| Abraham: (31) Say to My servants who...

Know that when the Almighty commanded the disbelievers, as a form of threat and warning, to enjoy the pleasures of this world, He commanded the believers in this verse to abandon worldly enjoyment and strive intensely in the struggle (mujahada) of the self and wealth. There are several issues concerning this:

Ḥamzah and al-Kisā'ī recited it with a quiescent Yā' (لِعْبَادِي), while the rest recited it with a vocalized Yā' (لِعِبَادِي) due to the movement required to avoid the meeting of two quiescent letters (sukūn).

There are two interpretations:

1. It could be the response to an implied command that is the content of what is said. The meaning is: Say to My servants who have believed, "Establish the prayer and spend," [so that] they establish the prayer and spend.
2. It could be the content of a command where the lām al-amr (the particle of command) is omitted. That is, li-yuqīmū (let them establish), similar to saying, "Say to Zayd, li-yaḍriba 'Amr" (Let Zayd strike 'Amr). The omission of the lām is permissible because the word "Say" (قُل) serves as a substitute for it. If one were to say initially, "Establish the prayer" (يقيموا الصلاة), it would not be permissible (in this context).

After one has completed the act of faith (Imān), one has no power to act upon anything except concerning oneself or one's wealth. As for the self, it must be occupied with serving the Worshipped One through prayer. As for wealth, it must be spent in obedience to God Almighty. Thus, these three—faith, prayer, and charity (Zakāh)—are the recognized acts of obedience. The complete exposition of these three matters was mentioned previously in His saying: {Those who believe in the unseen, establish the prayer, and spend from what We have provided for them} (Al-Baqarah: 3).

The Mu'tazilites argued that this verse indicates that provision (rizq) cannot be unlawful. This is because the verse indicates that spending from provision is praiseworthy, and spending from the unlawful is never praiseworthy. Therefore, provision cannot be unlawful. The detailed reasoning for this argument has been discussed repeatedly.

There are several possibilities for its grammatical case:

1. It functions as a ḥāl (circumstantial adverb), meaning "possessing secrecy and openness," i.e., doing so secretly and openly.
2. It functions as an adverb of time (ẓarf), meaning "at the time of secrecy and openness."
3. It functions as a maṣdar (verbal noun), meaning "spending secretly and spending openly." The intent here is to conceal voluntary spending (nafl) and make obligatory spending (wājib) public.

Know that when the Almighty commanded the establishment of prayer and the giving of charity, He said: {before there comes a Day in which there is no trade nor friendship}. Abū 'Ubaydah said that "trade" (بيع) here means ransom (fidā'), and "friendship" (خلال) is the verbal noun derived from khilālah or mukhālah, which means sincere friendship. Al-Muqātil said that it is a Day where there is no buying, no selling, no friendship, and no kinship. It is as if the Almighty is saying: Spend your wealth in this world so that you may find the reward for that spending on such a Day when neither transaction nor friendship can be achieved. A similar verse is found in Sūrat Al-Baqarah: {In it there is no trade, nor friendship, nor intercession} (Al-Baqarah: 254).

If it is asked: How is friendship negated in these two verses, when the Almighty affirmed it in His saying: {Close friends, that Day, will be mutually hostile to one another, except for the pious} (Az-Zukhruf: 67)?

We reply: The verse negating friendship is interpreted as negating friendship arising from natural inclination and the desire of the soul. The verse affirming friendship is interpreted as affirming the friendship that arises from servitude to God Almighty and love for God Almighty. And God knows best.

| 7 < { It is Allah Who created the heavens and the earth and sent down water from the sky and brought forth thereby fruits as provision for you. And He has subjected the ships to you, that they may sail the sea by His command, and He has subjected the rivers to you. And He has subjected for you the sun and the moon, both diligently pursuing their courses, and He has subjected for you the night and the day. And He gave you of all that you asked Him. And if you should count the favors of Allah, you could not enumerate them. Indeed, mankind is unjust, ungrateful. } > 7

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