The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 2) — Page 209
PT. 5 AN-NISA' Allah loves not the proud and the boastful, 514 CH. 4 الَّذِينَ يَبْخَلُونَ وَيَأْمُرُونَ النَّاسَ بِالْبُخْلِ Who are niggardly and. 38 وَيَكْتُمُونَ مَا أَنهُمُ اللهُ مِنْ فَضْلِهِ and conceal that which Allah وَاعْتَدْنَا لِلْكُفِرِينَ عَذَابًا مُّهِينًان enjoin people to be niggardly, has given them of His bounty. And We have prepared for the disbelievers punishment; 515 an humiliating 514. Important Words: a3:181; 17:30; 25:68. (neighbour that is a stranger) جار الجنب is a compound word made up of (neighbour) and (stranger or one distant). The compound word thus means, a neighbour who is not from one's own tribe or community; a distant neighbour (Aqrab & Mufradāt). ų (companion by your side) is also a compound word made up of (one's companion) and) صاحب جنب side). The compound word thus means, the immediate neighbour or the near neighbour; or simply companion or co-worker or colleague (Aqrab, Lisān & Mufradāt). Commentary: After laying down in the preceding verses that one should be kind to one's wife, in the present verse the Quran enjoins a Muslim to make his kindness so comprehensive as include in its scope the whole of mankind, from parents who are the nearest, to strangers who are the farthest removed. to The Arabic expression rendered as, neighbour that is a kinsman, may also 649 mean: (1) the neighbour that lives near; (2) the neighbour that is kindly. is a stranger, may also include: (1) Similarly, the words, neighbour that the neighbour that lives at a distance; (2) the neighbour that is not kindly. The expression, companion by your side, may mean:(1) wife or husband; (2) comrade on a journey; (3) fellow- partner in a trade or a co-worker; (4) associate; (5) immediate neighbour. The words, those whom your right hands possess, may refer to slaves, bondwomen, servants and even subordinates. A person who does not carry out the Divine commandments contained in this verse is condemned as "proud and boastful" because, instead of doing good to others and being kind to them, he looks down upon them and behaves arrogantly. The very act of abstaining from being kind to one's fellow beings, whether relations or neighbours or strangers, is an act of pride condemned by Islam. 515. Commentary: Some persons are so niggardly that, far from spending their wealth for the