The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 90
CH. 3 ĀL-E-‘IMRĀN PT. 4 لَنْ تَنَالُوا الْبِرَّ حَتَّى تُنْفِقُوا مِمَّا تُحِبُّونَ R. 10. 93. "Never shall you attain to righteousness unless you spend وَمَا تُنْفِقُوا مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ بِهِ عَلِيمٌ out of that which you love; and whatever you spend, Allah surely knows it well. 379 9:34, 111; 63:11. significance of repentance. So long as death does not overtake one and the door of performing good works is open, the door of repentance is also open. But in no case will mere lip- repentance of disbelievers or their alms be accepted. If there is no faith in the heart, mere giving of alms or mere apparently good works cannot win the pleasure of God, even if one spends large quantities of gold. 379. Important Words: ☐ (righteousness) means, goodness of a high order (Mufradāt). The Holy Prophet has explained the word as حسن i. e. the excellence of moral qualities (Muslim & Musnad). See also 2:45, 178. As true belief is the basis of all goodness, so the word may also be taken to mean true belief. Commentary: Since the word means, goodness or righteousness of a high order or excellence of morals, the verse purports to say that though God is cognizant of, and suitably rewards, each and every thing that one spends in the cause of Allah, yet the goodness of a high order, most acceptable in His sight, can be achieved only by spending out of things, be they material or otherwise, 530 which one loves most for the obvious reason that such spending involves the greatest sacrifice. In the preceding verse it is said, there shall not be accepted from anyone of them even an earthful of gold, though he offer it in ransom. From this some people might conclude that spending in the cause of God was of no use. To remove this possible misunderstanding, pointed out here that spending in the cause of God is a highly meritorious act and spending what is best naturally brings the highest good. The disbelievers as die in their disbelief. preceding verse refers only to such it is three ways: (1) If is taken to mean The verse may be interpreted in true faith, the verse would mean that as disbelievers think more of their worldly interests than of God, they are unable to recognize the truth of Islam. Thus the verse signifies that in order to attain true faith, which is the essence of all righteousness and the highest form of good, one must be prepared to sacrifice everything that one holds dear. (2) If is taken in the sense of goodness of a high order, the verse would mean that though whatever is spent in the cause of God is an act of righteousness, yet the