Al-Baqarah: (273) For the poor who are restricted in the cause of Allah...

Know that when the Almighty established in the first verse that it is permissible to give charity to any poor person, He clarified in this verse who is most deserving of receiving charity. He said: {For the poor who are restricted in the cause of Allah}. There are several issues concerning this verse:

Issue 1: The meaning of the Lām (preposition 'for') in {For the poor}

There are several views regarding what this Lām is related to:

1. First View: Since numerous verses preceded this one urging expenditure (in charity), the statement {For the poor} means that the expenditure being urged belongs to the poor. This is like when a person is mentioned, and then one says, "He is intelligent and discerning." The meaning is that the previously described person is intelligent and discerning. Similarly, people write on a pouch containing gold and dirhams: "Two thousand and two hundred," meaning, "What is in this pouch is two thousand and two hundred." This is considered the best view.
2. Second View: The implied meaning of the verse is: "Devote yourselves to the poor and make what you spend for them."
3. Third View: It is possible that the predicate of an omitted subject is intended. The meaning would be: "And your charities are for the poor."

Issue 2: Context of Revelation

This verse was revealed concerning the poor among the Emigrants (Muhajirun), numbering about four hundred. They were the People of the Bench (Aṣḥāb al-Ṣuffah). They had no dwelling or kinship in Medina; they constantly remained in the Mosque, learning the Qur'an, fasting, and participating in every military expedition.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) once stood over the People of the Bench and saw their poverty and hardship, yet he observed their contentment. He said: "Rejoice, O People of the Bench! Whoever meets me from my Ummah in the state you are in, content with what you have, he shall be among my companions."

Know that Allah the Almighty described these poor people with five characteristics:

Linguistically, iḥṣār (restriction) means something prevents a person from traveling, such as illness, old age, an enemy, lack of provisions, or similar things. A person who is prevented is called muḥṣar. We have already discussed the meaning of iḥṣār in relation to the verse {But if you are prevented...}, so we omit repetition.

Regarding the interpretation of this verse, it has been explained with every possible meaning of iḥṣār:

1. First Interpretation: They restricted themselves and dedicated themselves to Jihad. The phrase {in the cause of Allah} is specific to Jihad in the terminology of the Qur'an. Since Jihad was obligatory at that time, there was a great need for those who would confine themselves to fighting alongside the Prophet (PBUH), remaining prepared whenever the need arose. Thus, the Almighty clarified that these poor people possess this quality. For someone in this situation, giving charity yields several benefits:
   • Removing their hardship.
   • Strengthening their resolve for what they are dedicated to.
   • Strengthening Islam by supporting the Mujahideen.
   • They were extremely needy, yet they did not display their need, as Allah says: {The ignorant man thinks them rich for their modesty; you will know them by their mark}.

2. Second Interpretation (The view of Qatadah and Ibn Zayd): They prevented themselves from engaging in trade for livelihood due to fear of the enemies (disbelievers), as the disbelievers were gathered around Medina, and if they found them, they would kill them.

3. Third Interpretation (The view of Sa'id ibn al-Musayyab and the preference of Al-Kisā'ī): These people suffered injuries while fighting alongside the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) and became disabled (zamnā), so illness and disability restricted them from traveling for work.

4. Fourth Interpretation (Ibn Abbas): These were emigrants whose poverty prevented them from engaging in Jihad in the cause of Allah, so Allah excused them.

5. Fifth Interpretation: These were people preoccupied with the remembrance of Allah, obedience, and worship. Their intense absorption in that devotion restricted them from attending to other matters.

To "strike the earth" (ḍaraba fī al-arḍ) means to travel upon it. The inability to travel could be because:

• Their preoccupation with religious matters and Jihad prevents them from engaging in earning or trade.
• Their fear of enemies prevents them from traveling.
• Their illness and incapacity prevent them from traveling.

In all cases, there is no doubt about their intense need for someone to assist them in their affairs.

