended by saying, “Surely, in that are signs for a people who believe” (Razi).

48. Basing his opinion on this verse, Imam Abu Hanifah has ruled that the maintenance of every kin, male or female, who cannot earn his or her own livelihood, is the responsibility (of other kin). The Sh afe`iyyah however see the responsibility upon the incumbent’s father (Zamakhshari, Alusi).

49. The allusion is to common charity. Deserving recipients of Zakah have already been nominated by Allah elsewhere in the Qur’an. The categories named here: the kin, the poor and the wayfarer, are those whose rights are not hinged to a man’s savings reaching a certain level, as in Zakah. But rather, their rights are enduring and unconditional. One should expend on them even if he is poor, if they are poorer (Razi).

50. The following is a comprehensive statement from Asad on how Islam looks at riba. He writes: “This is the earliest mention of the term and concept of riba in the chronology of Qur’anic revelation. In its general, linguistic sense, this term denotes an ‘addition’ to or ‘increase’ of a thing over and above its original size or amount; in the terminology of the Qur’an, it signifies any unlawful addition, by way of interest, to a sum of money or goods lent by one person or body of persons to another. Considering the problem in terms of the economic conditions prevailing at or before their time, most of the early Muslim jurists identified this ‘unlawful addition’ with profits obtained through any kind of interest-bearing loans irrespective of the rate of interest and the economic motivation involved. With all this – as evidenced by the voluminous juridical literature on this subject – Islamic scholars have not yet been able to reach an absolute agreement on the definition of riba: a definition, that is, which would cover all conceivable legal situations and positively respond to all the exigencies of a variable economic environment. In the words of Ibn Kathir (in his commentary on 2: 275), ‘the subject of riba is one of the most difficult subjects for many of the scholars (ahl al-`ilm).” It should be borne in mind that the passage condemning and prohibiting riba in legal terms (2: 275-281) was the last revelation received by the Prophet, who died a few days later; hence, the Companions had no opportunity to ask him about the shar`i implications of the relevant injunctions – so much so that even `Umar ibn al-Khattab is reliably reported to have said, ‘The last [of the Qur’an] that was revealed was the passage [lit., ‘the verse’] on riba; and, the Apostle of God passed away without [lit., ‘before’] having explained its meaning to us’ (Ibn Hanbal, on the authority of Sa’id ibn al-Musayyib). Nevertheless, the severity with which the Qur’an condemned riba and those who practice it, furnishes – especially when viewed against the background of mankind’s economic experiences during the intervening centuries – a sufficiently clear indication of its nature and its social as well as moral implications. Roughly speaking, the opprobrium of riba (in the sense in which this term is used in the Qur’an and in many sayings of the Prophet) attaches to profits obtained through interest-bearing loans involving an exploitation of the economically weak by the strong and the resourceful: an exploitation characterized by the fact that the lender, while retaining full ownership of the capital loaned and having no legal concern with the purpose for which it is to be used or with the manner of its use, remains contractually assured of gain irrespective of any losses which the borrower may suffer in consequence of this transaction. With this definition in mind, we realize that the question as to what kinds of financial transactions fall within the category of riba is, in the last resort, a moral one, closely connected with the socio-economic motivation underlying the mutual relationship of the borrower and lender; and, stated in purely economic terms, it is a question as to how profits and risks may be equitably shared by both partners to a loan transaction.”

(This perhaps is the aspect which was not clear to `Umar [ra] when he remarked that the Prophet (saws) passed away without having explained riba to full satisfaction. Extremely cautious as they were, our pious predecessors might have feared much of what we feel assured as lawful transactions, as, in their eyes, unlawful. This is evidenced by a statement of `Umar (in Al-Zawajir of Ibn Hajr): “We had given up nine-tenth of the lawful fearing riba.” As the remarks that follow indicate, Asad himself seems to be inclined to an expanded meaning of riba, i.e., beyond simply “increase over the principal” to include “assured profits” to some at the cost of others in deals involving monetary transactions. The ukhuwwah of Islam, we might remind ourselves, depends to a large degree on how wealth is treated and distributed among the ikhwah: Au.).

Asad continues: “It is, of course, impossible to answer this double question in a rigid, once-for-all manner: our answers must necessarily vary in accordance with the changes to which mans social and technological development and, thus, his economic environment is subject. Hence, while the Quranic condemnation of the concept and practice of riba is unequivocal and final, every successive Muslim generation is faced with the challenge of giving new dimensions and a fresh economic meaning to this term which, for want of a better word, may be rendered as ‘usury’. In the present instance (which, as I have mentioned, is the earliest in the history of the Qur’an), no clear-cut prohibition is as yet laid down; but the prohibition appearing in 2: 275 ff. is already foreshadowed by the reference to the immoral hope of increasing one’s own substance ‘through [other] people’s possession’, i.e., through the exploitation of others.”

