The last three passages centred mainly on ideological concepts of the Islamic faith, clarifying its aspects and ensuring its firm establishment in people’s hearts. These passages constituted an interval in the line followed in this long sūrah which prepares the Muslim community to undertake its role of leadership of mankind.

From this point and up to its concluding verses, the sūrah is largely devoted to setting out some fundamental features of the socioeconomic system that the Muslim community should adopt. It is a system based on social cooperation and welfare through the established financial obligation of zakāt and other unspecified voluntary contributions and donations. We learn in this passage that, in contrast to the system prevalent in pre-Islamic Arabia, the Islamic socioeconomic system is fundamentally opposed to usury and encourages fundamentally different financial dealings. Thus, the sūrah speaks of a proper method of charity, denounces usury and outlines the Islamic principles of lending and trade which complement the social and economic principles according to which Islamic social life is organized and conducted. All this is spread over three closely interrelated passages.

In the present passage we learn that contributing financially to charitable causes is akin to jihād, in the sense that its purpose is to serve the cause of God. Jihād is prescribed for Muslims to fulfil their duty of implementing God’s message and conveying it to the rest of mankind and protecting its followers against persecution and oppression.

The call to spend of one’s money is frequently made in this sūrah, and this part of it lays down the basic principle underlying that call. Its social and psychological ethics are presented in terms of both compassion and benefit, so that charity becomes a means of financial and spiritual exaltation and refinement for both donor and recipient. It is an act that spreads the spirit of brotherhood, empathy and cooperation among members of the community and makes them feel and behave as equal members of the same family.

It is important to point out that although the directives given in this section of the sūrah are universal and general, one can, nevertheless, detect that they were revealed in response to specific situations faced by the Muslims at the time, though these often recur. It is clear that a Muslim community may include selfish and parsimonious individuals who need rigorous discipline and convincing arguments and examples to absorb the facts.

Besides the sincere and generous people, there were miserly individuals who would exact a steep price for lending or donating their money. There were those who would give for charity with much difficulty and reluctance or merely for ostentatious reasons, and there were those who would use their money to demonstrate their superiority, and others who would give only what they disdained.

It is important to acknowledge these facts because they help us understand the nature and role of the Qur’ān as a dynamic and active force within the developing Muslim community. It was revealed to deal with actual situations and to lead, inform and educate the Muslims to whom it was addressed.

The present passage opens with gentle exhortations, touching inner, deep-seated human feelings and senses. It depicts a vigorous; flourishing picture of life, with grains sprouting and growing to yield multitudes of grains and return many times what has been invested. This verdant and lush image, the sūrah says, represents a model for those who spend of their own money for the cause of God. “The case of those who spend their property for the cause of God is like that of a grain that brings forth seven ears, each bearing a hundred grains.” (Verse 261)

By simple arithmetic, a single grain of corn or wheat yields seven hundred grains, but we are presented with a much more inspiring and moving picture that leaves a profound and lasting impression on our minds and consciences. It is a picture of life itself, growing abundantly, and giving many times over.

With that vivid image, the Qur’ān directs the human conscience to giving and to charity. By giving away what one dearly loves to retain, one is in fact earning; and the more one gives, the more one gains, in a perpetual process which, with God’s blessing, can continue without any limits or restrictions. “God gives manifold increase to whom He wills. God is Munificent, All-Knowing.” (Verse 261) God’s grace never runs out, nor is it withheld. God is aware of people’s thoughts, intentions and feelings, and nothing escapes His knowledge.

The question here is: What kind of spending is made to grow in such a phenomenal way, and is rewarded so generously by God, both in this life and in the life to come?