This involves two issues:

Issue 1: Recitation Variant 'Āṣim, Ibn 'Āmir, and Ḥamzah recited it with a fatḥah (vowel mark) on the sīn (yaḥsabuhum), while the rest recited it with a kasrah (yaḥsibuhum). Both readings mean the same thing. The Qur'an contains words recited with both pronunciations (fatḥah and kasrah). The fatḥah is more regular according to Arabic grammar, as the past tense verb fa'ala (like ḥasaba) usually has the present tense yaf'alu (like yafriqu from faraqa). However, ḥasaba came with yaf'ilu (like yaḥsibu), which is irregular but accepted due to transmission.

Issue 2: Meaning of Ignorance and Modesty Ḥusbān means conjecture or assumption. The term {the ignorant man} does not refer to one lacking intellect, but rather one lacking experience or testing their situation. It means: the one who has not tested their condition assumes they are rich because of their modesty. Ta'affuf is derived from 'iffah, which linguistically means refraining from something. Here, it means refraining from asking (begging). The ignorant person assumes they are rich because they display refinement and refrain from asking.

Sīmah (or Sīmiyā) is the sign by which something is recognized, originating from simah (mark), where the wāw (the letter 'w') was transposed to the position of the ayn. Al-Wāḥidī said its pattern is fa'al, just as they say jāh (prestige) for a person, meaning face/countenance. Some said sīmah means eminence because it is a mark placed for visibility.

• Mujāhid said: Their sīmah is humility and meekness.
• Al-Rabi' and Al-Suddī said: The mark of hardship from poverty and need.
• Al-Ḍaḥḥāk said: The paleness of their complexions due to hunger.
• Ibn Zayd said: The shabbiness of their clothing.

I believe that all these interpretations have an issue because everything they mentioned are signs indicating poverty, which contradicts the statement {The ignorant man thinks them rich for their modesty}.

Rather, the intended meaning is something else: that the sincere servants of Allah possess a certain awe and impact in the hearts of people. Whoever sees them is affected by them and shows humility towards them. These are spiritual perceptions, not physical attributes. Do you not see that when a lion passes by, all other beasts instinctively fear it, not through experience (since the experience hasn't occurred yet)? And when a falcon flies, the weak birds flee from it. All these are spiritual perceptions, not physical ones. Similarly here. This is related to the effects of devotion in prayer, as Allah says: {Their mark is on their faces, from the trace of prostration} (Al-Fatḥ: 29). Also, the manifestation of the effects of contemplation. It is narrated that they used to spend the night in vigil (Tahajjud) and gather firewood during the day to maintain their self-sufficiency.

Regarding the phrase {They cannot travel about the earth} (which the text seems to interpret here as related to asking/begging, perhaps conflating it with the next phrase):

It is narrated from Ibn Mas'ud (may Allah be pleased with him) that Allah loves the chaste, self-restraining person, and hates the shameless, foul-mouthed beggar who, if given much, praises excessively, and if given little, criticizes excessively.

The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) said: "No one opens the door of asking unless Allah opens a door of poverty for him. Whoever seeks self-sufficiency, Allah makes him self-sufficient. Whoever seeks chastity, Allah makes him chaste. It is better for one of you to take a rope, gather firewood, and sell it for a measure of dates than to ask people."

Know that this part of the verse is problematic, and several interpretations have been offered:

1. First View: Ilḥāf (insistence/persistence) means importunity. The meaning is that they asked gently and did not insist. This is the choice of the author of Al-Kashshāf, but it is weak because Allah already described them as refraining from asking by saying: {The ignorant man thinks them rich for their modesty}. This contradicts the possibility of them asking at all.

