The 365 · Verses · Day 146 · Charity
Charity buys multiplication AND forgiveness. Allah is ash-Shakūr al-Ḥalīm.
Qur'an Quran 64:17
إِن تُقْرِضُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا يُضَـٰعِفْهُ لَكُمْ وَيَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ شَكُورٌ حَلِيمٌ
“If you make a generous loan to God He will multiply it for you and forgive you. God is ever thankful and forbearing. (Abdel Haleem)”
Svenska: Om ni ger Gud ett lån av goda gärningar, skall Han betala tillbaka det med mångdubbla värdet och förlåta era synder; Gud erkänner [Sina tjänares] förtjänster och Han har överseende [med deras brister]. (Knut Bernström)
The story
Ibn Kathīr connects this verse to the broader Quranic theme: every named giving in Allah's path returns multiplied (Q 2:261's 700x, Q 57:11's doubling, Q 64:17's multiplication-plus-forgiveness). The Quran's economic logic: the more given, the more returned, with forgiveness added.
In the language
Ash-Shakūr (the most-thankful) is one of Allah's names: He thanks His servants for their good deeds, returning more than they offered. Al-Ḥalīm (the most-forbearing) is the divine name of patience-with-sin: Allah does not punish immediately, giving the believer time to make tawbah. Pairing these two names with the charity-promise is theologically severe: the One who thanks the giver also forbears with the sinner; charity is the bridge.
Why this verse
Q 64:17 expands the loan-to-Allah framing of Q 57:11 with two additions: (1) the multiplier is named explicitly as 'multiplication for you' (yuḍāʿif lakum); (2) the additional return is 'and He forgives you' (wa-yaghfir lakum). The verse closes with two divine names: ash-Shakūr (the most-thankful) and al-Ḥalīm (the most-forbearing). The combination is structurally severe: charity buys both multiplication AND forgiveness, given by the One who appreciates and forbears.
Bring it into today
Read this verse before any major charity act. The pairing (multiplication + forgiveness, by ash-Shakūr al-Ḥalīm) is the structural framing that makes the giving-act emotionally easier. The verse explicitly converts the act from 'spending' to 'two-way exchange with Allah.'
A reflection to carry
The verse expands the loan-framing: charity returns multiplied AND with forgiveness. The closing names (ash-Shakūr al-Ḥalīm) name the divine character behind the exchange: the One who thanks His servants and forbears with their sins.
Read the longer reflection
The classical scholars (Ibn Kathīr, ar-Rāzī) note that ash-Shakūr is one of Allah's most counter-intuitive names: the One whose creation depends entirely on Him is also the One who 'thanks' His creation for what it offers. The theological depth: Allah does not need anything, yet He treats the believer's giving as a gift to Him, returning thanks-and-multiplication. Pair this with al-Ḥalīm: the same Allah who thanks for the good is the One who forbears with the bad. Charity, in this verse, is the structural intersection point: it produces multiplication via ash-Shakūr and forgiveness via al-Ḥalīm. The Companions internalized this so completely that they treated wealth-acquisition as primarily for the purpose of giving; the dunya-purpose was secondary.
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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