Al-Baqarah: (267) O you who believe...

Know that the Almighty encouraged spending (in charity), then clarified that spending is of two types:

1. That which is followed by reminding (of the favor) and causing harm.
2. That which is not followed by such actions.

Then, the Almighty explained what pertains to each of these two types, and presented a parable for each one that reveals the meaning and clarifies the intended purpose in the most eloquent manner.

Then, the Almighty mentioned in this verse how the wealth that He commanded to be spent in the way of Allah should be: {Spend from the good things you have earned}.

There is a difference of opinion regarding what is meant by the command {Spend}:

• Al-Hasan said: It means the obligatory Zakah.
• A group said: It means voluntary charity (Sadaqah).
• A third group said: It encompasses both the obligatory (Fard) and the voluntary (Nafli).

The argument for the obligatory Zakah being intended: The apparent meaning of the command {Spend} is obligation (Wujub), and the obligatory spending is nothing other than Zakah and other obligatory expenditures.

The argument for voluntary charity being intended: It is narrated from Ali ibn Abi Talib (may Allah honor his face), Al-Hasan, and Mujahid that they used to give away the worst of their fruits and the inferior of their wealth in charity, and then Allah revealed this verse. It is also narrated from Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) that a man came one day with a bunch of withered dates ('idhaq hashaf) and placed it in the charity, so the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: "Badly has the owner of this acted." Then Allah revealed this verse.

The argument for both obligatory and voluntary spending being included: The concept understood from the command is the preference for the act over the abandonment of it, without specifying whether abandonment is permissible or not. This understood concept is common to both the obligatory and the voluntary, so both must be included under the command.

If you understand this, we say: Regarding the first opinion (that it refers to obligation), several issues arise:

The apparent meaning of the verse indicates the obligation of Zakah on every wealth a person earns. This includes Zakah on trade goods, Zakah on gold and silver, and Zakah on livestock, as these are described as "earned." It also indicates the obligation of Zakah on everything the earth yields, according to the view of Abu Hanifa (may Allah have mercy on him), and his evidence from this verse is very clear. However, his opponents restrict this generality with the Prophet's (PBUH) saying: "There is no Sadaqah on vegetables." Furthermore, Abu Hanifa's position is that paying Zakah from everything the earth grows is obligatory, whether little or much. The apparent meaning of the verse supports this, except that his opponents restrict this generality with the saying: "There is no Sadaqah on less than five wasqs."

They differed on the meaning of Tayyib in this verse, with two opinions:

Opinion 1: It means the excellent quality of wealth, not the inferior. The word Tayyib is used metaphorically for the excellent. According to this interpretation, what is meant by the Khabeeth (foul/bad) mentioned in the verse is the inferior quality.

Opinion 2 (The view of Ibn Mas'ud and Mujahid): Tayyib means lawful (Halal), and Khabeeth means unlawful (Haram).

Evidence for Opinion 1 (Excellent Quality):

1. We mentioned in the reason for revelation that they used to give away the inferior of their wealth, which indicates that Tayyib means excellent quality.
2. The unlawful (Haram) cannot be taken, whether with closing the eye (ignoring) or without. The verse indicates that the Khabeeth can be taken with closing the eye (Ighmad). Al-Qaffal (may Allah have mercy on him) responded: Perhaps Ighmad here means leniency and not being overly meticulous. The meaning would be: "And you would not take it unless you overlook it," meaning you would not accept it unless you permit yourselves to take the unlawful, not caring from where the money was acquired, whether from the lawful or the unlawful.
3. This view is supported by the Almighty's saying: {You will never attain righteousness until you spend of what you love} (Al 'Imran: 92), which indicates that Tayyibat refers to precious things whose possession is desired, not base things that everyone must repel from themselves and remove from their homes.

The argument for Opinion 2 (Lawful): The Judge argued for the second opinion by saying: We agree that Tayyib in this verse means either excellent quality or lawful. If the first is refuted, the second must be true. We refute the first because if it meant excellent quality, it would be a command to spend any excellent quality, whether unlawful or lawful, which is not permissible. Committing to a specific restriction goes against the general rule, so it is established that Tayyib does not mean excellent quality, but rather lawful.

A Third View: It can be stated that Tayyib here means that which is good in all respects—good in the sense of being lawful, and good in the sense of quality. No one can object by saying that a shared term cannot be applied to both its meanings, because the lawful is called Tayyib because the intellect and religion find it agreeable, and the excellent is called Tayyib because desire and appetite find it agreeable. Thus, the concept of agreeableness (Istitaabah) is a single concept shared between the two categories, so the word can encompass both if we establish that the intended meaning is the excellent and lawful.

If we establish that the intended meaning is the excellent and lawful, we consider the wealth subject to Zakah: either it is all noble, or all base, or mixed.

• If it is all noble, the portion taken for Zakah will also be noble.
• If it is all base, the Zakah will also be from that base wealth, and this would not contradict the verse because what is taken in this case is not the base part of that wealth.
• If the wealth contains both excellent and base parts, then one is told: "Do not make the Zakah from the base part of your wealth."
• If the wealth is mixed, the middle ground is obligatory. The Prophet (PBUH) said to Mu'adh ibn Jabal when he sent him to Yemen: "Inform them that they have a Sadaqah taken from their wealthy and returned to their poor, and beware of taking the choicest of their wealth."

