- “Spend in the cause of Allah, and do not cast yourselves into destruction with your own hands. Do good; indeed, Allah loves those who do good.”
Allah, Most High, commands His servants to spend in His cause. This means disbursing wealth through the avenues that lead to Allah, which include every avenue of goodness, such as giving charity to a poor person or a relative, or providing for those whose maintenance one is obliged to support.
The greatest and foremost form of this is spending on jihad in the cause of Allah. Such spending is jihad with one’s wealth and is obligatory just as jihad with one’s person is obligatory. It brings immense benefits: it helps strengthen the Muslims, weakens polytheism and its adherents, and establishes and exalts the religion of Allah. Jihad in the cause of Allah cannot stand without financial expenditure; spending is its very lifeblood, without which it cannot exist. Failing to spend in the cause of Allah brings jihad to a halt, allows enemies to gain the upper hand, and intensifies their concerted attacks. Thus, His words, “and do not cast yourselves into destruction with your own hands,” serve as the reason for that command.
Casting oneself into destruction encompasses two things: failing to do something one has been commanded to do when its omission causes, or nearly causes, the destruction of one’s body or soul; and doing something that leads to the loss of one’s life or soul. Many things fall under this. They include abandoning jihad in the cause of Allah or failing to spend on it, thereby enabling enemies to gain the upper hand. They also include recklessly endangering oneself in combat, undertaking a perilous journey, entering a place infested with predatory animals or snakes, climbing a dangerous tree or structure, going beneath something hazardous, and similar acts. Anyone who does such things has cast himself into destruction with his own hands.
Another form of casting oneself into destruction (1) is persisting in disobedience to Allah and despairing of repentance. It also includes neglecting the obligatory duties Allah has commanded, for their neglect brings ruin to one’s soul and religion.
Because spending in the cause of Allah is one form of doing good, He then commanded goodness in general, saying: “Do good; indeed, Allah loves those who do good.” This encompasses every form of goodness, since He did not restrict it to any one particular kind. It therefore includes doing good with one’s wealth, as previously mentioned.
It also includes using one’s standing and influence for good, such as by interceding on behalf of others; enjoining what is right, forbidding what is wrong, and teaching beneficial knowledge; and meeting people’s needs by relieving their distress, alleviating their hardships, visiting their sick, accompanying their funeral processions, directing those who have lost their way, helping someone engaged in a task, and performing a task for someone unable to do it properly, as well as other forms of goodness commanded by Allah.
Goodness also includes excellence in worshipping Allah, as the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—stated: “It is to worship Allah as though you see Him; for although you do not see Him, He sees you.”
Whoever possesses these qualities is among those of whom Allah says: “For those who do good is the finest reward—and even more.” Allah will be with him, granting him success, guiding him, and assisting him in all his affairs.
After Allah, Most High, had finished [mentioning] the rulings of fasting and then jihad, He mentioned the rulings of Hajj, saying: