Al-Isra: (26-28) And give to the near of kin...

Know that this is the fourth type of good deeds and obedience mentioned in these verses, and it contains several issues:

Issue 1: The Addressee of the Command

The command, {And give to the near of kin} (وآت ذا القربى), to whom is it addressed? There are two opinions:

The First Opinion: It is an address to the Messenger (صلى الله عليه وسلم). Allah commanded him to give his relatives the rights due to them from the spoils of war (al-Fay' and al-Ghanīmah). He also obligated him to give the share of the needy (al-Masākīn) and the wayfarer (Ibn al-Sabīl) from these two sources.

The Second Opinion: It is an address to everyone. The evidence for this is that it is connected to the verse: {And your Lord has decreed that you worship none but Him} (Al-Isra: 23). The meaning is that after you finish honoring your parents, you must engage in honoring all other relatives, starting with the closest, and then attend to the condition of the needy and the wayfarer.

Know that the Almighty's saying, {And give to the near of kin his due} (وءات ذا القربى حقه), is general (mujmal) and does not specify what that due is. According to Imam Al-Shafi'i (may Allah have mercy on him), spending (al-infaq) is only obligatory upon children and parents. A group said that spending is obligatory upon all close relatives (al-maḥārim) according to need. They agreed that for those who are not close relatives, like paternal cousins (abnā' al-'amm), the right is only for affection, visiting, good companionship, and harmony in times of ease and hardship.

As for the needy and the wayfarer, their description has already been covered in Surah At-Tawbah in the exegesis of the Zakat verse. It is obligatory to give the needy what suffices for his sustenance and the sustenance of his dependents, and to give the wayfarer what suffices for his provisions and means of transport until he reaches his destination.

Issue 2: The Prohibition of Wastefulness

Then the Almighty said: {And spend not with extreme extravagance} (ولا تبذر تبذيرا). Linguistically, extravagance (al-tabdhīr) means spoiling wealth and spending it wastefully (al-sarf).

'Uthmān ibn al-Aswad said: "I was circumambulating the Ka'bah with Mujāhid in the mosques. He raised his head toward Mount Abū Qubays and said: 'If a man spent the equivalent of this amount in obedience to Allah, he would not be considered extravagant. But if he spent a single Dirham in disobedience to Allah, he would be considered extravagant.'"

Some people spent lavishly on good deeds, and when told, "There is no good in extravagance," they replied, "There is no extravagance in good."

'Abdullāh ibn 'Umar reported that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) passed by Sa'd while he was performing ablution (wudū'). He asked, "What is this extravagance, Sa'd?" Sa'd replied, "Is there extravagance even in ablution?" He said, "Yes, even if you were by a flowing river."

Then the Almighty highlighted the ugliness of extravagance by attributing it to the actions of devils, saying: {Indeed, the wasteful are brothers of the devils} (إن المبذرين كانوا إخوان الشياطين).

The intended meaning of this brotherhood is resemblance to them in this ugly act. This is because the Arabs call someone who habitually does something a "brother" (akh) to it; they say, "So-and-so is the brother of generosity and bounty," or "the brother of travel," if he is constant in those actions.

Another interpretation of {brothers of the devils} is that they are their companions in this world and the Hereafter, as Allah says: {And whoever turns away from the remembrance of the Most Merciful - We appoint for him a devil, and he is his constant companion} (Al-A'rāf: 36). Allah also said: {Gather those who wronged, and their spouses} (As-Sāffāt: 22), meaning their companions from the devils.

Then the Almighty described the nature of the devil, saying: {And ever is Satan, to his Lord, ungrateful} (وكان الشيطان لربه كفورا). The meaning of the devil being ungrateful to his Lord is that he uses his body for disobedience, corruption on earth, and misleading people. Similarly, whoever Allah blesses with wealth or status and directs it away from what pleases Allah, he is ungrateful for Allah's bounty.

The objective is that the wasteful are brothers of the devils in the sense that they conform to the devils in characteristic and action. Since the devil is ungrateful to his Lord, it follows that the wasteful person is also ungrateful to his Lord.

Some scholars said that this verse was revealed in accordance with Arab customs. They used to accumulate wealth through raiding and plundering, and then spend it seeking vanity and boasting. The polytheists of Quraysh and others spent their wealth to deter people from Islam, weaken its adherents, and aid its enemies. Thus, this verse was revealed to point out the ugliness of their actions in this regard.

Issue 3: Dealing with Poverty and Lack of Means

Then the Almighty said: {But if you turn away from them, seeking mercy from your Lord which you hope for} (وإما تعرضن عنهم ابتغاء رحمة من ربك ترجوها). The meaning is that if you turn away from the near of kin, the needy, and the wayfarer out of shyness to refuse them directly due to poverty and scarcity, then {say to them a kind word} (فقل لهم قولا ميسورا). This means an easy, gentle word.

The phrase {seeking mercy from your Lord which you hope for} (ابتغاء رحمة من ربك ترجوها) is a metaphor for poverty, because one who lacks wealth seeks Allah's mercy and bounty. Since the lack of wealth is the cause of this seeking and hoping, the name of the cause was applied to the resulting state, so poverty was called "seeking mercy from Allah."

The meaning is: when poverty and scarcity occur, do not neglect to address them with beautiful speech and kind words. Rather, promise them a beautiful promise and offer an excuse, which is the occurrence of scarcity and lack of money, or say to them, "Allah will facilitate things."

There are several interpretations regarding the meaning of the "kind word" (al-qawl al-mayṣūr):

1. The kind word is to refuse them in the best manner.
2. The kind word is gentle and easy. Al-Kisā'ī said: "I made the speech easy for him" (yassartu aysar lahu al-qawl), meaning I softened it for him.
3. Some said the kind word is like His saying: {A kind word and forgiveness are better than charity followed by injury} (Al-Baqarah: 263). They said that "kind" (al-mayṣūr) is the recognized good (al-ma'rūf), because recognized speech does not require effort, and Allah knows best.

{And do not make your hand chained to your neck, nor extend it to its full extent, lest you sit down blamed and destitute. Indeed, your Lord extends provision to whom He wills and restricts it. Indeed, He is ever, of His servants, Acquainted, Seeing.}