Tafsir of Al-Hashr 59:9

The majority hold that this is conjoined to "the emigrants" (al-muhajirin), and that those intended by it are the Ansar (the Helpers). Al-tabawwu' means to descend or settle in a place, from which is derived the term al-maba’ah for a dwelling. Its attribution to "the Abode" (al-dar), with the intended meaning being Medina, is apparent. As for its attribution to "faith," it is by way of considering faith as a place of settlement and residency, using a metaphorical device (isti’arah makniyyah takhyiliyyah). The definite article in "the Abode" is for the purpose of glorification, as if it were the only abode worthy of being called "an abode," and it is the one Allah the Exalted prepared for them so that their settling therein might serve as praise for them.

Many have stated that the speech is of the type: "I fed her hay and cold water," meaning: They settled in the Abode and perfected their faith. It is said that al-tabawwu’ is a synecdochical metaphor (majaz mursal) for "adherence" (luzum), which is the implication of its meaning; it is as if it were said: "They adhered to the Abode and to the faith." Others said regarding its interpretation that the "al-" (the) in "the Abode" is for specific reference (’ahd), referring to the Abode of Migration, which suffices for an annexation (idafa), and in "faith," a noun has been omitted, meaning "the abode of faith." Thus, it is as if it were said: "They settled in the Abode of Migration and the Abode of Faith," considering that both "abodes" refer to Medina, and the conjunction is like your saying, "I saw the rain and the lion," intending only Zayd. The forced nature and extremism in this are evident.

It is also said that "faith" is a metaphor for the city, naming the location of something’s manifestation by its name as an exaggeration, which is—as you can see—tenuous. Others said the "and" (wa) is for concomitance, meaning they settled in the Abode along with their faith, that is, they settled there while being believers; this is also unsubstantiated. The best of these views is what we mentioned first. Some have said that "the Abode" is a proper name by dominance for Medina, just like "the City" (al-madinah), and that it is one of its names, including Tayyibah, Tabah, Yathrib, Jabirah, and others.

Al-Zubayr ibn Bakkar extracted from Zayd ibn Aslam a marfu’ hadith indicating this. As for "before them"—meaning before the emigrants—the prepositional phrase relates to "settled," and the speech assumes an omitted noun, meaning: "before their migration." Thus, the ultimate implication is the precedence of the Ansar’s faith over the migration of the emigrants, which does not necessitate that their faith preceded the emigrants' own faith such that the matter could be reversed. It is permissible not to assume an omitted noun and to say: The intention is not the precedence of the Ansar in the essence of faith, but rather their precedence in being established in it, because they were not disputed regarding it since they had already made it manifest.

It is said that the speech involves a transposition of order, the meaning being: "They settled in the Abode and in faith," which would imply their precedence in settling the Abode only, which contradicts the apparent meaning, and such a construction is not accepted unless it contains a subtle point, which is not apparent here. It is also said there is no need for any of this; the furthest the verse implies is that the totality of the Ansar’s settling and their faith preceded the totality of the emigrants’ settling and their faith. It suffices for the whole to precede that some of its parts precede, which here is the settling of the Abode. This was countered by the claim that this is insufficient, and even if it were accepted, it would be correct to say that the emigrants' settling and faith preceded the Ansar’s, because the emigrants’ faith preceded (the others).

“They love those who migrated to them”: This is in the place of a state (hal) for the pronoun (al-mawsul), and it is also said to be a commencement of a new sentence. It is said this is a metonymy for their providing support to the emigrants and their lack of heavyheartedness or annoyance with them when they are in need of them. Others say it is to be taken literally: they love those who migrated to them due to their migration to them, out of love for the faith.