The spending that is generously rewarded is that motivated by the purest and highest human feelings, and which enhances such feelings. It is not intended to degrade or spite or hurt. It is purely done for the sake of God Almighty: “Those who spend their property for the cause of God and do not follow their spending by vaunting their own generosity, or by hurting others, shall have their reward with their Lord. They have nothing to fear, nor shall they grieve.” (Verse 262)

To give for the sake of vanity or ostentation is a vulgar and odious act. Those who brag about what they give to charity seek nothing but false prestige or the humiliation of the recipients, or to draw attention to themselves in order to win public praise rather than God’s pleasure. Such self-seeking desires are alien to the pure heart of a true believer.

Boasting about one’s own generosity is pernicious and hurtful to both giver and recipient. It is offensive to the giver because it inflates his ego and satisfies his sense of superiority as he savours the deference of the recipient of his awards. It also makes him arrogant and draws him further away from God. It is hurtful to the recipient because it draws attention to his need and his humble condition, and may make him jealous and desirous of revenge.

Giving, from the Islamic point of view, is not seen merely as an act of condescension, induced by pity, to hand over to the needy a paltry gift or a piece of bread; but as a means to purify the soul of the giver, revive his humanitarian feelings, reinforce the human bond with his less fortunate fellow human beings, and impress upon him the value of God’s grace and favour and his obligation to employ his wealth, dispense of it sensibly and share it gratefully with others, in the service of God’s cause. Giving for God’s cause also acts as a consolation to the recipient and a means to strengthen the ties of humanity and fraternity. It also promotes love, cooperation and welfare among members of the community and furthers its cohesion and unity of purpose.

The next verse reasserts the idea that a charitable act followed by wicked behaviour is worthless: “A kind word with forgiveness is better than charity followed by injury. God is free of all wants, clement.” (Verse 263)

A pleasant word or a kind-hearted gesture would be far more favourable and likely to spread trust, confidence and love and to calm the hearts and souls. Charity, after all, is not a favour from the giver to the recipient, but an obligation towards God who is: “free of all wants, clement.” He neither needs these pitiful donations nor is He anxious to exact punishment on the ungrateful. All people owe their very existence to God Almighty. He overlooks many of their shortcomings, and they ought to learn from Him by showing forgiveness and compassion towards the poor and the needy.

The Qur’ān always reminds people of the attributes of God, which provide the perfect ideal Muslims should try to emulate, as far as they can, in their behaviour, and in their values and aspirations.

When the previous verses have given the believers a keen sense of their role and the need to give freely, for no purpose other than to earn God’s pleasure, the sūrah advises them not to undermine their charitable deeds with condescension or by hurting other people’s feelings. Again, it gives a vivid and lively illustration from nature, in which ideas and concepts are reflected in exciting movement and vivid scenery.

Believers, do not render your charitable deeds worthless by boasting about your benevolence and causing injury to others, as does he who spends his wealth to impress people, while he believes neither in God nor in the Last Day. Such a person is like a smooth rock covered with earth. Then heavy rain falls on it and leaves it hard and bare. Such as these shall gain nothing from their works. God does not guide the unbelievers. But those who give away their money out of a genuine desire to please God, and out of their own inner certainty, are like a garden on a hillside. When heavy rain falls on it, it yields up twice its normal produce. If no heavy rain falls on it, then a light drizzle [will suffice]. God sees all that you do. (Verses 264-265)

We are presented here with a complete portrait, which is the composite of two perfectly contrasting scenes. Each is full of detail and contrast, beautifully reflecting ideas and feelings in elegant strokes of colour and imagination.

The first of these two scenes is arid, harsh and barren, but with a superficially attractive exterior; the other welcoming and fertile. The first reflects nothing of the warmth of faith; its harshness is concealed under a thin layer of soil, like the thin layer of hypocrisy that shields the real personality of the unbeliever. As soon as rain falls, the veneer disappears and the barren interior is revealed, and so it is with “he who spends his wealth to impress people, while he believes neither in God nor in the Last Day.

