his wealth, such that when he died, he left behind two wives whose one-eighth share amounted to one hundred and sixty thousand dirhams. On that day, Asim ibn Adi al-Ajlani gave one hundred wasqs of dates in charity. Abu Aqil al-Ansari, whose name was al-Habbab, came with a sa of dates and said, “O Messenger of Allah, I spent the night hauling water with a rope until I earned two sas of dates. I kept one of them for my family and brought you the other.” The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, instructed him to scatter it among the charity. But the hypocrites disparaged them, saying, “Abd al-Rahman and Asim gave only to show off, and Allah and His Messenger have no need of Abu Aqil’s sa. Rather, he wished to draw attention to himself so that he might be given something from the charity.” Thereupon Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, revealed: (1)

“Those who criticize the charitable believers”—that is, those who find fault with the believers who give voluntarily in charity—meaning Abd al-Rahman ibn Awf and Asim. “And those who can find nothing to give but their utmost effort”—that is, their capacity—meaning Abu Aqil. Juhd, with the vowel dammah, means capacity; this is the dialect of Quraysh and the people of the Hijaz. Al-Araj recited it with the vowel fathah. Al-Qutaybi said: “Juhd, with dammah, means capacity, while with fathah it means hardship.” “And they ridicule them”: that is, they mock them. “Allah will mock them”: that is, Allah will recompense them for their mockery. “And theirs is a painful punishment.”