إِلَّا ابتِغاءَ وَجهِ رَبِّهِ الأَعلىٰ

But seeks only the pleasure of his Lord, the most exalted.

EXEGESIS

Ibtighāʾ (seeking) is from the root word bughāʾ, which means to seek something in earnest.

Whilst wajh literally means face, wajh of Allah is used in the Quran and elsewhere to signify His essence. Thus, seeking God’s face means seeking what brings one closer to Him and that is only possible by pleasing Him. Thus, when something is done for wajh allāh it means fully directed to Him and seeking only His pleasure. It is possible that the addition of the term wajh to Allah is for emphasis, meaning that the act is done solely for the pleasure of Allah, or for His honour, meaning the act is done in the honour of Allah. This latter use is something which is common in human relations too.

Describing the Lord as the most exalted perhaps indicates that these individuals have proper cognisance and recognition of their Lord and His attributes, and they recognise specifically that He is the nourisher and the one who takes care of them (rabb), and His exalted status.^{‎[1]Amthal, 20/262.}

EXPOSITION

This verse serves as a further emphasis of what was mentioned in verse 19, in that the intention of the God-wary when giving charity is purely for the sake of Allah.

The Ahl al-Bayt have been described in 76:9 as those who gave charity with exactly the same intention mentioned in this verse: We feed you only for the sake of Allah (li wajh allāh). We do not want any reward from you nor any thanks.

According to some, what is meant is that the God-wary give charity in desire of receiving reward from Allah.^{‎[2]Tabrisi, 10/761; Tibyan, 10/366.} Thus, it refers to anything which evokes that reward, such as believing in Him, acting on His commands, and staying away from His prohibitions; in short, it refers to His religion that He has chosen for His servants. Therefore, acting on this religion and every single one of its rules and tenets is seeking His face through which one gets closer to Him. Based on this understanding, it becomes clear why different narrations mention different things as His face. They all mention different instances of that which He likes and is a means of His closeness. The Quran, in a like manner, has mentioned different instances of seeking His face such as giving charity (2:272 as well as the current verse), having patience (13:22), paying zakat (30:39), feeding the poor (76:9), and supplicating to Him (6:52).^{‎[3]Manahij, 30/537.}

[1] Amthal, 20/262.
[2] Tabrisi, 10/761; Tibyan, 10/366.
[3] Manahij, 30/537.