2. Second View (The one that occurred to me while writing this section): The intent of {They cannot travel about the earth} (or perhaps the following phrase about asking, as the text seems to pivot here) is not to describe them as not asking people importunately. This is because Allah already described them as refraining from asking. If it is known that they do not ask at all, it is certainly known that they do not ask importunately. Rather, the purpose is to draw attention to the bad manner of one who asks people importunately. It is like if two men come to you: one is wise, dignified, and steadfast, and the other is flighty, garrulous, and foolish. If you wish to praise the first and implicitly criticize the second, you say: "So-and-so is a wise, dignified man of few words, who does not delve into nonsense or engage in foolishness." Your purpose in saying he does not delve into nonsense is not merely to describe him, as the preceding good descriptions suffice. Rather, your purpose is to point out the fault of the second man. Similarly here, the statement {They cannot travel about the earth} (or the subsequent description of asking) after {The ignorant man thinks them rich for their modesty} serves to highlight those who ask people importunately and show the contrast between the two types in deserving praise and honor.

3. Third View: The importunate beggar is one who extracts wealth through excessive gentleness. So, {They cannot travel about the earth} (interpreted as asking gently) means they cannot ask with gentleness and subtlety. If they cannot ask in this manner, they certainly cannot ask with harshness. If both forms are impossible, then asking altogether is negated. Under this view, the negation of asking gently necessitates the negation of asking altogether.

4. Fourth View (Also occurred to me): Allah previously explained the extreme need of these poor people. For someone whose need is intense, refraining from asking is only possible through severe self-discipline. Thus, they did not ask people; rather, they were able to refrain from asking only when they strongly urged themselves and restrained that desire through severe command. This is exemplified by the saying of 'Umar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (may Allah be pleased with him):

   "And I have a self to whom I say, when it struggles with me: 'Perhaps, or maybe!'"

5. Fifth View: Whoever asks must inevitably resort to insistence at some point. When someone asks, they have already sacrificed their dignity and endured the humiliation of displaying that need. They think: "Since I have endured this hardship, I should not return empty-handed." This thought drives them to insistence. Therefore, it is established that whoever asks must resort to insistence at some time. Thus, negating insistence from them absolutely necessitates negating asking from them absolutely.

6. Sixth View (Also occurred to me): Whoever displays signs of poverty, humiliation, and destitution, yet remains silent about asking, it is as if they have made the importunate request. This is because the manifestation of need indicates the need, and their silence indicates they have nothing to repel that need. When a person perceives this without being asked, their heart softens greatly, compelling them to give something. Thus, displaying this state is the importunate request. Therefore, {They cannot travel about the earth} means they remain silent about asking, but they do not accompany that silence with shabbiness of condition or display of brokenness that would substitute for an importunate request. Instead, they adorn themselves before people and maintain refinement through this character, making their poverty and need known only to the Creator. This view is also reasonable.

This verse is complex, and people have many opinions on it. These three views (2, 3, and 4, or perhaps 4, 5, and 6 based on the text flow) became clear to me through Allah's guidance when writing the commentary on this verse. And Allah knows best His intent.

Know that the Almighty mentioned the characteristics of these poor people, and then followed it with: {And whatever good you spend, indeed, Allah is knowing of it} (Al-Baqarah: 273). This is similar to what was mentioned before this verse: {And whatever good you spend, it will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged} (Al-Baqarah: 272). This is not mere repetition, and there are two aspects to it:

1. Since Allah said: {And whatever good you spend, it will be repaid to you in full}, and it is known that the full repayment of reward without deficiency or reduction can only occur when the extent of the deed and the aspects influencing the deservingness of reward are known, it is appropriate that this verse affirms His knowledge of the measures and qualities of deeds.

2. Since Allah encouraged giving charity to both the Muslim and the Dhimmi (non-Muslim citizen) and said: {And whatever good you spend, it will be repaid to you in full}, indicating that the reward is certainly coming, then when He encouraged charity in this verse to the poor described with these perfect qualities—and this expenditure is the greatest form of spending—He appropriately followed it with what indicates the greatness of its reward: {And whatever good you spend, indeed, Allah is knowing of it}. This is like when a great Sultan tells his servant, whose service he admired: "It is sufficient that I am a witness to the manner of your obedience and good service." This carries more weight than if he simply said: "Your reward will reach you."

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