“And they do not find in their chests”: meaning they do not perceive within their own selves, “any need”: meaning a desire for something needed, “of what they have been given”: that is, from the spoils and other things given to the emigrants. The conclusion is that their souls did not covet what was given to the emigrants nor did they yearn for any of it that they might feel a need for. "Finding" here is a practical perception, and its location in the "chest" is metaphorical. "Need" in the sense of the object needed is a common usage; one says, "Take from it your need," and "He gave him from his need." The min (of) is partitive (tab’idiyyah), though it is permissible to consider it explanatory (bayaniyyah), with the speech containing an omitted noun, namely "a request." This holds a noble benefit, as if they did not even conceive of such things, nor did it cross their minds that it was something "needed" such that the soul would reach out for it.

It is permissible that the meaning is: they do not find in themselves what might cause a need, such as irritation, rage, envy, or jealousy regarding what was given to the emigrants, considering "need" a metaphor for that which is caused by it. It is also said it is a metonymy for the aforementioned because the need cannot be separated from it, so the name of the necessary consequence is applied to the cause; but the former is better. The claim by some that "need" is just a consequence of phrasing is incorrect. The min in “of what they have been given” is causal.

“And they give preference”: meaning they prioritize the emigrants over their own selves, “in every matter of the good things, even that one of them who had two wives would relinquish one of them and have her marry one of them.” It is also permissible not to limit the object of "they give preference" specifically to the emigrants. Al-Bukhari, Muslim, al-Tirmidhi, al-Nasa'i, and others extracted from Abu Hurayrah who said: A man came to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, and said: "O Messenger of Allah, I have been afflicted with exhaustion." He sent to his wives, but they found nothing with them. The Prophet, peace be upon him, said: "Will no man host this person tonight? May Allah have mercy on him." A man from the Ansar stood up—and in another narration, Abu Talha said: "I will, O Messenger of Allah." He took him to his family and said to his wife: "Honor the guest of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him." She said: "By Allah, I have nothing except the food for the children." He said: "When the children want dinner, put them to sleep, come here, put out the lamp, and we shall go hungry tonight for the sake of the guest of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him." She did so. The next morning, the guest went to the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, who said: "Allah marvelled at the action of so-and-so and his wife last night," and Allah the Exalted revealed regarding them: “And they give preference...” to the end of the verse.

Al-Hakim—who authenticated it—Ibn Mardawayh, and al-Bayhaqi in al-Shu'ab extracted from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them both, that he said: A sheep's head was gifted to a man among the companions of the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him. He said: "My brother so-and-so and his family are in greater need of this than we are," so he sent it to him. He continued to send it from one to another until it had circulated among seven households, eventually returning to the first. Then “And they give preference over themselves” was revealed.

“Even if they were in poverty”: meaning a need, from the khasas (fissures) of a house, which are the gaps and openings remaining between its wooden beams. The sentence is in the place of a state (hal).

“And whoever is saved from the miserliness of his own soul”: Al-shuh (miserliness) is baseness, where the soul is stingy and greedy, bent on withholding, as the poet said: "He wrestles with a soul between his sides that is stingy; when he intends an act of kindness, it says to him: 'Wait'." It is attributed to the "soul" because it is an instinct rooted within it. As for al-bukhl (parsimony), it is withholding for oneself. Al-Raghib said: Al-shuh is parsimony combined with greed, typically in matters that were habitual.

Ibn al-Mundhir extracted from al-Hasan that he said: "Parsimony is that a person is stingy with what is in his hand, while al-shuh is being stingy regarding what is in the hands of others." Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Shaybah, Ibn Abi Hatim, al-Bayhaqi in al-Shu'ab, and al-Hakim—who authenticated it—along with a group, extracted from Ibn Mas’ud that a man said to him: "I fear I have perished." He asked: "Why is that?" The man said: "I heard Allah the Exalted saying: 'And whoever is saved from the miserliness of his own soul' and I am a miserly man; almost nothing comes out of me." Ibn Mas’ud said: "That is not al-shuh; that is parsimony, and there is no good in parsimony. But the shuh that Allah the Exalted mentioned is that you consume your brother's wealth unjustly." Ibn al-Mundhir and Ibn Mardawayh extracted from Ibn Umar, may Allah be pleased with them, that he said: "Al-shuh is not that a man withholds his own wealth, for that is parsimony; rather, al-shuh is for a man's eyes to covet what is not his." I have not seen any of the linguists provide these specific interpretations for shuh; perhaps it means extreme parsimony such that the one characterized by it is stingy with others’ wealth—that is, he does not desire for others to be generous with it, his soul contracts at it, and he strives that it not occur—or such that his greed reaches a point where he consumes his brother's wealth unjustly, or his eyes covet what is not his, and his soul refuses for it to be for others. So ponder this.

