The 365 · Verses · Day 146 · Charity
Charity buys multiplication AND forgiveness. Allah is ash-Shakūr al-Ḥalīm.
This day is still being reviewed. Its wording, transliterations, and references are being checked before it is final, so please take care with transliterations until then.
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)”
Quran 64:17 Read 64:17 with tafsir
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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