The Ocean of the Quran

A verse by verse explanation of The Ultimate Scripture

Al-Mujādilah – Verse 12

يا أَيُّهَا الَّذينَ آمَنوا إِذا ناجَيتُمُ الرَّسولَ فَقَدِّموا بَينَ يَدَي نَجواكُم صَدَقَةً ۚ ذٰلِكَ خَيرٌ لَكُم وَأَطهَرُ ۚ فَإِن لَم تَجِدوا فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ غَفورٌ رَحيمٌ

O you who have faith! When you talk secretly to the Apostle, offer a charity before your secret talk. That is better for you and purer. But if you cannot afford [to make the offering], then Allah is indeed all-forgiving, all-merciful.

EXPOSITION

The initial part of this verse instructs the believers that if they intend to hold a private consultation with the Messenger of God then they are obliged to give something in charity before it. However, this was an obligation on the rich believers and not on all the believers. This is borne out by the terminal part of this verse which says, But if you cannot afford [to make the offering], then Allah is indeed all-forgiving, all-merciful. This means that if some of the Muslims did not find anything which they may give in charity before a private consultation with the Prophet then it was not obligatory on them to do so.

The reason for this ordinance was that the rich from among the Muslims at that time excessively engaged in private consultations with the Prophet, monopolising his time and prevailing over the poor thereby rendering the latter aggrieved and saddened by such behaviour.‎[1] The rich attempted to manifest by such behaviour a kind of closeness and affinity to the Prophet and a kind of special relationship with him.‎[2] Furthermore, this tiresome behaviour on the part of the rich, whereby they appropriated an inordinate amount of the Prophet’s time for private consultations, displeased the Prophet‎[3] and wearied him.‎[4] Hence, they were ordered to give in charity to the poor before their private consultations with the Prophet,‎[5] it having had been rendered incumbent on them.‎[6]

That is better for you and purer explains the purpose and justification for the legislation of this ordinance, akin to the verse, and that you fast is better for you (2:184).‎[7]

In light of the historical information regarding the cause of the descent of this verse, several additional aims have been suggested for the revelation of this instruction, in addition to what we have already mentioned; these are: to induce the rich to refrain from monopolising the time of the Prophet,‎[8] to offer the Prophet some reprieve,‎[9] to benefit the poor,‎[10] to exalt the Prophet,‎[11] and to exalt private consultations with him.‎[12] This is because when something is obtained with toil and effort it is appreciated and valued, while when it is obtained without toil, the human being may fail to appreciate it.‎[13]

Yet another aim was to distinguish the sincere seekers of knowledge from the hypocritical ones,‎[14] and to distinguish between those who preferred this worldly life to those who preferred the hereafter‎[15] in that the sincere seekers of knowledge who preferred the hereafter would continue to consult the Prophet regarding their matters even if they needed to spend in charity, so that the solutions to their problems were in line with divine pleasure, thereby proving their purity of conduct.

Unfortunately, the effect of this ordinance was most adverse. Subsequent to the descent of this verse many Muslims stopped coming to the Prophet for his counsel,‎[16] especially those who would have been obliged to give something in charity before privately consulting the Prophet, due to their stinginess.‎[17] The stream of well-to-do Muslims making a beeline to the Prophet for private consultations dried up,‎[18] and this is despite the non-stipulation of the amount obliged to be given in charity before private consultations with him,‎[19] which means little or more would have equally sufficed.‎[20] The poor were however certainly facilitated with greater and easier access to him.‎[21] This is while others disobeyed this instruction by continuing to seek a private audience with the Prophet without giving charity before it.‎[22] This is with the exception of Imam Ali (a),‎[23] a fact corroborated by transmitted reports. Imam Ali (a) took a loan of a dīnār and gave that in charity and then engaged the Prophet in private consultations.‎[24] Thereafter, God repealed the order by means of the immediately succeeding verse.‎[25]

This act of taking a loan by Imam Ali (a) suggests that he fell within the category of those from whom the obligation to spend in charity before consulting the Prophet was waived. This is because he did not have the wherewithal and that is why he had to take a loan to effectuate the verse while it is not necessary for one who wishes to spend in charity to take a loan and cause a further deterioration to his already straitened financial circumstances. Yet he did so due to his desire to endeavour, due to his abundant love of knowledge, due to his desire to act on the Quranic verse, due to his preferring the hereafter to this world and its trappings, and because he understood that this was best for him and most conducive to purity of conduct.

