God’s Good Tidings to Those Who Spend Their Property in Charity
According to Quranic verses, worldly wealth is among God’s blessings and there are many instructions on how to obtain wealth and spend it.
For instance, verse 31 of Surah Al-A’raf reads: “Children of Adam, take your adornment at every place of prayer. Eat and drink, and do not waste. He does not love the wasteful.”
The verse advises people to hold prayers and use the blessings of God while refraining from being wasteful.
According to Tafsir Noor – a Persian exegesis on the Holy Quran written by prominent Quran teacher Hojat-ol-Islam Mohsen Qara'ati – the Quran describes the world as a temporary place and one should not consider it as a permanent station. Meanwhile, the Quran does not bar people from using and enjoying the bestowed blessings.
What God has forbidden is becoming attached to this world and forgetting the Akhirah.
Of course, this does not mean staying away from God-given blessings. Verse 24 of Surah At-Tawbah reads: “Say: 'If your fathers, your sons, your brothers, your wives, your tribes, the property you have acquired, the merchandise you fear will not be sold, and the homes you love, are dearer to you than Allah, His Messenger and the struggling for His Way, then wait until Allah shall bring His command. Allah does not guide the evildoers.”
The verse means that this world is good as long as it does not make people forget God and His satisfaction.
There are other verses that point to ways for donating one’s wealth as any attachment to this wealth can prepare the ground for sins.
Verse 103 of Surah At-Tawbah addresses Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), saying: “Take charity from their wealth, in order that they are thereby cleansed and purified, and pray for them; for your prayer is a comforting mercy for them. Allah is Hearing, Knowing.”
Therefore, an individual who falls in love with wealth and refrains from paying Zakat and Khums will gradually move towards committing sins.
Meanwhile, the Quran has good tidings for those who are generous: “But those who give away their wealth with a desire to please Allah and to reassure themselves are like a garden on a hillside, if heavy rain strikes it, it yields up twice its normal crop, and if heavy rain does not strike it, then light rain. Allah is the Seer of what you do.” (Surah Baqarah, verse 265)
According to the verse, those who spend their wealth on the path of God are promised to see the result of their good deed in the Hereafter. It notes that benevolent people who help others for the sake of God will receive a two-fold reward.
This article was derived from a Quran interpretation session by Hojat-ol-Islam Mohsen Qara’ati.
