and replace you with another people, while you will not harm Him in the least. Allah has power over all things.” [al-Tawbah: 38–39].

Allah Most High also says: “Here you are, being called upon to spend in the cause of Allah, yet some of you withhold. Whoever withholds does so only against himself. Allah is the Self-Sufficient, while you are the needy. If you turn away, He will replace you with another people, and they will not be like you.” [Muhammad: 38].

He—glorified and exalted—also says: “Those among you who spent and fought before the victory are not equal to those who spent and fought afterward. The former are greater in rank, though Allah has promised each the finest reward.” [al-Hadīd: 10]. Thus, He linked the matter to spending, which is generosity, and fighting, which is courage. Likewise, He says elsewhere: “They strove in the cause of Allah with their wealth and their lives.” [al-Tawbah: 20].

He made clear that miserliness is one of the major sins when He said: “Let not those who withhold what Allah has granted them of His bounty think that it is good for them. Rather, it is bad for them. On the Day of Resurrection, they will be collared with what they withheld, and to Allah belongs…” [Āl Imrān: 180]. He also says: “As for those who hoard gold and silver and do not spend it in the cause of Allah, give them tidings of a painful punishment”—the verse [al-Tawbah: 34].

The same applies to cowardice, as in the words of Allah Most High: “Whoever turns his back on them that day—unless maneuvering for battle or withdrawing to join another force—has incurred wrath from Allah. His abode is Hell, and what a wretched destination!” [al-Anfāl: 16]. He also says: “They swear by Allah that they are indeed among you, though they are not among you. Rather, they are a people overcome by fear.” [al-Tawbah: 56]. This occurs frequently in the Book and the sunnah, and it is a matter upon which all the peoples of the earth agree. They even say in common proverbs: “Neither a spear-thrust nor