wine, the news reached a group of the Anṣār. They still had wine set out before them and were drinking, for it had not yet been forbidden; but the moment they heard the report they abandoned it altogether. They then went out with their containers and poured them into the streets until the alleyways ran with wine.

This is what every believer is obliged to do: whenever something from Allah the Exalted or His Messenger ﷺ reaches him, he must hasten to fulfill what is required of him—either by carrying out the command or by avoiding the prohibition.

What matters here is that the Companions—may Allah be pleased with them—started bringing charity. Each person would carry whatever he was able to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. One man came with a large donation and another with a small one. If someone arrived with a sizeable contribution, the hypocrites said, “He is just showing off; he did not intend Allah’s Face by it.” If someone brought a small amount they said, “Allah is in no need of it.” A man even came with a single sâʿ, and they said, “Allah has no need of that sâʿ of yours.”

Such were the hypocrites. A hypocrite outwardly displays the opposite of what he conceals, and he is always gloating over the believers. His greatest concern, the sweetest and most delightful words to his ears, are to hear or utter anything that insults the Muslims and the believers—may Allah protect us. They are hypocrites, the enemy, as Allah the Exalted has said: “…so beware of them”—a hypocrite shows you what opposes what lies within him.

Thus, when a man came with much they said, “He is showing off,” and when he came with little they said, “Allah is in no need of your sâʿ; it will not benefit you.” So Allah the Exalted revealed: “Those who deride the believers who give freely in charity, and those who can find nothing to give but their own labor…”