Abu Haywah and Ibn Abi ‘Ablah read "wa-man yuwqqa" with the qaf doubled. Ibn Umar and Ibn Abi ‘Ablah read "shuhhi" with a kasra on the shin, and there is another dialectal form for it. The meaning of all is one. The meaning of the verse is: whoever is saved, by the success granted by Allah the Exalted and His assistance, from the miserliness of his own soul, so that he opposes it in what dominates it of love for wealth and hatred of spending, “then it is they who are the successful”—those who have attained every sought goal and been saved from every disliked thing. The conditional sentence is a beautiful conclusion and praise for the Ansar, in that it is the ultimate fulfillment of their taking on this quality as a primary characteristic. The shift from the singular (in "his own soul") to the plural (in "they are the successful") is a consideration of the word's form and then its meaning, as well as an allusion to the scarcity of those who are truly characterized by this in reality, though they are many in meaning: "And people are a thousand, of whom one is as a thousand, and one is as a thousand if we are commanded."

It is understood from the verse that al-shuh is severely condemned, and many reports have come down condemning it. Al-Hakim al-Tirmidhi, Abu Ya’la, and Ibn Mardawayh extracted from Anas in marfu’ form: "Islam is never eradicated by the eradication of shuh." Ibn Abi Shaybah, al-Nasa’i, al-Bayhaqi in al-Shu’ab, and al-Hakim—who authenticated it—extracted from Abu Hurayrah in marfu’ form: "The dust of the path of Allah and the smoke of the fire of Hell shall never gather in the interior of a servant ever, and faith and shuh shall never gather in the heart of a servant ever." Abu Dawud, al-Tirmidhi—who called it strange—al-Bukhari in al-Adab, and others extracted from Abu Sa’id al-Khudri in marfu’ form: "Two qualities do not gather in the interior of a Muslim: parsimony and poor character." Ibn Abi al-Dunya, Ibn ‘Adi, al-Hakim, and al-Khatib extracted from Anas that he said: The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Allah the Exalted created the Garden of Eden and planted its trees with His hand, then said to it: 'Speak!' It said: 'The believers have succeeded.' Allah the Mighty and Majestic said: 'By My Might and Majesty, no miser shall dwell as My neighbor in you.' Then the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, recited: 'And whoever is saved from the miserliness of his own soul, then it is they who are the successful.'"

Ahmad, al-Bukhari in al-Adab, Muslim, and al-Bayhaqi extracted from Jabir ibn Abd Allah that the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: "Beware of injustice, for injustice is darkness on the Day of Resurrection, and beware of shuh, for shuh destroyed those who came before you; it drove them to shed their blood and deem lawful their sanctities," along with other reports. However, it should be known that protection from shuh does not require that a man be generous with everything. Abd ibn Humayd, Abu Ya’la, al-Tabarani, and al-Diya’ extracted from Mujammi’ ibn Yahya in marfu’ form: "He is free from shuh who pays the zakat, hosts the guest, and gives in times of calamity." Ibn Mardawayh extracted something similar from Jabir ibn Abd Allah, as did Ibn Jarir and al-Bayhaqi from Anas. Ibn al-Mundhir extracted from Ali, may Allah’s face be honored, that he said: "Whoever pays the zakat on his wealth has been saved from the miserliness of his own soul."