Surah 47. Muhammad, Ayah 38
| هَا أَنْتُمْ هَٰؤُلَاءِ تُدْعَوْنَ لِتُنْفِقُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ فَمِنْكُمْ مَنْ يَبْخَلُ ۖ وَمَنْ يَبْخَلْ فَإِنَّمَا يَبْخَلُ عَنْ نَفْسِهِ ۚ وَاللَّهُ الْغَنِيُّ وَأَنْتُمُ الْفُقَرَاءُ ۚ وَإِنْ تَتَوَلَّوْا يَسْتَبْدِلْ قَوْمًا غَيْرَكُمْ ثُمَّ لَا يَكُونُوا أَمْثَالَكُمْ |
| Transliteration | : | haa 'antum haa'ulaa'i tudcawn li- tunfiqo fe sabel 'allaah fa- min -kum man yabkhal wa- man yabkhal fa- 'inna-maa can nafs -hi wa- 'allaah al- ghaney wa- 'antum al- fuqaraa' wa- 'in tatawallaw yastabdil qawm(an) ghayr -kum thumma laa yakono amthaal -kum |
| Pickthall | : | Lo! ye are those who are called to spend in the way of Allah, yet among you there are some who hoard. And as for him who hoardeth, he hoardeth only from his soul. And Allah is the Rich, and ye are the poor. And if ye turn away He will exchange you for some other folk, and they will not be the likes of you. |
| Asad | : | Behold, [O believers,] it is you who are called upon to spend freely in God's cause: but [even] among you are such as turn out to be niggardly! And yet, he who acts niggardly [in God's cause] is but niggardly towards his own self: for God is indeed self-sufficient, whereas you stand in need [of Him]; and if you turn away [from Him], He will cause other people to take your place, and they will not be the likes of you! |
| Malik | : | Behold, you are those who are being asked to give in the cause of Allah. Yet some of you are stingy, whereas whoever is stingy to His cause, is in fact stingy to himself. Allah is self sufficient, it is you who are needy. If you turn away He will replace you by some other folk; who will not be like you. |
| Yusuf Ali | : | Behold ye are those invited to spend (of your substance) in the way of Allah: but among you are some that are niggardly. But any who are niggardly are so at the expense of their own souls. But Allah is free of all wants and it is ye that are needy. If ye turn back (from the Path) He will substitute in your stead another people; then they would not be like you! 4864 4865 |
Note - 4864Here the case of the special devotee and of the average
man with his human foibles are distinguished. Stinginess
is not a virtue: it hurts more the finer-nature of the
individual practising it that it hurts the Cause. Allah
is free of all wants and independent of any need that we
can meet. His Cause is similarly independent of human
aid. But it uses human agency for our own human
advancement. The need to be able to serve Allah's cause
is ours. We are the needy beggars who should claim the
privilege before the Lord of Bounties unbounded.
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Note - 4865If we desert the Cause, the Cause will not fail. Better
men than we will uphold the flag. But we should fall, and
others will take our place, who are not so timid, half-
hearted, or stingy. In Wordsworth's words, "High Heaven
rejects the lore of nicely calculated less or more."
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Here the case of the special devotee and of the average man with his human foibles are distinguished. Stinginess is not a virtue: it hurts more the finer-nature of the individual practising it that it hurts the Cause. Allah is free of all wants and independent of any need that we can meet. His Cause is similarly independent of human aid. But it uses human agency for our own human advancement. The need to be able to serve Allah's cause is ours. We are the needy beggars who should claim the privilege before the Lord of Bounties unbounded. |
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If we desert the Cause, the Cause will not fail. Better men than we will uphold the flag. But we should fall, and others will take our place, who are not so timid, half- hearted, or stingy. In Wordsworth's words, "High Heaven rejects the lore of nicely calculated less or more." |
