The 365 · Verses · Day 272 · Justice
Qur'an 36:47
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ أَنفِقُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَنُطْعِمُ مَن لَّوْ يَشَآءُ ٱللَّهُ أَطْعَمَهُۥٓ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ
“And when they are told, 'Give to others out of what God has provided for you,' the disbelievers say to the believers, 'Why should we feed those that God could feed if He wanted? You must be deeply misguided.' (Quran 36:47)”
Svenska: Och när de uppmanas: 'Ge åt andra av det Gud har skinkt er som försörjning', svarar de som näkar tron med de troende: 'Varför skulle vi mata dem som Gud, om Han ville, kunde mata själv?' (Koranen 36:47)
A reflection to carry
Allah, in Sūrat Yā Sīn, recorded one of the most cynical arguments against charity. When the disbelievers were told 'spend from what Allah has given you,' they responded with apparent logic: 'why should we feed those whom, if Allah willed, He would feed?' The argument sounds clever. If Allah is al-Razzāq, why does He need our hand? The verse preserved this reasoning to expose its essential disbelief. The argument misses the entire purpose of charity: it is not for Allah's need (He is al-Ghaniyy); it is for the believer's OBEDIENCE and the human-to-human transmission of mercy. Allah CAN feed everyone directly. He chooses to feed them through human hands so the human hands can be tested and trained. The disbeliever's excuse 'why should we?' is a self-disqualification from the test. Ya akhī, ya ukhtī, audit your inner reasoning. Have you ever thought 'why should I, when Allah can?' Each time was a small participation in the disbeliever's argument. The cure is the opposite reasoning: 'Allah can, and He has chosen to give through MY hand; let me be a worthy conduit.' The verse closes the disbeliever's argument with a phrase: 'in antum illa fī ḍalalin mubīn.' You are in clear misguidance. Allah named it clear misguidance, not clever logic.
Read the longer reflection
Yā Rabb, You preserved in 36:47 one of the most insidious excuses against charity. The disbeliever's reasoning: why feed those Allah could feed Himself? It sounds logical. It even sounds reverent (as if it acknowledges Your power). But You exposed its essential disbelief: 'in antum illa fī ḍalalin mubīn.' You are in clear misguidance. The reasoning is the kufr. Forgive me, ya Allāh, for the times I have unknowingly entertained this same reasoning. The 'Allah will provide' that I used as a justification for not helping someone. The 'God works in mysterious ways' that I used to skip a donation. The 'their tests are between them and Allah' that I used to walk past a need I could have filled. Each was a participation in the disbeliever's logic. The verse exposed the truth: Allah CAN. And He CHOOSES to transmit through human hands. The hand You commanded me to be is part of Your mercy-architecture. To refuse is to disqualify myself from the test. Open my hand, ya Rabb. Let me see every need I encounter as Your mercy-pathway routing through me. Let me say: 'Allah can, AND He has chosen me as the conduit; let me be worthy.' And ya Allāh, train my reasoning. When the dunyā whispers 'why you?' let me answer 'because He chose me; al-Razzāq delegated this delivery to my hand.' Make me a conduit, not a critic. Āmīn ya Razzāq.
A verse, a healing, and a Sunnah, every morning.
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