What the above clearly says regarding most of the Muslims at that time is that their queries, for which they used to ask the Prophet for private consultations and due to which they used to disproportionately monopolise his valuable time, were unimportant and inconsequential to say the least, and unworthy of engaging his time, for had it been otherwise they would not have stopped visiting the Prophet and would not have begrudged paying charity.‎[26] Preferring this worldly life to the hereafter and refusing to spend in charity for the poor by holding on to their wealth due to greed and stinginess was also true for those hypocrites who continued to seek a private audience with the Prophet without spending in charity before it.

But this ordinance was a temporary one, aimed to test the extent of the adherence of the Muslims to their Prophet, while the absence of Muslims from their Prophet’s company and their giving up questioning him and benefiting from his knowledge would have ultimately resulted in harm and detriment to the Muslim society, since it would divest them of the opportunity to learn. Consequently, the next verse descended rescinding the obligation in this verse after this verse was acted on for a short duration of time.‎[27]

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

  1. Imam Ali (a) said: ‘Indeed, there is a verse in the book of God which none acted on before me and none will act on it after me. [It is the verse] O you who have faith! When you talk secretly to the Apostle, offer a charity before your secret talk. That is better for you and purer. But if you cannot afford [to make the offering], then Allah is indeed all-forgiving, all-merciful. I had a dīnār and I exchanged it for ten dirhams. Whenever I intended to privately consult the Messenger of God (s) I would spend a dirham. Then another verse abrogated it, Were you apprehensive of offering charities before your secret talks? So, as you did not do it, and Allah was clement to you, maintain the prayer and pay the zakat, and obey Allah and His Apostle. And Allah is well aware of what you do [verse 13]. The Prophet (s) said: “It was by me that God lightened [the burden] on this community. It did not descend regarding anyone before me and it will not descend regarding anyone after me.”’‎[28]
  2. Ibn Abbas said: ‘They were forbidden from private consultations with the Prophet till they spent something in charity. But none engaged [the Prophet] in private consultation save Ali (a). He gave a dīnār in charity. Thereafter the attenuation descended.’‎[29]
  3. ʿAbd-Allāh ibn ʿUmar said: ‘Ali possessed three merits. If one of these were for me that would be more beloved to me than red camels.‎[30] [These merits are] his marrying Fāṭimah, him being given the banner on the day when Khaybar was conquered, and the verse of al-najwā.’‎[31] 
[1] Mizan, 19/189; Tibyan, 9/551; Tabrisi, 9/379; Tafsīr Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, 4/263; Razi, 29/495.
[2] Mizan, 19/189; Furqan, 28/210.
[3] Mizan, 19/189; Tafsīr Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, 4/263; Furqan, 28/210.
[4] Tabrisi.J, 4/261; Razi, 29/495.
[5] Mizan, 19/189; Tibyan, 9/551; Tabrisi, 9/379.
[6] Tibyan, 9/551.
[7] Mizan, 19/189.
[8] Tibyan, 9/551.
[9] Tabrisi, 9/380; Razi, 29/495.
[10] Razi, 29/495; Furqan, 28/210.
[11] Tabrisi, 9/380; Razi, 29/495.
[12] Razi, 29/495.
[13] Razi, 29/495.
[14] Daqaiq, 13/139; Furqan, 28/211.
[15] Razi, 29/495; Daqaiq, 13/139.
[16] Tabrisi.J, 4/261; Razi, 29/495; Furqan, 28/210.
[17] Tibyan, 9/551; Tabrisi, 9/379-380; Tafsīr Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, 4/263; Furqan, 28/210.
[18] Munyah, 28/73.
[19] Tibyan, 9/551; Tabrisi, 9/380.
[20] Tibyan, 9/551.
[21] Tafsīr Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, 4/263.
[22] Furqan, 28/210.
[23] Tibyan, 9/551; Tabrisi, 9/379-380; Tafsīr Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, 4/263; Mizan, 19/189.
[24] Tibyan, 9/552.
[25] Tibyan, 9/552; Tabrisi, 9/379; Tafsīr Muqātil ibn Sulaymān, 4/263.
[26] Munyah, 28/73.
[27] Munyah, 28/73.
[28] Tabrisi, 9/379; Razi, 29/496.
[29] Razi, 29/495-496.
[30] Red camels were of the most precious possessions for the Arabs. They would use the phrase ‘red camels’ to illustrate the prized and costly nature of something.
[31] Tabrisi, 9/379.