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Sūrah 59 · Āyāt 610

The verses

  1. 6

    وَمَآ أَفَآءَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِۦ مِنْهُمْ فَمَآ أَوْجَفْتُمْ عَلَيْهِ مِنْ خَيْلٍۢ وَلَا رِكَابٍۢ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُسَلِّطُ رُسُلَهُۥ عَلَىٰ مَن يَشَآءُ ۚ وَٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍۢ قَدِيرٌۭ

    The spoils that Allah gave to His Apostle from them, you did not spur any horse for its sake, nor any riding camel, but Allah makes His apostles prevail over whomever He wishes, and Allah has power over all things.

  2. 7

    مَّآ أَفَآءَ ٱللَّهُ عَلَىٰ رَسُولِهِۦ مِنْ أَهْلِ ٱلْقُرَىٰ فَلِلَّهِ وَلِلرَّسُولِ وَلِذِى ٱلْقُرْبَىٰ وَٱلْيَتَٰمَىٰ وَٱلْمَسَٰكِينِ وَٱبْنِ ٱلسَّبِيلِ كَىْ لَا يَكُونَ دُولَةًۢ بَيْنَ ٱلْأَغْنِيَآءِ مِنكُمْ ۚ وَمَآ ءَاتَىٰكُمُ ٱلرَّسُولُ فَخُذُوهُ وَمَا نَهَىٰكُمْ عَنْهُ فَٱنتَهُوا۟ ۚ وَٱتَّقُوا۟ ٱللَّهَ ۖ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ شَدِيدُ ٱلْعِقَابِ

    The spoils that Allah gave to His Apostle from the people of the townships, are for Allah and the Apostle, the relatives and the orphans, the needy and the traveller, so that they do not circulate among the rich among you. Take whatever the Apostle gives you, and refrain from whatever he forbids you, and be wary of Allah. Indeed Allah is severe in retribution.

  3. 8

    لِلْفُقَرَآءِ ٱلْمُهَٰجِرِينَ ٱلَّذِينَ أُخْرِجُوا۟ مِن دِيَٰرِهِمْ وَأَمْوَٰلِهِمْ يَبْتَغُونَ فَضْلًۭا مِّنَ ٱللَّهِ وَرِضْوَٰنًۭا وَيَنصُرُونَ ٱللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُۥٓ ۚ أُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلصَّٰدِقُونَ

    [They are also] for the poor Emigrants who have been expelled from their homes and [wrested of] their possessions, who seek grace from Allah and [His] pleasure and help Allah and His Apostle. It is they who are the truthful.

  4. 9

    وَٱلَّذِينَ تَبَوَّءُو ٱلدَّارَ وَٱلْإِيمَٰنَ مِن قَبْلِهِمْ يُحِبُّونَ مَنْ هَاجَرَ إِلَيْهِمْ وَلَا يَجِدُونَ فِى صُدُورِهِمْ حَاجَةًۭ مِّمَّآ أُوتُوا۟ وَيُؤْثِرُونَ عَلَىٰٓ أَنفُسِهِمْ وَلَوْ كَانَ بِهِمْ خَصَاصَةٌۭ ۚ وَمَن يُوقَ شُحَّ نَفْسِهِۦ فَأُو۟لَٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْمُفْلِحُونَ

    [They are as well] for those who were settled in the land and [abided] in faith before them, who love those who migrate toward them, and do not find in their breasts any privation for that which is given to them, but prefer [the Immigrants] to themselves, though poverty be their own lot. And those who are saved from their own greed—it is they who are the felicitous.

  5. 10

    وَٱلَّذِينَ جَآءُو مِنۢ بَعْدِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَا ٱغْفِرْ لَنَا وَلِإِخْوَٰنِنَا ٱلَّذِينَ سَبَقُونَا بِٱلْإِيمَٰنِ وَلَا تَجْعَلْ فِى قُلُوبِنَا غِلًّۭا لِّلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ رَبَّنَآ إِنَّكَ رَءُوفٌۭ رَّحِيمٌ

    And [also for] those who came in after them, who say, ‘Our Lord, forgive us and our brethren who were our forerunners in the faith, and do not put any rancour in our hearts toward the faithful. Our Lord, You are indeed most kind and merciful.’

English translation: Ali Quli Qarai

✦ Synthesisopus-4.8every claim cited to a source below

Al-Hashr 6-10 -- The Fay' and the Three Generations of the Faithful

Because Banu al-Nadir surrendered without a pitched battle -- 'you spurred toward it neither horse nor camel' -- their property was fay', not ordinary spoils (ghanima). Verses 6-7 place it at the Messenger's disposal for God, the Messenger, the near of kin, orphans, the poor and the wayfarer, 'so that it not circulate among the rich among you'; verses 8-10 then name three concentric circles of believers who have a claim or a share in God's bounty. (Qummi is silent here -- its text for these verses is only a lemma-pointer duplicating its v.5 note -- so this passage rests on five sources.)

Fay' versus ghanima. Tusi gives the fullest juristic treatment: the ghanima (taken by the sword) is split four-fifths to the fighters and a fifth to the Anfal-verse categories, whereas the fay' (taken without fighting) belonged to the Prophet alone and, after him, to the Imams who stand in his place. Al-Mizan and Tabarsi agree that 'the near of kin (dhi al-qurba)' are the Prophet's kin, not kinsmen in general; Tabarsi and al-Mizan cite 'Ali b. al-Husayn -- 'they are our kin, our poor, our wayfarers' -- and al-Sadiq, 'ours are the anfal and the choice of property.' Bahrani gathers this into a dense dossier (Sulaym b. Qays, Muhammad b. Muslim, Zayd b. 'Ali): 'we are the near of kin, we are the poor... the whole affair is ours,' and a large cluster on tafwid -- that God delegated the ordering of the religion to the Prophet ('Whatever the Messenger gives you, take it') and thence to the Imams. Al-Mizan carefully limits tafwid to God's ratifying the Prophet's legislation, not any divesting of divine authority. One Bahrani gloss (Sulaym b. Qays) reads 'and fear God' as 'the wronging of the House of Muhammad'; this interpretive addition is flagged for review.

The Muhajirun, Ansar and those who followed. All five sources read v.8 of the poor Emigrants, v.9 of the Ansar who 'find in their breasts no need for what was given' and 'prefer others over themselves though poverty be theirs,' and v.10 of the later believers who pray, 'put no rancor in our hearts toward those who believe.' On the altruism of v.9, Tabarsi records several occasions -- the passed-around roasted head, the seven who thirsted at Uhud, and the Ansari host who dimmed his lamp -- and, by a sound chain from Abu Hurayra, identifies that host as 'Ali and Fatima. Bahrani devotes its longest section to 'Ali as the one 'about whom this verse was revealed': feeding the guest, giving his only dinar to al-Miqdad, and being named 'chief of the believers.' (Web-verified: the Sunni asbab tradition, Bukhari and Muslim, leaves the generous Ansari anonymous; the attribution to 'Ali and Fatima is the Imami reading, given here as attributed.)

The tafsīr (6 sources)