Verse. 1314

'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī

تفسير : (those who point at such of the believers as give the alms willingly) those who find fault with 'abd al-rahman [ibn 'awf] and his fellow companions who give alms, accusing them of showing off and seeking fame (and such as can find naught to give but their endeavours) and discredit those who do not find anything to give away except their effort. this refers to abu 'uqayl 'abd al-rahman ibn tijan who could not find anything to give for alms except a measure of dates, (and deride them) because of the little alms he gave. the hypocrites said about him: he did not bring this except that he wished to be mentioned and be given more alms than he gave himself, (allah (himself) derideth them) on the day of judgement. (theirs will be a painful doom) in the hereafter.

Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī

تفسير : when the verse concerning ‘voluntary alms’ [q. 9:75] was revealed, a man came and gave a large amount as voluntary alms, so the hypocrites said, ‘he is [merely] showing off!’ another man then came and gave a [moderate] measure [of food], and so they said, ‘god has no need of this man’s charity!’ the following was then revealed: those who (alladhīna is the subject) find fault with, defame, the believers who offer alms voluntarily, performing supererogation, and such as find nothing [to offer] but their endeavours, [nothing but] what they are capable of, and offer it; and deride them (and the predicate [of the mentioned subject] is [the following]) — god [himself] derides them, he has requited them for their derision, and theirs will be a painful chastisement.

Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi

تفسير : (those who point at such of the believers as give the alms willingly…) [9:79]. sa'id ibn muhammad ibn ahmad ibn ja'far informed us> abu 'ali al-faqih> abu 'ali muhammad ibn sulayman al-maliki> abu musa muhammad ibn al-muthanna> abu'l-nu'man al-hakam ibn 'abd allah al-'ijli> shu'bah> salman> abu wa'il> abu mas'ud who said: “when the verses of alms were revealed, we used to ask to carry people stuff in exchange for a wage so that we could earn and pay alms from what we had earned. a man came and gave a lot for alms, some people commented: 'he is just showing off'. another man came and gave a measure (sa') for alms, and they commented: 'allah can do without the measure of this man', and so allah revealed (those who point at such of the believers as give the alms willingly and such as can find naught to give but their endeavours…)”. this is narrated by bukhari from abu qudamah 'ubayd allah ibn sa'id>> abu nu'man. qatadah and others said: “the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, encouraged people to give alms. 'abd al-rahman ibn 'awf took with him four thousand silver coins and said: 'o messenger of allah, all my wealth consists of eight thousand silver coins, i have kept half of it for my dependents and brought the other half for you to spend it in the way of allah'. the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, said: 'may allah bless you for that which you have given and for that which you have withheld'. allah did indeed bless the wealth of 'abd al-rahman to the extent that when he died he was survived by two wives who inherited one eighth of his fortune. this one eighth was estimated at 160 thousand silver coins. on the same day, 'asim ibn 'adiyy ibn al-'ajlan gave to charity one hundred wasq of dates while abu 'aqil al-ansari gave one sa' of dates. abu 'aqil said: 'o messenger of allah, i spent the night drawing water with a rope until i earned two measures (sa') of dates; i kept one for my family and brought the other'. the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, commanded him to spread it among the received alms. the hypocrites defamed 'abd al-rahman and 'asim, saying ''abd al-rahman and 'asim gave alms only to show off. allah and his messenger can indeed do without the measure (sa') of abu 'aqil; he only wished to appear righteous'. and so allah, exalted is he, revealed this verse”.