Thus, upholding the Islamic religion in its proper form—with its doctrines, truths, ethics, and the fulfillment of its rights—constitutes the divinely and legally ordained rampart that bars the advance of that faction whose very presence brings ruin to religion, to worldly life, and to the life to come.
• Allah also commanded the person who collects their zakah to pray for them, invoking blessing upon them; such supplication reassures their minds, calms their hearts, energizes them, and spurs them on to this virtuous act.
Just as the leader or the collector is enjoined to pray for the contributor when taking the payment, it is even more fitting that the needy recipient, once he is given zakah, be encouraged to pray for the giver, for this soothes his own heart and furthers goodness.
• The reasoning embedded in the noble verse shows that everything which helps a person to do good, motivates him to persist in it, and puts his heart at ease is sought and loved by Allah. The servant, therefore, should bear this in mind in every affair; whoever takes note of it will find doors of benefit opening for himself and for others without toil or hardship. It also points to the desirability of bringing joy to the believers.
• When, in the verse of al-Baqarah, He commanded spending, He said: “And know that Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy” (al-Baqarah 2:267). By His very essence He is independent of all creatures; He has no need of the outlays of those who give or the obedience of those who obey. He only ordered and urged them to spend for their own pure benefit, purely out of His grace and generosity toward them, for He favored them by prescribing such deeds and granting them success in performing them—deeds that raise their practitioners to the loftiest ranks and the most splendid honors.
Despite His perfect self-sufficiency and the vastness of His gifts, He is the Praiseworthy One in the laws He enacts for His servants, laws that lead them to the Abode of Peace; Praiseworthy in His actions, which never depart from grace, justice, and wisdom; and Praiseworthy in His attributes, for every one of His attributes is marked by beauty and perfection—realities that the servants can neither fathom nor value as they deserve.