Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:272

That is, it is not incumbent upon you, O Messenger, to make those—who have been commanded with such virtues and forbidden from such vices—guided to compliance and cessation. You are only a warner and a bringer of glad tidings, and you have only the clear notification. {But Allah guides}—with His special guidance that leads certainly to the desired end—{whomever He wills} of them.

This clause is parenthetical, brought about by way of varying the address and directing it toward the Master of the Addressed, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, while shifting from the second-person address—used in the verses concerning those burdened with obligations—to the third-person, as an exaggeration in urging them toward compliance. This is the meaning adopted by Al-Hasan and Abu Ali al-Jubba’i. This interpretation is based on the pronoun in "their guidance" referring to the ones addressed in the preceding verses. However, the cause of revelation (sabab al-nuzul) necessitates that it refers to the disbelievers. Ibn Abi Hatim and others recorded from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to command us not to give charity except to the people of Islam, until this verse was revealed. Ibn Jarir also recorded from him that he said: There were people among the Ansar who had relatives and kin, and they refrained from giving charity to them, wanting them to accept Islam, so this was revealed. Ibn Abi Shaybah recorded from Sa’id ibn Jubayr that he said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said: "Do not give charity except to the people of your own religion," so Allah the Exalted revealed: {Not upon you is their guidance}, meaning: It is not your responsibility to guide those who differ from you such that you would withhold charity from them until they enter Islam. In this case, there is no shift [in address], but merely a variation of the discourse. The verse is also an encouragement to charity, but from another perspective.

The connection [between the verses] is apparent under both interpretations. To suggest it is linked to His saying, the Exalted: {He gives wisdom to whom He wills}, as an indication of another category of people to whom it was not given, is baseless.

{And whatever you spend} in the ways of righteousness {of good}—that is, wealth—{is for yourselves}—that is, it belongs to you; no one else benefits from it in the Hereafter. {So do not intend the wicked} and invalidate it with reproach, harm, showing off to people, or by withholding it from the poor, whoever they may be, for your benefit through it is religious, while the benefit for the disbeliever among them is worldly. {Ma} (whatever) is a conditional particle requiring the jussive, and {tunfiqu} (you spend) is accusative as its object. {Min} (of) is partitive, related to an implicit element that acts as an adjective for the conditional noun, specifying it.

{And you do not spend except seeking the countenance of Allah.} This is an exception from the most general of causes and the most general of states. That is, you do not spend for any reason except for this reason, or in any state except this state. The clause is either a circumstantial qualifier or conjoined to what preceded it, in the sense of: "Whatever you spend of good, it shall be for you, not against you, if your state is such that you do not spend except seeking the countenance of Allah the Exalted," or "seeking His countenance, not harming, not reproachful, not showing off, and not intending the wicked." Or it may be in the sense of: "Your spending is only for such-and-such, so why do you reproach others with it, or spend the wicked, or withhold it from the poor among the polytheists from the People of the Book and others?"

It is said that the negation is in the sense of a prohibition, meaning: "Do not spend except for such-and-such." The inclusion of "countenance" (wajh) is for glorification and to exclude partnership. For when you say, "I did it for the sake (wajh) of Zayd," it is more exalted than saying, "I did it for him," because the "countenance" of a thing is its most honorable part. Then, the usage became so common that it was used to express honor absolutely. Furthermore, when one says, "I did this deed for so-and-so," it admits the possibility of partnership—that he did it for him and for another. But when he says, "I did it for his sake (wajhihi)," the root of partnership is severed by convention. Many of the creation took it to mean the Essence, while some interpreted it here as "pleasure," rendering the verse on the order of "except seeking the pleasure of Allah." As for the Predecessors (Salaf), after purifying [the meaning from anthropomorphism], they delegated [the knowledge of its nature] as is their custom regarding the ambiguous.

{Whatever you spend of good shall be repaid to you in full}—that is, you will be given its reward fully and amply, as the taf’il form implies, in the Hereafter, just as the preceding verses contained. This is what is narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them. The intent is to negate that they have any excuse for opposing the command referred to regarding spending. Thus, the clause is a confirmation of the preceding conditional statement, but not mere confirmation; otherwise, it would have been separated. Rather, it contains the implication that its context is meant to argue for the ugliness of abandoning that command. It is as if it were said: How can one reproach, or be deficient in what will benefit him, or how can one do that regarding something for which there is a substitute and an increase? In this respect, it is an independent command.

It is also said: The meaning is that its return is provided for you in this world, and nothing of your wealth is diminished by it, in response to the saying of the Messenger, may Allah bless him and grant him peace: "O Allah, grant a successor to the spender and destruction to the keeper." Tawfiyah (repayment in full) is the completion of a thing, and the addition of "to you" (ilaykum) is appropriate because it contains the meaning of "delivery." Attributing it to {Ma} (whatever) is metaphorical, and its literal reality is what you have heard.

Based on the cause of revelation, the verse is evidence for the permissibility of giving charity to a disbeliever. Regarding that which is not obligatory, this is an established matter. As for the obligatory, such as Zakat which the Imam is to collect, it is not permissible. As for others, such as Sadaqat al-Fitr, vows, and expiations, there is a difference of opinion. Imam Abu Hanifah, may Allah be pleased with him, permits it. The outward meaning of the words of the Exalted—{And they feed food, despite their love for it, to the poor, the orphan, and the captive}—supports this, as the captive in the Abode of Islam is necessarily a polytheist.

{And you will not be wronged}—that is, you will not have anything deducted from what you were promised. The clause is a circumstantial qualifier from the pronoun in {ilaykum} (to you), and the agent [of the circumstantial clause] is {yuwaffa} (be repaid).