Allah commanded His believing servants, when any of them wanted to speak with
Allah's Messenger in secret, to give away charity beforehand so that his
charity cleanses and purifies him and makes him worthy of having a private
counsel with the Prophet . This is why Allah the Exalted said,
[ذَلِكَ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ
وَأَطْهَرُ]
(That will be better and purer for you.) then He said,
[فَإِن لَّمْ تَجِدُواْ]
(But if you find not.) meaning, if he is unable to do so due to poverty,
[فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ
غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ]
(then verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful.) He only commanded those
who are financially able to give this type of charity. Allah the Exalted said,
[أَءَشْفَقْتُمْ أَن
تُقَدِّمُواْ بَيْنَ يَدَىْ نَجْوَكُمْ صَدَقَـتٍ]
(Are you afraid of spending in charity before your private consultation)
meaning, are you afraid that the order to give charity before speaking
privately to the Prophet remains in effect forever
[فَإِذْ لَمْ
تَفْعَلُواْ وَتَابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلوةَ وَءَاتُواْ
الزَّكَوةَ وَأَطِيعُواْ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَاللَّهُ خَبِيرٌ بِمَا
تَعْمَلُونَ]
(If then you do it not, and Allah has forgiven you, then perform Salah and give
Zakah and obey Allah and His Messenger. And Allah is All-Aware of what you do.)
Therefore, Allah abrogated the obligation of giving this charity. It was said
that none has implemented this command before except its abrogation, `Ali bin
Abi Talib. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas:
[فَقَدِّمُواْ بَيْنَ
يَدَىْ نَجْوَكُمْ صَدَقَةً]
(spend something in charity before your private consultation.) "The Muslims kept
asking Allah's Messenger questions until it became difficult on him. Allah
wanted to lighten the burden from His Prophet , upon him be peace. So when He
said this, many Muslims were afraid to pay this charity and stopped asking.
Afterwards, Allah sent down this Ayah,
[أَءَشْفَقْتُمْ أَن
تُقَدِّمُواْ بَيْنَ يَدَىْ نَجْوَكُمْ صَدَقَـتٍ فَإِذْ لَمْ تَفْعَلُواْ وَتَابَ
اللَّهُ عَلَيْكُمْ فَأَقِيمُواْ الصَّلوةَ وَءَاتُواْ الزَّكَوةَ]
(Are you afraid of spending in charity before your private consultation If then
you do it not, and Allah has forgiven you, then perform Salah and give Zakah)
Thus Allah made things easy and lenient for them.'' `Ikrimah and Al-Hasan
Al-Basri commented on Allah's statement:
[فَقَدِّمُواْ بَيْنَ
يَدَىْ نَجْوَكُمْ صَدَقَةً]
(spend something in charity before your private consultation.) "This was
abrogated by the next Ayah:
[أَءَشْفَقْتُمْ أَن
تُقَدِّمُواْ بَيْنَ يَدَىْ نَجْوَكُمْ صَدَقَـتٍ]
(Are you afraid of spending in charity before your private consultation...).''
Sa`id bin Abi `Arubah reported from Qatadah and Muqatil bin Hayyan, "People
kept questioning Allah's Messenger until they made things difficult for him.
Allah provided a way to stop their behavior by this Ayah. One of them would
need to speak to Allah's Prophet about a real matter, but could not do so until
he gave in charity. This became hard on people and Allah sent down relief from
this requirement afterwards,
[فَإِن لَّمْ تَجِدُواْ
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفُورٌ رَّحِيمٌ]
(But if you find not, then verily, Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful).''
Ma`mar reported from Qatadah that the Ayah,
[إِذَا نَـجَيْتُمُ
الرَّسُولَ فَقَدِّمُواْ بَيْنَ يَدَىْ نَجْوَكُمْ صَدَقَةً]
(When you (want to) consult the Messenger in private, spend something in charity
before your private consultation.) was abrogated after being in effect for only
one hour of a day. `Abdur-Razzaq recorded that Mujahid said that `Ali said, "No
one except me implemented this Ayah, until it was abrogated,'' and he was
reported to have said that it remained in effect for merely an hour.
[أَلَمْ تَرَ إِلَى
الَّذِينَ تَوَلَّوْاْ قَوْماً غَضِبَ اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِم مَّا هُم مِّنكُمْ وَلاَ
مِنْهُمْ وَيَحْلِفُونَ عَلَى الْكَذِبِ وَهُمْ يَعْلَمُونَ - أَعَدَّ اللَّهُ
لَهُمْ عَذَاباً شَدِيداً إِنَّهُمْ سَآءَ مَا كَانُواْ يَعْمَلُونَ - اتَّخَذْواْ
أَيْمَـنَهُمْ جُنَّةً فَصَدُّواْ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَلَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ
- لَّن تُغْنِىَ عَنْهُمْ أَمْوَلُهُمْ وَلاَ أَوْلَـدُهُمْ مِّنَ اللَّهِ شَيْئاً
أُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَـبُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـلِدُونَ - يَوْمَ يَبْعَثُهُمُ
اللَّهِ جَمِيعاً فَيَحْلِفُونَ لَهُ كَمَا يَحْلِفُونَ لَكُمْ وَيَحْسَبُونَ
أَنَّهُمْ عَلَى شَىْءٍ أَلاَ إِنَّهُمْ هُمُ الْكَـذِبُونَ - اسْتَحْوَذَ
عَلَيْهِمُ الشَّيْطَـنُ فَأَنسَـهُمْ ذِكْرَ اللَّهِ أُوْلَـئِكَ حِزْبُ
الشَّيْطَـنِ أَلاَ إِنَّ حِزْبَ الشَّيْطَـنِ هُمُ الخَـسِرُونَ ]
(14. Have you not seen those who take as friends a people upon whom is the wrath
of Allah They are neither of you nor of them, and they swear to a lie while
they know.) (15. Allah has prepared for them a severe torment. Evil indeed is
that which they used to do.) (16. They have made their oaths a screen. Thus
they hinder (others) from the path of Allah, so they shall have a humiliating
torment.) (17. Their children and their wealth will avail them nothing against
Allah. They will be the dwellers of the Fire to dwell therein forever.) (18. On
the Day when Allah will resurrect them all together; then they will swear to
Him as they swear to you. And they think that they have something. Verily, they
are liars!) (19. The Shaytan has overpowered them. So he has made them forget
the remembrance of Allah. They are the party of Shaytan. Verily, it is the
party of Shaytan that will be the losers!).
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