Surah Al-Hadid
Chapter 57 · Verse 11 · Revealed in Madinah
“Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He will multiply it for him and he will have a noble reward?”
Translation: Saheeh International
Listen to recitation
Mishary Rashid Alafasy
Reflection — Ibn Kathir
Ordering Faith and encouraging spending
Allah the Exalted and Blessed orders having perfect faith in Him and in His Messenger, and that one should persist on this path adhereing firmly to it. Allah encourages spending from what He has made mankind trustees of, the wealth that you - mankind - have, that He has lent you. This wealth was in the hands of those before you and was later transferred to you. Therefore, O mankind, spend as Allah commanded you from the wealth that He entrusted to you for His obedience. Otherwise, He will hold you accountable and punish you for your ignoring what He ordained on you in this regard. Allah's statement,
مِمَّا جَعَلَكُم مُّسْتَخْلَفِينَ فِيهِ
Reflection — Maarif ul Quran
وَلِلَّـهِ مِيرَاثُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ (...while to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth?....57:10) The word mirath [ inheritance, heritage ] is the process by which the assets of a deceased person pass to the living heirs and beneficiaries. This transfer of ownership takes place automatically by virtue of the law of Shari` ah; the deceased has no choice in the matter. On this occasion, Allah has described the ownership of heaven and earth by the expression mirath [ inheritance, heritage ] presumably because all those assets deemed to be owned by men will ultimately return to Allah, no matter whether men like it or not. Although the Real Owner and Master of the heavens and the earth is Allah, He transferred part-ownership of things to man by His grace, but on the Day of Judgment, even this outward and partial ownership will no longer remain in the hands of anyone. At that stage, all sorts of ownership, apparent and real, outward and inward, will belong to none but Allah. Therefore, if those who are apparently owners of some wealth today spend it in Allah's way, they will receive its compensation in the Hereafter, and thus anything spent in the way of Allah will become the eternal property of the spender.
It is recorded in Tirmidhi on the authority of Sayyidah 'A'ishah ؓ that one day a goat was slaughtered. Most of it was distributed among other people, except for a foreleg. The Holy Prophet ﷺ wanted to know from her whether any part of it was spared from distribution. She said 'yes, a foreleg'. The Holy Prophet ﷺ said, "The entire goat is spared, except this foreleg." He meant that the entire goat was spent in the way of Allah and thus it was spared for their benefit in the Hereafter, because it would remain with Allah for compensation. On the contrary, there would be no compensation for the foreleg that had been kept for later use, because that would perish here. [ Mazhari ]
What does this verse bring up for you today?