All of Verses

The 365 · Verses · Day 249 · Justice


Qur'an 2:265

وَمَثَلُ ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَٰلَهُمُ ٱبْتِغَآءَ مَرْضَاتِ ٱللَّهِ وَتَثْبِيتًا مِّنْ أَنفُسِهِمْ كَمَثَلِ جَنَّةٍۭ بِرَبْوَةٍ أَصَابَهَا وَابِلٌ فَـَٔاتَتْ أُكُلَهَا ضِعْفَيْنِ فَإِن لَّمْ يُصِبْهَا وَابِلٌ فَطَلٌّ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ

But those who spend their wealth in order to gain God's approval, and as an affirmation of their own faith, are like a garden on a hill: heavy rain falls and it produces double its normal yield; even if no heavy rain falls, it will still be watered by the dew. God sees all that you do. (Quran 2:265)

Svenska: Och de som ger av sin egendom för att vinna Guds välbehag och för att stärka sin egen tro är som en trädgård på en kulle; om häftiga regn faller, ger den den dubbla skörden, och faller inget kraftigt regn, faller dagg över den. Gud ser vad ni gör. (Koranen 2:265)

A reflection to carry

After the haunting image of the rock with earth (2:264), Allah immediately balanced it with the photograph of the believer's sadaqah done right. A garden on a hill. Two conditions in the verse: 'ibtighāʾa marḍāt Allah,' seeking Allah's pleasure, AND 'tathbītan min anfusihim,' as an affirmation of their own souls. Two niyyahs braided: external (His pleasure) and internal (the soul's strengthening). And then the imagery: a garden positioned on a hill (rabwah), where soil is deep, water drains, and even a light dew (ṭall) sustains growth. Heavy rain doubles the yield. Light dew still produces. The garden ALWAYS grows. Why? Because the soil is sincere. The roots of the sadaqah are anchored in Allah's pleasure, not the photographer's lens. Ya akhī, ya ukhtī, this is the photograph to chase. Plant your sadaqah in the soil of 'ibtighāʾa marḍāt Allah.' Even your small drops will be enough; the dew waters the garden. And when Allah pours heavy rain (ease, prosperity), the yield doubles. The garden never has a bad year. Forever increasing.

Read the longer reflection

Yā Rabb, You painted the two photographs back to back. The rock with earth, washed bare. The garden on a hill, doubled by rain, sustained by dew. And You let me choose which photograph my life's giving will look like on the Day. The variable is the niyyah. The same dirham, the same volunteer hour, the same charity event, can land in either photograph depending on what I sought. Ya Allāh, every sadaqah I will give for the rest of my life, anchor it in 'ibtighāʾa marḍāt Allah.' Seeking Your pleasure. Not the photograph. Not the donor wall. Not the tag. Not the family's pride. Not even the recipient's gratitude. Just Your pleasure. And You added the second niyyah: 'tathbītan min anfusihim,' as a firming of the soul. The believer who gives is not just helping the recipient; he is steadying his own soul. The sadaqah is a stake in his own ground, planting his soul in obedience. Make my sadaqah this kind of double-niyyah giving, ya Rabb. Then place me in the photograph You promised: a garden on a hill. Where, when Your rain pours (the seasons of ease), my yield doubles, and where, when no rain falls (the dry seasons), Your dew still keeps the green. Make me a green field, not a bare rock. And ya Allah, You closed the verse with 'wAllāhu bimā taʿmalūna baṣīr.' Allah sees what you do. Let me give knowing You see, not knowing the donor list sees. Āmīn ya Baṣīr.

A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.

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