and impugns you concerning it. It is said: lamazahu and hamazahu both mean “he found fault with him.” That is, the hypocrites used to say, “Muhammad gives only to those whom he loves.” Ya‘qub recited it as “who criticize you,” wherever it occurs. Mujahid said: “Who criticize you” means “who put you to the test”—that is, they test you.

“If they are given from it, they are pleased; but if they are not given from it, then they are enraged.” It was said: if they are given much, they rejoice; but if they are given little, they become displeased.

“If only they had been satisfied with what Allah and His Messenger gave them, and said, ‘Allah is sufficient for us. Allah will give us of His bounty, and so will His Messenger. Indeed, it is to Allah that we turn in hope.’ (59) Alms are only for the poor, the needy, those appointed to administer them, those whose hearts are to be reconciled, for freeing those in bondage, those in debt, in the cause of Allah, and for the stranded traveler—an obligation from Allah. And Allah is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (60)”

“If only they had been satisfied with what Allah and His Messenger gave them”—that is, if they had been content with what Allah and His Messenger had allotted to them—“and said, ‘Allah is sufficient for us,’” meaning, Allah is enough for us; “Allah will give us of His bounty, and so will His Messenger,” meaning, what we need; “indeed, it is to Allah that we turn in hope,” that He may expand His bounty for us and make us independent of alms and of the other wealth of people. The response to “if only” is omitted; that is, it would have been better and more beneficial for them.

The words of the Exalted: “Alms are only for the poor and the needy,” to the end of the verse. In this verse, Allah the Exalted clarifies those entitled to the shares of alms, assigning them to eight categories. It is narrated from Ziyad ibn al-Harith al-Suda’i, who said: “I came to the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, and pledged allegiance to him. Then a man came to him and said, ‘Give me from the alms.’ The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said to him: ‘Allah was not pleased to leave the ruling concerning alms to the judgment of any prophet or anyone else, until He Himself ruled concerning them and divided them into eight portions. So, if you belong to one of those categories, I will give you your due.’” (1)

The words of the Exalted: “For the poor and the needy.” Thus, the first category entitled to alms is the poor, and the second is the needy.

The scholars differed regarding the definition of the poor person and the needy person. Ibn ‘Abbas, al-Hasan, Mujahid, Qatadah, ‘Ikrimah, and al-Zuhri said: “The poor person is one who does not beg, while the needy person is one who does beg.”

Ibn ‘Umar said: “The poor person is not one who accumulates one dirham upon another and one date upon another; rather, he is one who keeps himself and his clothes clean…”