Tafsir of Al Imran 3:180

This is an explanation of the state of stinginess and its evil consequences, and a correction for its practitioners in their claim that it is good, according to the explanation of the state of dictation. Thus, the verse is linked to what preceded it.

It is said that the aspect of the connection is that when Allah, the Exalted, reached the point of inciting the expenditure of lives in Jihad and other matters, He began here to incite the expenditure of wealth and explained the severe threat for those who are stingy. Bringing what they were stingy with under the title of "what Allah has given them of His bounty" is for the sake of hyperbole in explaining the evil of their deed, for that is among the reasons for spending it in His path, the Exalted. The verb "to think" (yahsabanna) is attributed to the relative pronoun (alladhina), and the first object is omitted because the clause (the silah) indicates it.

It has been objected that the object in this category is required from two directions: from the direction of the agent acting upon it, and from the direction of its being one of the two parts of the sentence. When the requirement for it is repeated, its omission becomes impossible. This was refuted by the predicate of kana, for it is also required from two directions, yet there is no disagreement regarding the permissibility of omitting it if there is evidence indicating it.

Al-Tayyibi transmitted from the author of al-Kashshaf that the omission of one of the two objects of hasaba (to think) is only permissible if the subject of hasaba and its two objects are one and the same thing in meaning, as in His saying: {And do not think those who are killed in the way of Allah [to be] dead} according to the reading with the ya (the tahtiyya). Then he said: This verse is not like that, so there must be an interpretation saying: "Those who are stingy" — the subject, due to its inclusion of stinginess, was in a state of unity between subject and object, and that is why it was omitted. It is said that Al-Zamakhshari alluded to the strength of the context through the unity he mentioned. Both statements are baseless. The correct view is that the validity of omission depends on the context; whenever it is found, omission is permissible, and whenever it is not found, it is not permissible.

The claim that huwa is a pronoun of nominative case borrowed in place of the accusative, referring to stinginess or the giving, acting as the first object, is extreme forcefulness (ta'assuf) not befitting the noble composition. Even if the Master Isam al-Din allowed it, following Abu al-Baqa', it is said in al-Durr al-Masun: It is an error. The correct view is that it is a pronoun of separation (damir fasl) between the two objects of hasaba, not an emphasis for the noun as was imagined. It is also said that the verb is attributed to the pronoun of the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) or the pronoun of whoever is thinking, and the first object is the relative pronoun with the estimation of a genitive addition (mudaf), meaning: "the stinginess of those who are stingy," and the second is "better," as in the first viewpoint, but this is contrary to the apparent meaning. Indeed, it is definitive according to the reading of address (al-khitab).

In any case, a mudaf (genitive addition) is estimated between the ba (in bi-ma) and its genitive term, meaning: "Do not let those who are stingy with [spending or Zakat] what Allah has given them of His bounty think that it is a good quality (or 'better') for them than spending. Rather, it is a great evil for them." Specifying this, despite it being known from what preceded, is for the sake of hyperbole. {They will be circled by what they were stingy with on the Day of Resurrection} is an explanation of the manner of its evil for them. The sin is added for emphasis. According to the majority, the statement is either taken according to its literal meaning, as Al-Bukhari extracted from Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) who said: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "Whoever is given wealth by Allah and does not pay its Zakat, it will be represented to him on the Day of Resurrection as a bald snake with two spots, circling him on the Day of Resurrection, then it will take hold of his jawbones and say: 'I am your wealth, I am your treasure.' Then he recited this verse."

Others besides him extracted from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) that he said: "There is no relative who comes to his relative asking him from the surplus of what Allah has given him, and he is stingy with him, except that a snake emerges from Hell for him on the Day of Resurrection, foaming, until it circles him." Then he recited the verse.

Abd al-Razzaq and others extracted from Ibrahim al-Nakha'i that he said: "What they were stingy with will be made into a collar of fire around their necks."

Some went to the view that the literal meaning is not intended, and the meaning is, as Mujahid said: "They will be tasked with bringing the equivalent of what they were stingy with from their wealth on the Day of Resurrection as a punishment for them, and they will not be able to bring it." Abu Muslim said: "They will be forced to bear the ruin of what they were stingy with, as a collar is forced, based on the omission of the mudaf (genitive addition) and the mudaf ilayh (genitive term) standing in its place to signal the completeness of the correspondence between them." Among their proverbs is "it is worn as a dove's collar." However it may be, the verse was revealed concerning those who withhold Zakat, as reported from al-Sadiq, Ibn Mas'ud, al-Sha'bi, al-Suddi, and a host of others; and this is the apparent meaning. Ibn Jarir and Ibn Abi Hatim extracted from Ibn Abbas that it was revealed concerning the People of the Scripture who concealed the description of the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) and his prophethood which the Torah spoke of. Thus, "stinginess" refers to concealing knowledge, and "bounty" refers to the Torah which they were given. The meaning of "they will be circled" is what Abu Muslim said, or the meaning is that they will be circled with a collar of fire as a reward for this concealment.

The verse, in that case, is like his saying (may Allah bless him and grant him peace): "Whoever is asked about knowledge and conceals it, he will be bridled with a bridle of fire." Accordingly, this is a return to what the discourse had drifted from regarding the story of Uhud, and that is the explanation of the states of the People of the Scripture. It is said: This is supported by the fact that many of the verses in the remainder of the Surah are about them.

{And to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth} — meaning, to Allah alone, not to anyone else independently or by participation, belongs what is in the heavens and the earth of what is inherited, of wealth and other things, like the states that transfer from one to another, such as the messages that the people of heaven inherit, for instance. So what is the matter with these people that they are stingy with His property and do not spend it in His path and in seeking His pleasure? "Inheritance" (mirath) is a verbal noun like "appointed time" (mi'ad), and its origin is muwarath, but the waw was changed to a ya because of the kasra before it. The intended meaning is what is inherited, and the statement is running on its literal meaning, with no metaphor in it. It is also permissible that Allah, the Exalted, inherits from them what is in their hands of what they were stingy with, and it transfers from them to Him when He destroys and annihilates them, and the regret and remorse remain for them. In this case, there is a metaphor in the statement. Al-Zajjaj said: Meaning, Allah, the Exalted, annihilates their owners, so they remain with what is in them, and no one has ownership over them. So they were addressed with what they know, for they make what returns to a human an "inheritance" and "ownership" for him. {And Allah is acquainted with what you do} of withholding and stinginess, so He will reward you for that. The manifestation of the Glorious Name is to cultivate awe, and the shift to address is for hyperbole in the threat, because the threat of the Great One by confrontation is more severe. This is the reading of Nafi', Ibn 'Amir, 'Asim, Hamzah, and Al-Kisa'i. The rest read it with the ya (third person).