Verses 1–7
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمنِ الرَّحِيمِ
In the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Ever-Merciful
This sūrah was revealed in either Mecca or Medina, and consists of 7 verses. Some have said that half of it was revealed in Mecca and the other half in Medina. The chapter warns the hypocrites who put on a garb of religiosity, yet they bear the traits of hypocrites, such as making light of their ritual prayers, showing off, and withholding their charity. These actions are not reflective of someone who believes in the Day of retribution.
Commentary
أَ رَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ ١
(107:1) Have you seen the one who denies the retribution (al-dīn)?
There are two possible interpretations for “seeing” (ruʾyah) in this verse: (1) eyesight; (2) knowledge. The verse is addressed to the Prophet in the sense that he is the receiver of the message. Therefore, it is meant for anyone who receives it. Dīn here means recompense on the Day of Judgment. So the verse is about those who deny the hereafter. Meanwhile, some exegetes have interpreted dīn as “religion.”
فَذلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ ٢
(107:2) Then that is the one (fa-dhālika) who drives away (yaduʿʿu, from daʿʿ) the orphan,
Daʿʿ means “pushing away violently and harshly.” The letter fāʾ (so, then, therefore) at the beginning of the verse implies a sense of conditionality. The effective meaning is: “Have you seen those who deny the retribution so that you would know their traits which stem from their denial? If you have not got to know their traits, then they are those who violently and harshly repel the orphans. They do not fear the consequences of their evil acts. If they were not in denial of the retribution, they would have feared what they are doing; and if they had feared, they would have shown mercy to the orphans.”
وَ لا يَحُضُّ عَلى طَعامِ الْمِسْكِينِ ٣
(107:3) and does not urge (yaḥuḍḍu from ḥaḍḍ) the feeding (ṭaʿām) of the needy.
Ḥaḍḍ means “encouraging, promoting, persuading.” The one being urged is omitted in the verse. The implied meaning is: “And they do not urge the people to feed the needy.” The verse says does not urge instead of “does not feed” because urging is more general. It is not limited to taking practical steps to feed the needy. The verse literally says “food” (ṭaʿām) instead of “feeding” (iṭʿām). Exegetes have offered two explanations for this expression: (1) By saying “the food of the needy” [instead of “feeding the needy”] the verse implies that this food almost belongs to them, as their right. This can be compared with the verse: the beggar and the deprived have a right in their wealth (). (2) “Food” here means “feeding.”
فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ ٤ الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلاتِهِمْ ساهُونَ ٥
(107:4-5) So shame (fa-wayl) on those who pray—those who are mindless (sāhūn) of their prayers,
Sāhūn is synonymous with ghāfilūn (heedless, inadvertent). This refers to those who do not give much importance to their prayers. They do not care if they miss some or all of the prayer times, or if they pray after the ideal time, and so on.
The letter fāʾ (so, then, therefore) at the beginning of verse shows that these verses are a consequence and conclusion to the ones before. Hence, those who pray in these verses are matched with one who denies the retribution () as an application of it. The verses show that there is an element of hypocrisy in such people, for they deny the retribution in practice even though they feign faith.
الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُراؤُنَ ٦
(107:6) those who show off
They perform acts of worship to be seen by the people. Therefore, they act for the people, not for God.
وَ يَمْنَعُونَ الْماعُونَ ٧
(107:7) and withhold assistance (al-māʿūn, from ʿawn).
Māʿūn is a general term for anything that can help (yuʿīnu, from ʿawn) someone take care of their needs in life—like giving a loan, showing benevolence, or lending household utensils. The various interpretations of exegetes for māʿūn can be traced back to this meaning.
Examining Narrations
- Tafsīr al-Qummī says: Have you seen the one who denies the retribution? (): This was revealed about Abū Jahl and the disbelievers among the Quraysh. Those who are mindless (sāhūn) of their prayers (): What is meant [by sāhūn] here is tārikūn (abandoner, deserter, renouncer), because otherwise everyone’s mind wanders in prayer.
- Concerning Those who are mindless of their prayers () Imam al-Ṣādiq said: That is delaying the prayer from its prime time without any excuse.
- Imam ʿAlī said: No deed is more beloved to God than the ritual prayer. Do not let any worldly concern distract you from its times. For indeed God has censured some groups of people by saying: Those who are mindless (sāhūn) of their prayers (). It [sāhūn] means those who are heedless of their prayers and are not committed to the prayer times.
- Once Imam al-Kāẓim was asked about those who are mindless of their prayers (). He said: It means taḍyīʿ (missing, losing, letting it slip).
Author’s comment: The ideas mentioned in the above hadiths can also be found in further narrations.
- Concerning those who show off () [Imam] ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib said: They show off with their prayers.
- Concerning and withhold assistance (al-māʿūn) () the Prophet said: That is what people commonly lend to one another, such as ax, pot, pail and so on.
- Concerning and withhold assistance () Imam al-Ṣādiq said: This is about giving loans, offering a helping hand, or lending household utensils. It also includes zakāt (poor-rate, prescribed religious tax).
Author’s comment: There are also Sunni narrations which interpret māʿūn as zakāt, such as the next one.
- [Imam] ʿAlī said: Māʿūn is the obligatory zakāt. They show off with their prayer and withhold their zakāt.
- [Imam] ʿAlī b. Abī Ṭālib said: I heard the Messenger of God saying: “A Muslim is a brother of a Muslim. When he meets him, he greets him with salām; and when he returns a greeting, he returns it with one better than it. And he does not withhold al-māʿūn [from his brother].”
I asked: “O Messenger of God, what is al-māʿūn (help, assistance)?”
He said: “Things like stoneware (ḥajar), ironware (ḥadīd) and water.”
Author’s comment: Another Prophetic narration further interprets ḥadīd (lit. iron) as “copper pots” and “iron axes”; and interprets ḥajar (lit. stone) as “stone pots.”
In other words, the verse is about those who neither feed the needy themselves, nor encourage and promote others to do so. (Ed.) ↩︎
Tafsīr al-Qummī. ↩︎
Al-Khiṣāl, part of the hadith of 400. ↩︎
Al-Kāfī, via its chain of narration, on the authority of Muḥammad b. Fuḍayl. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Abī Ḥātim and al-Bayhaqī’s al-Sunan. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Abū Nuʿaym, al-Daylamī and Ibn ʿAsākir, on the authority of Abū Hurayrah. ↩︎
Al-Kāfī, via its chain of narration, on the authority of Abū Baṣīr, part of a longer hadith. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr. ↩︎
Al-Durr al-manthūr, on the authority of Ibn Qāniʿ. ↩︎