Such a person is like a smooth rock covered with earth. Then heavy rain falls on it and leaves it hard and bare.” (Verse 264)

The sūrah goes on to outline the nature of charity, its methods, manners and outcome: “Believers, spend on others out of the good things you have earned, and out of that which We bring forth for you from the earth. Do not choose for your spending the inferior things which you yourselves would not accept without turning your eyes away in disdain.

Know that God is free of all want, ever to be praised.” (Verse 267)

Following the ethics and principles of charity outlined in the preceding verses, one should give of the best in one’s possession, rather than of the less worthy, which one would not accept if offered in trade, unless one could strike a bargain price. God has no need to accept charity out of people’s second-rate possessions.

This is a broad principle, valid for all time and all types of property, whether earned, cultivated, extracted or mined, whether known at the time of the Prophet Muĥammad or not. Not a single kind of earnings or capital, acquired at any time, is exempt from the obligation of charity, and zakāt accrues on it all, in accordance with the rates and proportions specified by the Prophet for the various types of capital known then. These form the standard by which percentages and proportions are determined for new types of wealth, capital or earnings.

By way of illustration, and to appreciate the realities the Qur’ān was dealing with at the time of its revelation, it would be instructive to recall the circumstances in which this verse was revealed to the Prophet. Ibn Jarīr al-Ţabarī reports on the authority of al-Barā’ ibn `Āzib that the verse was revealed with reference to the Anşār (the Muslims from Madinah). As the harvest season for dates approached, people would take bunches of dates that had just turned colour but had not fully ripened and tie them to posts in the Prophet’s Mosque, for the poor among the Muhājirūn (the Muslims from Makkah) to eat. Some, however, would take dates of the worst quality and mix them with good ones and think nothing of it. It was then that God revealed the verse, which said: “Do not choose for your spending the inferior things which you yourselves would not accept without turning your eyes away in disdain.” Similar reports were related by al-Ĥākim and Ibn Abī Ĥātim, all of which go to show that, as well as having assiduous and exemplary members, a Muslim community may also have members who need to be educated and informed of their duties and obligations. The Anşār’s commendable record of tireless sacrifice and support for the cause of Islam did not preclude them from being criticized and censured when some of them failed to live up to the standards and obligations of Islam.

God, after all, “is free of all want, ever to be praised” (Verse 267) People donate for their own good, as their donations are of no benefit to God in any way. So they should give willingly and with a clear conscience. When they do, God will accept their generosity and reward them for it, although it is He who has bestowed the wealth on them in the first place.

The sūrah goes on to reveal to the believers that niggardliness and the tendency to give to charity out of one’s inferior possessions are motivated by lack of faith in God and by fear of poverty. Such fear is only entertained by those who have no trust in God and their accountability to Him. It identifies these motives clearly, pointing to their original instigator: “Satan promises you poverty and bids you to commit indecency, whereas God promises you His forgiveness and bounty. God is Munificent, All-Knowing. He grants wisdom to whom He wills. He who is granted wisdom has indeed been granted abundant good. Yet only those with sound minds would take heed” (Verses 268-269)

At this point the sūrah addresses the Prophet personally, setting out a number of essential facts bearing on the formulation of Islamic principles and scope of behaviour: “It is not for you to make people follow the right guidance. It is God who guides whom He wills. Whatever good you may spend in charity is for your own good. You should only spend out of pure dedication to God. And whatever good you give in charity will be repaid to you in full, and you shall not be wronged.” (Verse 272)

Ibn Abī Ĥātim reports on the authority of Ibn `Abbās that until this verse was revealed, the Prophet (peace be upon him) used to instruct the Muslims to give in charity only to fellow Muslims, but then he ordered that charity should be extended to all who need it, regardless of their religion.

Guidance is a matter for God alone. Not even the Messenger of God could be held responsible for whether individuals heed the truth or not. God is the Creator, and He alone has power over people’s hearts and minds. The mission of God’s Messenger is to convey His message, and then it is up to God how He gives guidance to individual human beings, as they deserve to be guided. In taking this crucial issue out of the human domain, an important principle is established that a believer should seek and receive guidance from God alone. It also impresses upon the Messenger a need to show understanding, tolerance and perseverance in the face of any rejection or resistance he meets in conveying God’s message to the public. He is to appeal to God to grant them guidance and show them the light.

