And this declaration that He knows it entails recompense: with Allah, not so much as an atom’s weight is lost. He knows the intentions from which these acts proceed, whether righteous or evil. It also means that the wrongdoers who withhold what Allah has obligated them to give or transgress His prohibitions will have no helpers besides Him to support or protect them, and punishment will inevitably befall them.
﴿271﴾ He states that when a person gives charity openly, it is good; but when he conceals it and delivers it to a poor person, that is better, because giving discreetly to the poor is an additional kindness.
It also demonstrates greater sincerity. Such a person is one of the seven whom Allah will shade in His shade: “A man who gives charity and conceals it so thoroughly that his left hand does not know what his right hand gives.”
There is a subtle benefit in His words, “But if you conceal them and give them to the poor, that is better for you”: concealing charity is better than disclosing it when it is given to a poor person.
If, however, it is spent on a charitable project, the verse does not indicate that concealing it is preferable. Rather, the principles of the Sacred Law require that the benefit be considered. Openly giving may sometimes be better because it sets an example for others to follow and encourages people to perform good deeds.
His words, “And He will expiate some of your sins,” show that charity combines two benefits: it brings about good through an abundance of good deeds, reward, and recompense, and it wards off evil and affliction in this world and the Hereafter through the expiation of sins.
“Allah is All-Aware of what you do,” and He will recompense everyone for his deeds in accordance with His wisdom.
﴿272﴾ “You are not responsible for their guidance, but Allah guides whomever He wills. Whatever good you spend is for your own benefit, and you spend only seeking the Face of Allah. Whatever good you spend will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged.”
That is: Your duty, O Messenger, is only to convey the message, urge people toward good, and deter them from evil. Guidance, however, rests in the hand of Allah Most High.
He informs them that true believers spend only to seek their Lord’s pleasure and hope for His reward, because their faith calls them to do so. This praises and commends the believers while also reminding them to remain sincere.
He reiterates His knowledge of their expenditures to inform them that not so much as an atom’s weight is lost with Him: “If there is a good deed, He multiplies it and grants from Himself a tremendous reward.”
﴿273–274﴾ “It is for the poor who are confined in Allah’s cause and unable to travel through the land. The ignorant person takes them for wealthy because of their restraint. You will recognize them by their marks; they do not beg people persistently. Whatever good you spend, Allah certainly knows it. * Those who spend their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly, shall have their reward with their Lord. No fear will be upon them, nor shall they grieve.”
This means that you should seek out as recipients of your charity those poor people who have devoted themselves to Allah’s cause and obedience. They either do not seek to earn a livelihood or are unable to do so. They preserve their dignity, such that an ignorant person who sees them assumes they are wealthy. “They do not beg people persistently”: they do not ask at all, but if necessity compels them to ask, they do not press their request.
This category of poor people is the best in which charitable expenditures may be placed: to meet their needs, assist them in pursuing their objective and the path of goodness, and show appreciation for the patience they display and for looking to the Creator rather than to created beings.
﴿274﴾ Nevertheless, spending in avenues of benevolence and upon the needy wherever they may be is good and brings reward and recompense from Allah. Hence, Allah Most High says: “Those who spend their wealth by night and day, secretly and openly, shall have their reward with their Lord. No fear will be upon them, nor shall they grieve.”
Allah will shade them in His shade on the Day when there will be no shade but His. He will grant them good things and ward away grief, fears, and misfortunes from them.
His words, “They shall have their reward with their Lord,” mean that each of them will be rewarded according to his circumstances.
Specifying that their reward is “with their Lord” indicates the nobility of this state and the exalted station it holds. This is like the authentic hadith: “A servant may give a single date in charity from lawful earnings, and the Almighty accepts it with His hand and nurtures it for one of you just as one of you raises his foal, until it becomes like a tremendous mountain.”
﴿275–281﴾ “Those who consume usury will not rise except as one driven to madness by Satan’s touch. That is because they say, ‘Trade is merely like usury,’ although Allah has permitted trade and forbidden usury. Whoever receives an admonition from his Lord and desists may keep what has passed, and his affair rests with Allah. But whoever returns—those are the companions of the Fire; they shall abide therein. * Allah obliterates usury and causes charities to grow. Allah does not love any persistently disbelieving sinner. * Indeed, those who believe, perform righteous deeds, establish prayer, and give zakat shall have their reward with their Lord. No fear will be upon them, nor shall they grieve. * O you who believe, fear Allah and relinquish whatever remains of usury, if you are truly believers. * If you do not, then be warned of war from Allah and His Messenger. But if you repent, you may retain your principal sums, neither wronging nor being wronged. * If someone is in hardship, grant him respite until a time of ease; but if you remit it as charity, that is better for you, if only you knew. * Fear a Day when you will be returned to Allah. Then every soul will be repaid in full for what it earned, and they will not be wronged.”
After mentioning the condition of those who spend, the good things they receive from Allah, and the sins and misdeeds He expiates for them, Allah mentions the wrongdoers who engage in usury and corrupt transactions. He informs us that they will be recompensed according to their deeds. Just as they behaved like the insane in this world while pursuing corrupt gains, their punishment in the intermediate realm and at the Resurrection will be that, when they rise from their graves on the Day of their resurrection and emergence, they will rise only “as one driven to madness by Satan’s touch”—that is, through madness and seizures.
This is their punishment, disgrace, and exposure, and a recompense for their practice of usury and their brazen declaration that “trade is merely like usury.” In their audacity, they equated what Allah has permitted with what He has forbidden, thereby deeming usury lawful.
Allah Most High then set the punishment before usurers and others, saying: “Whoever receives an admonition from his Lord”—that is, an explanation coupled with promise and threat—
“and desists” from the usury he had been practicing, “may keep what has passed” of what he had audaciously committed and from which he repented.
“His affair rests with Allah” regarding the remainder of his life. If he remains steadfast in his repentance, Allah does not allow the reward of those who do good to be lost.
“But whoever returns” to usury after Allah has explained, reminded, and warned its consumer, “those are the companions of the Fire; they shall abide therein.” This indicates that usury necessitates entering the Fire and abiding therein because of its heinousness, unless faith precludes eternal abiding there.