Draft:Qur'an 2:271
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| Verse's Information | |
|---|---|
| Sura | al-Baqara (Qur'an 2) |
| Verse | 271 |
| Juz' | 3 |
| Content Information | |
| Place of Revelation | Medina |
| About | Sadaqa |
| Related Verses | Qur'an 4:149, Qur'an 9:103, Qur'an 9:104, Qur'an 9:60, Qur'an 2:264 |
Qur'an 2:271 asserts that while disclosing acts of Sadaqa is virtuous, giving it secretly is superior for the individual.[1] According to the ruling of this verse, both disclosing and secretly giving Sadaqa are permissible, leaving the manner of donation to the individual's discretion.[2] Based on this verse, exegetes regard secret charity as preferable and its reward as more substantial.[3]
The verse indicates that charity leads to the expiation of sins;[4] exegetes derive this profound redemptive effect from the phrase wa yukaffiru 'ankum min sayyi'atikum.[5] Furthermore, narrations state that Infaq, particularly when performed in secret, quells divine wrath and obliterates sins just as water extinguishes fire.[6]
| “ | إِن تُبْدُوا الصَّدَقَاتِ فَنِعِمَّا هِيَ ۖ وَإِن تُخْفُوهَا وَتُؤْتُوهَا الْفُقَرَاءَ فَهُوَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۚ وَيُكَفِّرُ عَنكُم مِّن سَيِّئَاتِكُمْ ۗ وَاللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ خَبِيرٌ
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| “ | If you disclose your charities, that is well, but if you hide them and give them to the poor, that is better for you, and it will atone for some of your misdeeds, and Allah is well aware of what you do.
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| — Qur'an 2:271 | ||
Scholars interpret the concluding clause, wa-llahu bima ta'maluna khabir, to mean that God is cognizant of every act of expenditure—whether overt or covert—as well as the servant's intention underlying it.[7] Consequently, sincerity and purity of purpose are deemed essential in Infaq.[8]
Drawing upon Qur'an 2:271, exegetes affirm that both public and private spending possess distinct merits, and the verse encourages both.[9] Public spending serves to encourage others to give charity, functions as a practical propagation[10] of good deeds and support for the deprived,[11] and absolves the individual from accusations of stinginess.[12] Conversely, secret spending is removed from hypocrisy and ostentation, stands closer to sincerity, and safeguards the dignity of the recipient.[13] A narration attributed to Imam Ali (a) states that secret charity serves as expiation for sins, while open charity averts a tragic death.[14] Additionally, it is held that Mustahabb charities are best given secretly, whereas obligatory charities should be given openly.[15]
Notes
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, p. 344.
- ↑ Qurashī Bunābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 513.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Majma' al-bayān, 1372 Sh, vol. 2, p. 662.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, p. 345.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, pp. 346-347.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, pp. 346-347; also see: Ibn Ḥayyūn, Da'ā'im al-Islām, 1385 AH, vol. 2, p. 331.
- ↑ Qurashī Bunābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 513; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, p. 347.
- ↑ Qurashī Bunābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 513; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, p. 347.
- ↑ Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Al-Mīzān, 1390 AH, vol. 2, p. 397; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, p. 345.
- ↑ Qarā'atī, Tafsīr nūr, 1388 Sh, vol. 1, p. 430; Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Rastgārān, Qom, p. 66.
- ↑ Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, p. 345.
- ↑ Qarā'atī, Tafsīr nūr, 1388 Sh, vol. 1, p. 430; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, p. 345.
- ↑ Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 424; Qarā'atī, Tafsīr nūr, 1388 Sh, vol. 1, p. 430; Qurashī Bunābī, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, 1375 Sh, vol. 1, p. 513.
- ↑ Nahj al-balāgha, Correction: Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, Sermon 110, p. 163.
- ↑ Ṭabrisī, Tafsīr jawāmi' al-jāmi, 1412 AH, vol. 1, p. 148; Mughniyya, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, 1424 AH, vol. 1, p. 424; Makārim Shīrāzī, Tafsīr-i nimūna, 1371 Sh, vol. 2, p. 346.
References
- Ibn Ḥayyūn, Nu'mān b. Muḥammad al-Maghribī, Da'ā'im al-Islām, Research: Āṣif Fayḍī, Qom, Mu'assisa Āl al-Bayt (a), 2nd ed, 1385 AH.
- Makārim Shīrāzī, Nāṣir, Tafsīr-i nimūna, Tehran, Dār al-Kutub al-Islāmiyya, 1371 Sh.
- Miṣbāḥ Yazdī, Muḥammad Taqī, Rastgārān, Qom, Intishārāt-i Mu'assisa-yi Āmūzishī wa Pazhūheshī-yi Imam Khomeini, N.d.
- Mughniyya, Muḥammad Jawād, Al-Tafsīr al-kāshif, Qom, Dār al-Kitāb al-Islāmī, 1424 AH.
- Nahj al-balāgha, Correction: Ṣubḥī Ṣāliḥ, Qom, Markaz al-Buḥūth al-Islāmiyya, 1374 Sh.
- Qarā'atī, Muḥsin, Tafsīr nūr, Tehran, Markaz-i Farhangī-yi Darshā-yī az Qur'ān, 1388 Sh.
- Qurashī Bunābī, 'Alī Akbar, Tafsīr aḥsan al-ḥadīth, Tehran, Bunyād-i Bi'that, 1375 Sh.
- Ṭabāṭabā'ī, Sayyid Muḥammad Ḥusayn, Al-Mīzān fī tafsīr al-Qur'ān, Beirut, Mu'assisa al-A'lamī li-l-Maṭbū'āt, 1390 AH.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan, Majma' al-bayān fī tafsīr al-Qur'ān, Tehran, Nāṣir Khusraw, 1372 Sh.
- Ṭabrisī, Faḍl b. Ḥasan, Tafsīr jawāmi' al-jāmi, Correction: Abū l-Qāsim Gurjī, Qom, Ḥawza-yi 'Ilmiyya-yi Qom, 1412 AH.