Asad’s cautious line is justified by several prophetic sayings on the topic. In brief, we might quote the following: According to a report in Ibn Marduwayh of unknown status, the Prophet (saws) said,

سَيَأْتِى عَلَى النَّاسِ زَمَانٌ عَضُوضٌ يَعَضُّ الْمُوسِرُ عَلَى مَا فِى يَدَيْهِ وَلَمْ يُؤْمَرْ بِذَلِكَ قَالَ اللَّهُ جَلَّ ثَنَاؤُهُ (وَلاَ تَنْسَوُا الْفَضْلَ بَيْنَكُمْ) وَتَنْهَدُ الأَشْرَارُ وَيُسْتَذَلُّ الأَخْيَارُ وَيُبَايِعُ الْمُضْطَرُّونَ وَقَدْ نَهَى رَسُولُ اللَّهِ -صلى الله عليه وسلم- عَنْ بَيْعِ الْمُضْطَرِّ وَعَنْ بَيْعِ الْغَرَرِ وَعَنْ بَيْعِ الثَّمَرَةِ قَبْلَ أَنْ تُطْعِمَ.

“A time will come when tenacity will be of a high order. In those times even a well-to-do person will hold fast to what he has in his hands, which is not what he has been ordered. But rather Allah has said, “Do not forget to do good to each other.” (Ibn Kathir at 2:237).

According to another report he said,

سيد شرار الخلق يبايعون كل مضطر، ألا إن بيع المضطرين حرام، المسلم أخو المسلم، لا يظلمه، ولا يخذله، إن كان عندك معروف فعد به على أخيك، ولا تزده هلاكا إلا هلاك

“The worst of the evil creations is those who would like to deal with the most desperate person. Remember, trade deals with the desperate is unlawful. A Muslim is a brother unto another Muslim. He does not wrong him nor does he humiliate him. If you have something good, extend it to your brother and not augment ruin (from your side) to add on to ruin.”

Quite in contradiction to the noble principles laid down by Islam, we see today in the oil-rich Middle-east, that the most desperate people of the world – Muslim or non-Muslim - are identified, and brought in to labor for those whose wealth, created through exploitation of the weak, is no more than an easy game for the West, in whose coffers it ends sooner or later (Au.).

51. Authorities such as Ibn `Abbas, Sa`id b. Jubayr, Mujahid, Ibrahim, Qatadah, Dahhak and others are of the opinion that the meaning is, “What you give as gifts (or as services) to people in the hope of being similarly compensated by them, is not registered as a good deed deserving to be rewarded, although not punishable” (Ibn Jarir, Qurtubi, Ibn Kathir and others).

Ibn Abi Hatim has it that Ibn `Abbas said, “There are two kinds of riba: one allowed and the other disallowed. The one allowed is a man’s gift to another hoping to get something better in return.” According to Bayhaqi’s report he added that this is neither rewarded not punished. However, Allah (swt) specifically prohibited even this through a verse (74: 6) which said,

و لا تمنن تستكثر (المدثر- 6)

“Do not do good (to others) in order to gain more.” (Shawkani).

52. That is, it is these who get multiple rewards as the Prophet (saws) said in a trustworthy report,

عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ أَنّ رَسُولَ اللّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ: "لاَ يَتَصَدّقُ أَحَدٌ بِتَمْرَةٍ مِنْ كَسْبٍ طَيّبٍ. إِلاّ أَخَذَهَا اللّهُ بِيَمِينِهِ. فَيُرَبّيهَا كَمَا يُرَبّي أَحَدُكُمْ فَلُوّهُ أَوْ قلَوصة. حَتّىَ تَكُونَ مِثْلَ الْجَبَلِ، أَوْ أَعْظَمَ". – مسلم

“No one spent the equivalent of a date out of his lawful earning but Allah takes it by His right hand and increases it several fold for him as one of you looks after his foal or young camel, until the date becomes like (Mount) Uhud, or larger than it” (Razi in brief, Ibn Kathir).

53. That is, He brings out a new soul from the mother’s womb bereft of the senses of sound and sight, weak of body and mind, and then He nourishes it. It is reported that once Khalid’s two sons went to see the Prophet. They found him attending to some work and extended a helping hand. He told them,

لا تَأْيَسَا مِنْ الرِّزْقِ مَا تَهَزَّزَتْ رُءُوسُكُمَا فَإِنَّ الْإِنْسَانَ تَلِدُهُ أُمُّهُ أَحْمَرَ لَيْسَ عَلَيْهِ قِشْرَةٌ ثُمَّ يَرْزُقُهُ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ

“Never despair of Allah’s provision so long as your heads shake, for, a man emerges from his mother’s womb red, without a skin. Then on, Allah the Exalted nourishes him” (Ibn Kathir).