All of this is based on the view that {Spend from the good things you have earned} refers to the obligatory Zakah.

However, if the intended meaning is voluntary charity, or if we hold that it includes both obligatory and voluntary spending, then we say: Allah the Almighty encouraged them to draw near to Him with the best of what they possess, just as one who presents a gift to a great Sultan must ensure that the gift is the best and noblest of what he owns. So it is here.

One remaining question in the verse: What is the benefit of the word {min} (from) in the phrase {and from what We have brought forth for you from the earth}?

Answer: The structure of the verse is: "Spend from the good things you have earned, and spend from the good things We have brought forth for you from the earth." The mention of Tayyibat once is sufficient to indicate it for the second instance.

Regarding His saying: {And do not intend the foul/bad} (wa lā tayamamū al-khabīth), there are two issues:

It is said: amamtuhu, tayyamamtuhu, and ta'amamtuhu all mean "I intended it" or "I aimed for it." Al-A'sha said:

I aimed for Qays, though many lands of high status lay between him and me.

Ibn Kathir alone recited {wa lā tayamamū} with a tā' (ت) doubled (shaddah), because originally there were two *tā'*s: the tā' of the second-person address and the tā' of the verb, and one was merged into the other. The rest recite it with a single, un-doubled tā' (with a fatḥa). This difference of opinion applies to its counterparts, which number twenty-three instances: lā tafarraqū, tuwaffāhum, ta'āwanū, tafuraq bikum, talqaf, tuwallū, tanāza'ū, turbassūna, fa-in tawallaw, lā takallam, talqawnahu, tabarrajna, yabaddal, tanāsarūn, tajassasū, tanābazū, li-ta'ārafū, tamayyiz, takhyarūn, talahā, taladhdhā, tanzil al-malā'ikah, and here in this verse.

First Point of Discussion: Abu Ali said this merging (Idghām) is not permissible because the merged letter must be quiescent (sākin), and if it is quiescent, a connecting hamza (hamzat al-waṣl) must be brought when starting the word, as in past tense forms like a-dā-ra-tum and ir-tabtum and uṭīrna. However, they agreed that the hamzat al-waṣl does not enter the present tense verb.

Second Point of Discussion: They differed on the omitted tā' in the reading of the majority. Some said: It is the first tā'. Sibawayh said: Only the second tā' is omitted. Al-Farra' said: Whichever tā' is omitted is permissible because the remaining one stands in its place.

Regarding His saying: {from which you spend} (minhu tunfiqūn).

Know that there are two ways to structure the verse:

1. The sentence ends at {And do not intend the foul}, and a new sentence begins: {From which you spend? And you are not taking it unless you close your eyes therein}. In this case, {From which you spend?} is a question expressing censure, meaning: "Do you spend from it, while you would not take it unless you close your eyes?"
2. The sentence ends at {unless you close your eyes therein}, and the word alladhī (which) is implied. The structure is: "And do not intend the foul from that which you spend, while you are not taking it unless you close your eyes therein." This is analogous to the implied alladhī in the verse: {He has grasped the firmest handhold, which will never break} (Al-Baqarah: 256), meaning: the firmest handhold which will never break.

Regarding His saying: {And you are not taking it unless you close your eyes therein} (wa lastum bi-ākhidhīhi illā an tughmiḍū fīh), there are issues:

In language, Ighmāḍ means lowering the gaze, closing one eyelid over the other. Its root is from Ghumūḍ (obscurity), meaning hidden from perception. It is said: "This speech is ghāmiḍ" (obscure), meaning difficult to grasp. Al-ghamḍ is the low, hidden part of the earth.

There are views on the meaning of Ighmāḍ here:

1. It means leniency/tolerance. This is because when a person sees something he dislikes, he closes his eyes so as not to see it. This usage became common until every overlooking and leniency in selling or otherwise was called Ighmāḍ. So, {And you are not taking it unless you close your eyes therein} means: If such things were gifted to you, you would not take them except with shyness and closing the eyes. How then do you accept for Me what you do not accept for yourselves?
2. It refers to the transitive form, as you say: "I closed the eyes of the dead person" (Aghmaḍtu baṣar al-mayyit). The meaning is: "You are not taking it unless you cause the seller to close his eyes," meaning you command him to lower the price.

The verse concludes with: {And know that Allah is Self-Sufficient, Praiseworthy} (wa-ʿlamū anna Allāha ghaniyyun ḥamīd). This means He is Self-Sufficient (Ghaniyy) and does not need your charities. Ḥamīd means Praised for the clarity He bestowed in explanation. Another view is that Ghaniyy serves as a warning against giving inferior things in charity, and Ḥamīd means Praiser, meaning: "I praise you for the good deeds you perform," similar to His saying: {then their efforts will have been appreciated} (Al-Isrā': 19).

7 < { Satan threatens you with poverty and commands you to indecency, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Himself and bounty. And Allah is All-Encompassing, All-Knowing. } > 7 !