“It is not for you to make people follow the right guidance. It is God who guides whom He wills.” (Verse 272) Prophet Muĥammad is directed to open his heart to people, to show kindness, and to offer all possible help, leaving judgement and reward to God Almighty.

With such tenets and principles, Islam opens the widest possible horizons of compassion and tolerance. It goes beyond the recognition of religious freedom and rejection of compulsion and coercion. It demands universal human compassion and establishes the right of all needy members of society to help and support, regardless of their religious faith, as long as they do not pose any threat to the community. It further asserts that the rewards of those who give for the sake of God are safely guaranteed. No other religious faith has risen to or achieved such high standards of human or social morality.

The sūrah emphasizes that: “Whatever good you may spend in charity is for your own good. You should only spend out of pure dedication to God. And whatever good you give in charity will be repaid to you in full, and you shall not be wronged.” (Verse 272) Only a believer gives for the sake of God and no other. He does not give to charity in order to gain influence or praise, nor does he exploit his generosity to achieve personal ends or satisfy his ego, nor does he seek the favour or pleasure of people in power or authority. A believer gives to charity in the full knowledge and satisfaction that he will be rewarded by God; and that his life, character, and standing will be enhanced and that, furthermore, God’s generosity in the hereafter is guaranteed and will be all the more fulfilling..

Despite the attention given to charity, life under Islam is in no way based or dependent on it. Social and economic life in Islam is based, first and foremost, on the provision of work and a decent means of earning a living for all those who are able to do so. It is also based on the fair and equitable distribution of wealth in the community, with the aim of achieving a proper balance between input and reward.

Nevertheless, there will always be times when people fall short for various exceptional reasons, and it is these that need to be dealt with through charity. This comes in two forms: obligatory and voluntary.

Obligatory contributions are levied only by Muslim state authorities that implement Islamic law in its entirety. They form an important source of public revenue for the Islamic state, although it is allocated for a specified purpose which cannot be exceeded.

Giving to charity voluntarily is not limited or restricted. It is up to those who can afford it to make directly to the poor and needy, following the ethics and codes given earlier so that the recipients may preserve their dignity and self-esteem, as the sūrah illustrates very clearly.

Al-Bukhārī relates on the authority of Abū Hurayrah that the Prophet said: “A needy person is not the one who is satisfied with a date or two, or a mouthful or two; but it is he that refrains from begging,” and cited the words of verse 273: “You can recognize them by their special mark: they do not importune people for alms.” Aĥmad ibn Ĥanbal reports that a mother asked her son to go and ask the Prophet for some money, as other people were doing. The son went and found the Prophet addressing a crowd of people, saying: “He who refrains from begging, God shall spare him the need to beg, and he who refrains from taking charity will be amply provided for by God. If you beg while you possess the equivalent of five ounces of silver, you will be importuning for alms.” The man thought for a moment and remembered that he owned a she-camel and his servant owned a she-camel, each of which was worth far more than five ounces of silver. He went away without asking the Prophet for anything.

Al-Ţabarānī relates that a man from the Quraysh called al-Ĥārith was in Syria and heard that Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī, a Companion of the Prophet, was in need of help, so he sent him three hundred dīnārs. When the money arrived, Abū Dharr was taken aback and asked, “Did this man not find anyone else less fortunate than myself? I heard the Prophet say, If someone begs and he has forty dirhams, he is importuning for alms.’ My family has forty dirhams, a sheep and two servants.” Islam has a fully integrated and comprehensive socio-economic system whose rules and ethics work harmoniously together, supporting and reinforcing each other.

It was this feature of Islam that enabled it to establish that unique and pioneering society, the like of which the world has yet to see.