Do not be niggardly, nor extravagant that you may later feel reprehensive and constrained.
29
Tafseer
'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (and let not thy hand be chained to thy neck) let your hand not refrain from spending and giving gifts as would the person whose hand is chained to his neck (nor open it) in spending and giving gifts (with a complete opening) in spendthriftness. he says: do not give everything you have to one needy person or to one relative and leave all the rest, (lest thou sit down) lest you remain (rebuked) reproached by the needy and kinsmen, (denuded) cut off from kinsmen and the needy, without any wealth left. it is also said that this verse was revealed about a woman who asked for the shirt of the prophet (pbuh). the latter took his shirt off, gave it to her and remained with his top bare. so allah forbade him from doing so, telling him: do not open your hand completely when spending to the extent that you take off your shirt and give it away, and thus remain naked and blamed by people for remaining naked.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : and do not keep your hand chained to your neck, in other words, do not withhold it completely from expending, nor open it, in order to expend, completely, or you will sit blameworthy — this refers to the first case — and denuded, cut off, having nothing — this refers to the latter case.
Ali ibn Ahmad al-Wahidi
تفسير : (and let not thy hand be chained to thy neck…) [17:29].
abu’l-hasan muhammad ibn ‘abd allah ibn ‘ali ibn ‘imran informed us> abu ‘ali ibn ahmad al-faqih> abu ‘ubayd al-qasim ibn isma‘il al-mahamili> zakariyya ibn yahya al-darir> sulayman ibn sulayman al-juhani> qays ibn al-rabi‘> abu ishaq> abu’l-ahwas> ‘abd allah who said: “a boy came to the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, and said: ‘my mother asks you to give her this and that’. he said to him: ‘we do not have anything today’. the boy said: ‘she is asking you to give her your gown’. he took off his gown, gave it to him and remained in his house denuded. allah, glorified and exalted is he, then revealed (and let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening…)”.
said jabir ibn ‘abd allah: “as the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, was sitting with his companions, a boy came to him and said: ‘o messenger of allah, my mother asks you for a gown’. the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, did not have any gown except the one he was wearing, and so he said to the boy: ‘things turn up from time to time, so come back to us another time’. he went to his mother and informed her but she said to him: ‘tell him that my mother asks you for the gown you are wearing’. the messenger of allah, allah bless him and give him peace, went inside his house, took off his gown and gave it to the boy and remained there naked. when bilal called for the prayer, people waited for the prophet, allah bless him and give, to emerge and lead them in prayer but he did not come out. the companions became worried. one of them entered in on him and found him naked. allah, glorious and exalted is he, then revealed (and let not thy hand be chained to thy neck nor open it with a complete opening)”.
