(243–245) “Have you not considered those who left their homes in their thousands, fearing death? Allah said to them, ‘Die,’ then brought them back to life. Allah is truly bountiful to people, but most people are ungrateful.
Fight in the cause of Allah, and know that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.
Who is it that will lend Allah a good loan, which He will then multiply for him many times over? Allah withholds and grants abundance, and to Him you will be returned.”
Allah Most High recounts to us the story of those who left their homes. Though they were numerous and united in their aim, what drove them out was fear of death, whether from an epidemic or something else. By leaving, they sought safety from death, but no precaution can avail against divine decree. “Allah said to them, ‘Die,’” and they died. “Then” Allah Most High “brought them back to life,” whether in response to a prophet’s supplication or by some other means, out of mercy, kindness, and forbearance toward them, and to make His signs clear to His creation by bringing the dead to life. Hence He said, “Allah is truly bountiful” ⦗107⦘—that is, His bounty is immense—“to people, but most of them are ungrateful.” His blessings do not increase them in gratitude; indeed, they may even use Allah’s blessings to disobey Him. Only a few are truly grateful: they recognize the blessing, acknowledge it, and use it in obedience to the One who bestowed it.
Allah Most High then commanded fighting in His cause, namely fighting the disbelieving enemies to make Allah’s word supreme and support His religion. He said, “Fight in the cause of Allah, and know that Allah is All-Hearing, All-Knowing.” That is, make your intentions sincere, seek Allah’s pleasure through this, and know that refraining from battle will not benefit you at all. Even if you suppose that sitting back would preserve your lives and ensure your survival, this is not so. He therefore mentioned the preceding story as a prelude to this command. Just as leaving their homes did not protect those people from the death they feared—instead, the very thing they feared overtook them unexpectedly—know that the same is true of you.
Since fighting in Allah’s cause cannot be carried out without spending and contributing wealth, Allah Most High commanded spending in His cause, encouraged it, and called it a loan. He said, “Who is it that will lend Allah a good loan?” Such a person spends whatever he can afford of his wealth in avenues of goodness, especially in jihad. A good loan is one given from lawful wealth and intended to seek Allah Most High’s pleasure. “Which He will then multiply for him many times over”: one good deed is rewarded tenfold, up to seven hundredfold, and even many times beyond that, depending on the giver’s circumstances and intention, the benefit produced by his spending, and the need for it.
A person might imagine that spending will make him poor, so Allah Most High dispelled this notion by saying, “Allah withholds and grants abundance.” That is, He expands provision for whomever He wills and restricts it for whomever He wills. All control lies in His two Hands, and every affair ultimately returns to Him. Withholding wealth does not expand one’s provision, nor does spending constrict it. Moreover, the spending of those who give is never lost. Rather, a day awaits them when they will find all that they sent ahead complete, amply repaid, and multiplied. Hence He said, “And to Him you will be returned,” and He will recompense you for your deeds.
These verses show that material means are of no avail against divine decree and predestination, especially means that entail neglecting Allah’s commands. They also contain the tremendous sign of actual dead persons being restored to life in this world. They further command fighting and spending in Allah’s cause and mention the incentives that urge people to do so: calling such expenditure a loan, multiplying its reward, and affirming that Allah withholds and grants abundance and that to Him you will be returned.