Abū al-Ḥasan al-Sarakhsī narrated to us; Zāhir ibn Aḥmad narrated to us; Abū Isḥāq al-Hāshimī narrated to us; Abū Muṣʿab narrated to us from Mālik, from Ḥabīb ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān, from Ḥafṣ ibn ʿĀṣim, from Abū Saʿīd al-Khudrī or Abū Hurayrah—may Allah be pleased with them—who said: The Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, said: “Seven will be shaded by Allah in His shade on a day when there will be no shade but His shade: a just ruler; a young man who grew up in the worship of Allah, Most High; a man whose heart is attached to the mosque, so that whenever he leaves it, he longs to return to it; two men who love one another for the sake of Allah, meeting upon that love and parting upon it; a man who remembers Allah in solitude and his eyes overflow with tears; a man invited by a woman of status and beauty, but who says, ‘Indeed, I fear Allah’; and a man who gives charity and conceals it so thoroughly that his left hand does not know what his right hand has spent.” (1)

It was also said that the verse concerns voluntary charity. As for the obligatory zakat, publicizing it is better, so that people may follow the example. This is like the prescribed prayer: performing it in congregation is better, whereas a voluntary prayer is better performed at home. (2) It was also said that the verse concerns the obligatory zakat: concealing it was better in the time of the Messenger of Allah, peace and blessings be upon him, whereas in our time publicizing it is better, lest people think ill of one who gives it.

Concerning His saying, Most High: “And He will erase some of your misdeeds”: Ibn Kathīr, the reciters of Basrah, and Abū Bakr read it in the first-person plural, with the final rāʾ in the indicative: “and We will erase.” Ibn ʿĀmir and Ḥafṣ read it in the third person, with the final rāʾ in the indicative: “and Allah will erase.” The reciters of Madinah, Ḥamzah, and al-Kisāʾī read it in the first-person plural with the final rāʾ in the jussive, coordinated with the conditional clause in His saying, “then that is better for you,” since its position is governed by the conditional. Regarding His saying, “some of your misdeeds,” it was said that “some” is an additional particle; thus, its meaning is: “We will erase your misdeeds.” It was also said that it specifies only part of them, meaning that We erase the minor sins. “And Allah is fully aware of what you do.”

“ You are not responsible for their guidance.” Al-Kalbī said: The reason for the revelation of this verse was that some Muslims had relatives