At yet another moment they sneer, “You are mad—possessed of no reason at all! You are bent on destroying yourselves and everyone else with you.”

And again they hurl every sort of cutting, hurtful remark, while all the time they remain niggardly toward any good—that is, greedy for the booty and wealth that has come into your hands.

Qatadah said: When the time arrives for the division of the spoils (1) they unleash their tongues against you, saying, “Give us our share; you have no more right to it than we do!” But when the fighting is fierce (2) they are the most cowardly of people and the quickest to abandon the truth, whereas when booty is in sight they are the stingiest of all.

Others have explained the phrase “stingy toward good” as meaning that they are simply tight-fisted with it: they benefit no one, neither with their persons nor with their wealth.

The essence of avarice (shuhh) is an intense craving that gives rise to miserliness and injustice—refusing to grant what is due and seizing what is unlawful, as the Prophet ﷺ said: “Beware of avarice, for (3) it destroyed those who came before you: it commanded them to be miserly and they became miserly; it commanded them to commit injustice and they committed injustice; and it commanded them to sever family ties and they severed them.” (4)

Such people are tight-fisted toward their own brothers—stingy with them—and tight-fisted toward all good,