“That is what Allah gives as glad tidings to His servants who believe and do righteous deeds. Say, ‘I ask you no reward for it, except the affection arising from closeness. Whoever earns a good deed, We shall increase its goodness for him. Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Appreciative.’”
“That is what Allah gives as glad tidings to His servants who believe and do righteous deeds.” This is the magnificent good news—the greatest good news of all—which the Most Merciful, the Most Compassionate has conveyed through the best of His creation to the people of faith and righteous deeds. It is the loftiest of all goals, and the means leading to it is the best of all means.
“Say, ‘I ask you no reward for it’”—that is, for conveying this Quran to you and calling you to follow its rulings. I do not seek to take your wealth, assume authority over you, become your leader, or attain any other worldly aim. “Except the affection arising from closeness.”
This may mean: I ask you no reward for it except one reward that is actually for your own benefit and whose benefit returns to you—namely, that you show me affection and love me ⦗758⦘ because of our kinship. On this interpretation, it refers to affection beyond the love required by faith. Loving the Messenger and placing love for him above every other love after love of Allah is obligatory upon every Muslim. These people, however, were asked in addition to love him because of their kinship with him, for he—peace and blessings be upon him—directly called those nearest to him. It has even been said that there was not a single clan of Quraysh in which the Messenger of Allah—peace and blessings be upon him—did not have kinship ties.
It may also mean: except genuine love of Allah Most High, which is accompanied by drawing near to Allah and seeking a means of approach to Him through obedience, thereby proving that love to be genuine and sincere. Hence He said, “Except the affection arising from closeness,” meaning closeness attained by drawing near to Allah.
On either interpretation, this exception proves that he asks them absolutely no reward for it, unless it be something whose benefit returns to them. Such a thing is not payment at all; rather, it is a reward from him—peace and blessings be upon him—for them. This is like the statement of Allah Most High: “They resented them only because they believed in Allah, the Almighty, the Praiseworthy,” and like the saying, “The only offense so-and-so has committed against you is that he has treated you well.”
“Whoever earns a good deed,” such as prayer, fasting, pilgrimage, or kindness to creation, “We shall increase its goodness for him” by opening his heart, facilitating his affairs, and making it a cause through which he is enabled to perform another good deed. The believer’s good works thereby increase, his standing is elevated before Allah and among His creation, and he receives reward both in this world and the Hereafter.
“Indeed, Allah is All-Forgiving, Most Appreciative.” He forgives even the gravest sins, however great they may be, when a person repents of them, and He rewards a small deed with an abundant reward. Through His forgiveness, He forgives sins and conceals faults; through His appreciation, He accepts good deeds and multiplies them many times over.