(10) “And why should you not spend in the cause of Allah, while Allah is the sole inheritor of the heavens and the earth?”
That is: What prevents you from spending in Allah’s cause—which encompasses every avenue of goodness—and makes you miserly, “while” you possess nothing? Rather, “Allah is the sole inheritor of the heavens and the earth.” All wealth will either pass from your hands, or you yourselves will be taken ⦗839⦘ away from it. Ownership will then revert to its Owner—blessed and exalted is He. So take advantage of the opportunity to spend while wealth remains in your hands.
Allah Most High then explained that deeds vary in merit according to circumstances and divine wisdom. He says: “Those of you who donated and fought before the victory are unparalleled. They are far greater in rank than those who donated and fought afterwards.” The victory meant here is the victory at al-Hudaybiyyah, when the agreement concluded between the Messenger and Quraysh became one of the greatest victories: through it Islam spread, Muslims and disbelievers were able to interact, and people could be called to the faith without obstruction. From that time onward, people entered Allah’s religion in multitudes, and Islam gained tremendous strength.
Before this victory, the Muslims could not call people to the faith beyond the territories whose inhabitants had embraced Islam, such as Medina and its surrounding districts. Anyone who embraced Islam in Mecca or elsewhere in the lands of the polytheists was persecuted and lived in fear. Therefore, those who embraced Islam before the victory, spent in Allah’s cause, and fought were greater in rank, reward, and recompense than those who did not embrace Islam, fight, and spend until afterwards, as divine wisdom requires. For this reason, most of the earliest converts and eminent Companions embraced Islam before the victory.
Since declaring some to be superior might be misconstrued as diminishing or disparaging those of lesser rank, Allah Most High guarded against this by saying: “Yet Allah has promised each a fine reward.” That is, Allah has promised Paradise to all those who embraced Islam, fought, and spent before and after the victory. This demonstrates the excellence of the Companions [all of them]—may Allah be pleased with them—for Allah testified to their faith and promised them Paradise. “And Allah is All-Aware of what you do.” He will reward each of you according to what He knows of his deeds.
Allah then urged them to spend in His cause, for jihad depends upon such expenditure and requires wealth to be spent on preparations for it. He says: “Who is it that will lend to Allah a good loan?” This means [wholesome] spending that is sincerely devoted to Allah, accords with what pleases Him, comes from lawful and wholesome wealth, and is given willingly. It is part of Allah Most High’s generosity [that] He calls it a loan, even though the wealth is His and the servant is His. He has promised to multiply its reward many times over, for He is the Most Generous, the Bestower. That multiplication will take place on the Day of Resurrection—the Day when everyone’s utter need will become evident and each person will need even the smallest measure of good recompense. Therefore, He says: