The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 388
CH. 2 AL-BAQARAH PT. 2 الَمُ تَرَ إِلَى الْمَلَا مِنْ بَنِي إِسْرَاعِيلَ مِنْ Hast thou not heard of the. 247 بَعْدِ مُوسَى إِذْ قَالُو النَّبِيِّ لَهُمُ ابْعَثْ لَنَا مَلِكَا تُقَاتِلُ فِي سَبِيْلِ اللَّهِ قَالَ هَلْ chiefs of the children of Israel after Moses, when they said to a Prophet of theirs: 'Appoint for us a king that we may fight in expenditure in nation-saving and nation-building affairs. If a nation desires to rise and prosper, it must spend money freely for national purposes, which include helping the poor and the needy. The Quran speaks of spending money in the cause of Allah as giving a loan to God, meaning thereby that money spent in the cause of God should not be regarded as something wasted or even consumed. It should be considered as something given to God as a loan which He would return to the lender manifold. The word loan, however, should not cause any misunderstanding. God needs no loans, for He is not only Self- Sufficient, but is also the Supporter and Sustainer of all other beings and things. He has used the term to indicate that one who spends in the cause of Allah will receive an ample reward from Him; his money, as it were, will be returned to him, being multiplied many times. The interrogative form in the clause, Who is it that will lend, is used by way of exhortation, and the words, a goodly loan, have been added to indicate that this money is to be spent with a willing and cheerful heart. It should be noted that apart from specifically national expenditures, the spending of money to help the poor 388 and the needy also is tantamount to giving a loan to God. The Holy Prophet is reported to have said, "God will say to the sinful man on the Day of Judgement, O son of man, I fell ill, but you paid Me no visit; I asked you for food, but you gave Me no food; I asked you for water but you gave Me no water. The man will say, O my Lord, when didst Thou fall ill that I did not visit Thee? When didst Thou ask for food that I did not give it to Thee? When didst Thou ask for water that I gave it Thee not?' God will say, O son of man, know you not that one of My servants fell ill and you did not pay him a visit, he asked you for food and you did not give it to him; and he asked you for water and you gave him no water" (Muslim, ch. on Birri Was-Silah). This shows that spending money for the poor and the needy is tantamount to giving money to God. The words, Allah receives and enlarges, signify that God accepts the money spent in His cause and multiplies it exceedingly so that the reward a man gets is out of all proportion to what he spends. The words, and to Him shall you be made to return, have been added to point out that, though virtuous men get their reward even in this life, yet what is in store for them in the next is far greater.