The 365 · Verses · Day 99 · Charity
One grain becomes seven ears, each ear bearing one hundred grains. The Quran's parable of charity. 1 dirham becomes 700.
Qur'an Q 2:261
مَّثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ فِى سَبِيلِ ٱللَّهِ كَمَثَلِ حَبَّةٍ أَنۢبَتَتْ سَبْعَ سَنَابِلَ فِى كُلِّ سُنۢبُلَةٍ مِّا۟ئَةُ حَبَّةٍ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ يُضَـٰعِفُ لِمَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ وَٰسِعٌ عَلِيمٌ
“Those who spend their wealth in God's cause are like grains of corn that produce seven ears, each bearing a hundred grains. God gives multiple increase to whoever He wishes: He is limitless and all knowing. (Abdel Haleem)”
Svenska: DE SOM ger av vad de äger för Guds sak kan liknas vid sädeskorn som ger sju ax och vart ax bär hundra korn. Gud mångdubblar avkastningen för den Han vill; Gud når överallt och Han vet allt. (Knut Bernström)
The story
Ibn Kathir cites the Prophet ﷺ's hadith: a man brought a camel with its bridle on and said, 'O Messenger of Allah, this is in the cause of Allah.' The Prophet ﷺ said: 'You will earn seven hundred camels as reward for it on the Day of Resurrection.' (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1892, narrated by Abū Masʿūd.) Ibn Kathir adds the further hadith: 'Every good deed that the son of Adam performs will be multiplied ten folds, to seven hundred folds, to many other folds, to as much as Allah wills. Allah said: Except the fast, for it is for Me and I will reward for it.' (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim 1151.) Saʿīd ibn Jubayr: spending in Allah's obedience. Makḥūl: spending on jihad, weapons, and the like.
In the language
فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ (fī sabīl Allah, 'in the way of Allah') is the construction that names the qualifying intent: not just any spending, but spending whose direction is toward Allah. يُضَاعِفُ (yuḍāʿif, 'multiplies') is from ḍ-ʿ-f, the root of doubling and compounding. The verse names a 700x floor; yuḍāʿif allows for higher multiples for whom Allah wills.
Why this verse
Q 2:261 is the Quran's parable of the seven-hundredfold multiplication: charity in Allah's cause grows like a seed in fertile soil, producing seven ears, each ear bearing one hundred grains. The minimum multiplier is 700; Allah multiplies further for whom He wills.
Bring it into today
Treat charitable giving as the highest-yielding investment in your portfolio. The 700x return is named by Allah; no market matches it. Set a fixed monthly amount, automate it, increase it annually. The seed is planted; the harvest is supervised by al-Raḥīm.
A reflection to carry
The parable is structurally precise. Allah does not say 'I will reward you'; He paints a botanical image: one grain produces seven ears; each ear, 100 grains. The reader sees the multiplier with the eye, not just the mind. The Prophet's ﷺ hadith on the camel makes the parable operational: one camel given returns as 700 camels on the Day of Resurrection. The principle scales: one dirham, one hour of teaching, one meal cooked for a guest. Each is a seed planted in the only field whose harvest Allah Himself supervises.
Read the longer reflection
Ibn Kathir's commentary connects the verse to sincerity: 'Allah gives manifold increase to whom He wills, according to the person's sincerity in his deeds.' The 700x floor is for charity given fī sabīl Allah (in His cause); the multiplier above 700 is calibrated by ikhlāṣ (sincerity). The believer therefore optimizes two variables simultaneously: the spending itself, and the niyyah behind it. The verse's closing names Allah as al-Wāsiʿ (the Vast) and al-ʿAlīm (the Knowing): His bounty is unlimited, and His knowledge of the heart's intent is total. Spend visibly; align the niyyah; trust the multiplication.
Sources: Ibn Kathir. The Qur'an and its translation are verified; the scholarship is retold faithfully in our own words and credited to its sources, never reproduced verbatim.
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