their power would harden, they would flaunt their wickedness, and no one would censure them—one of the gravest of corruptions.

Fourth: This very attitude is a hallmark of the hypocrites, for it consists in stabbing at those who make the lawful deeds plain.

Allah the Exalted says,

“Those who find fault with the believers who give freely in charity, and with those who can find nothing to give but the fruit of their labor, and so they scoff at them—Allah scoffs at them, and for them is a painful punishment.” [al-Tawbah 9:79]

When the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—urged the people to give for the campaign of Tabuk, one Companion came with a purse so heavy his hand could scarcely lift it, and they said, “He is only showing off.” Another brought a single sāʿ (a measure of grain), and they said, “Allah has no need of So-and-so’s sāʿ.” Thus they disparaged both the first and the second, whereupon Allah revealed this verse, making it a lesson for anyone who maligns the believers who obey Allah and His Messenger. Allah knows best.