Chapter 2: Surat Al-Baqarah (The Cow), verse 261-264

Translation:

“Those who spend their wealth for the cause of Allah are like a grain of corn which brings forth seven ears, each ear bearing a hundred grains. Allah gives abundance to whom He pleases; He is Munificent, All-knowing. Those who spend their wealth for the cause of Allah and do not follow their alms-giving with taunts and insults shall have their reward from their Lord; they shall have nothing to fear, or to regret. A kind word and forgiveness are better than charity followed by injury. Allah is Self-sufficient and indulgent. O believers, do not make your charity worthless with taunts and insults, like those who spend their wealth for the sake of ostentation and believe neither in Allah nor the Last Day. Such men are like a smooth rock covered with earth: a shower falls upon it and leaves it hard and bare. They shall gain nothing from their works. Allah does not guide the unbelievers.” (2:261-264)

Commentary:

Every act committed by man is like a seed planted in the ground. If one does something in order to be admired by others, it is as though one is planting one’s seed in the earth of this world. If, on the other hand, one acts in order to please God, then one has sown a seed in the everlasting fields of the Hereafter, where it will blossom and bear fruit. In this world, one seed produces a thousand grains of corn. So will it be with the harvest of the Hereafter, where man will reap rewards far in excess of what he has sown.

A person who spends his wealth in order to gain worldly fame and prestige, and who seeks to be recompensed in this ephemeral world, will have no share in the rewards of the life everlasting. Those who spend for the cause of God, on the other hand, having quite other aims, adopts a different approach. They do not, for one, taunt their beneficiaries with reminders of the favours they have bestowed. Indeed, having spent of their wealth for the cause of God, they do not consider themselves to have bestowed any favour at all upon God’s mortal creatures. And they do not show any displeasure if a gracious response is not forthcoming from those to whom they have been generous. This is because their hopes are pinned on being rewarded in full by God, so what do they care if human beings show appreciation or not? Moreover, if they are unable to accede to a request for monetary assistance, at least they do not rebuff the suppliant. Instead, they find kind words with which to excuse themselves, for they know that God hears everything they say. Their fear of God makes them circumspect in the choice of words they utter to their fellow human beings.

Some earth may collect on the surface of a boulder. Outwardly, it appears as though this is good, fertile earth, but when a gust of wind brings a rain-shower down upon it, then the earth is washed away, leaving the rock exposed to the elements. So it is with one who has donned a superficial robe of piety, without that piety having permeated his entire being. Should he be addressed rudely by someone asking for financial help, or should his ego receive a wounding blow, he becomes so irritated that he exceeds all bounds of decency in his response. Incidents of this nature are like the showers of rain which wash away his outward garb of piety, leaving his true nature exposed to the outside world.

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