The 365 · Verses · Day 148 · Charity
Feed them for Allah alone. Want nothing back. Not even thanks.
Qur'an Quran 76:8-9
وَيُطْعِمُونَ ٱلطَّعَامَ عَلَىٰ حُبِّهِۦ مِسْكِينًا وَيَتِيمًا وَأَسِيرًا
“...they give food to the poor, the orphan, and the captive, though they love it themselves, saying, 'We feed you for the sake of God alone: We seek neither recompense nor thanks from you.' (Abdel Haleem)”
Svenska: ...de som ger den fattige, den faderlöse och fången att äta, oavsett deras eget behov och det pris de sätter på [födan]: '[Det är] för Guds skull vi ger er att äta och vi väntar ingen gengåva och inget tack från er.' (Knut Bernström)
The story
Ibn Kathīr cites the asbāb an-nuzūl: the verse was revealed about ʿAlī, Fāṭimah, and their household, who fasted three consecutive days while giving away their iftar each day to a miskīn, then a yatīm, then an asīr. The household ate only water for three days. The verses Q 76:8-9 (and the surrounding context) were revealed honoring this.
In the language
ʿAlā ḥubbihi has two interpretations: (1) despite their love for the food (i.e., they themselves wanted/needed it); (2) for the love of Him (Allah). Both meanings are valid; the classical scholars accept both. Asīr (captive) historically referred to prisoners of war; the classical scholars extended it to anyone in detention or constrained circumstances.
Why this verse
Q 76:8-9 names the abrār (the truly righteous) by their feeding-pattern: they give food to the miskīn, the yatīm, and the asīr (poor, orphan, captive). The structurally severe phrase: ʿalā ḥubbihi (despite their love for it / for the love of Him), and the explicit declaration: 'We feed you for the wajh of Allah alone; we seek neither recompense nor thanks.' This is the Quranic verbalization of pure ikhlāṣ in giving.
Bring it into today
Build a feeding-pattern: regularly feed the poor, orphans, those in difficulty. The Prophetic tradition specifically: feeding is one of the most rewarded charity-acts (cross-ref Bukhārī 12: 'Feed others' as one of the structural markers of the believer). Pair the act with the explicit verbalization of niyyah: 'li-wajhi-llāh' (for Allah's face).
A reflection to carry
The verse names three categories of feeding-recipients: miskīn, yatīm, asīr. The household of the Prophet ﷺ modeled this for three consecutive days. The accompanying verbal declaration: pure ikhlāṣ, no expectation of return.
Read the longer reflection
The classical scholars wrote that this verse establishes the structural standard for the feeding-charity-niyyah: the explicit verbal declaration 'li-wajhi-llāh, lā nurīdu minkum jazāʾn wa-lā shukūrā' (for the face of Allah, we seek neither recompense nor thanks). The declaration is itself an act of training: when the believer regularly states this internally (or quietly aloud) when giving food, the niyyah is anchored to ikhlāṣ and protected from creeping riyāʺ and sumʿah. The household of the Prophet ﷺ during the three-day fast did not even take credit for the act; the Quran preserved their words. Modern feeding-charity (food banks, soup kitchens, family meals shared with the poor) can structurally integrate this verbalized niyyah.
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.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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