وَلا يَحُضُّ عَلىٰ طَعامِ المِسكينِ
And he did not urge the feeding of the needy.
EXEGESIS
Lā yaḥuḍḍu is in the present tense. However, it is joined to he had no faith from the previous verse, which gives it a past continuous tense meaning of ‘and he used to not urge’.
The needy is given as al-miskīn in this verse. These are said to be the utmost in poverty, to the point of begging from others, unlike those of the poor who are described as faqīr. For more on the subtle difference between miskīn and faqīr see the Exegeses of 2:83 and 89:18.
One of the most oft-repeated statements in the Quran is ‘establish the prayer and give the zakat’. They represent two manifestations of faith in Islam, which is to be of service to the Creator and His creation. What is given in this and the preceding verse are their opposites – the denial of God and the refusal to help those in need – and therefore these are seen as qualities of the faithless and polytheists. These two traits are also the central themes for Sūrat al-Māʿūn (107).
EXPOSITION
One who does not urge others to feed the poor is obviously also one who does not feed the poor himself. He is worse than those who are simply miserly because he stops and discourages others who wish to do so. On the Day of Judgement, when the righteous ask the wretched in hell: ‘What drew you into hell?’ (74:42), one of their confessions shall be: ‘Nor did we feed the poor’ (74:44).
Just like in the previous verse, the guilty described here are quite likely those who deny the one true God because this verse continues from the previous verse with the conjunction particle And (wa) and because When they are told: ‘Spend out of what Allah has provided you,’ the faithless say to the faithful: ‘Shall we feed [someone] whom Allah would have fed, had He wished? You are only in manifest error’ (36:47).
There is also another meaning that one can derive from this verse, and it serves as an indirect admonition to the faithful: if one cannot afford to feed the poor, they can at least urge others to do so; and if this is the punishment of one who does not urge others to feed the poor, what then would be the chastisement of one who turns away from someone in need and does not feed the poor himself? Tempting as it may be to extend the statement feeding of the needy to encompass helping those in need in other ways besides hunger, the Quran appears to be emphatic about feeding the poor as the most basic human need for survival. So, whereas not helping others in other ways may deprive one of spiritual reward, it would not entail punishment. However, not feeding the poor when one is able to, according to this verse and 74:44, necessitates punishment.
Condemning those who do not urge others to feed the needy may also be seen here as an encouragement to resolve the challenges in society collectively rather than individually. It is impossible to save the whole world alone. One needs to encourage social justice on a broader scale so that looking out for each other (and generosity) become a common trait of the whole community. This is similar to the faithful not only being encouraged to get married themselves (4:3) but also to Marry off those who are single among you (24:32).
Also, as explained under the verse, Such as are [themselves] stingy and bid [other] people to be stingy (57:24), one of the reasons the stingy stop others from helping the needy is because if generosity becomes a popular practice and a widespread virtue then their vice of being miserly will be exposed. By discouraging generosity amongst others, they hope that they will be seen as being on the right with the support of others who behave like them.
Several exegetes have related the example of Abū Dardāʾ, a companion of the Prophet, who used to ask his wife to cook more than they needed to give to the poor and he would say: ‘We have removed half the chain from our necks with faith in Allah and the other half with feeding others.’
And when the Quran praises the Prophet’s family for feeding the poor, it uses the exact same terms employed here for feeding (ṭaʿām) and the needy (miskīn): They give food (yuṭʿimūna al-ṭaʿām), for the love of Him, to the needy (miskīn), the orphan, and the prisoner (76:8), which they do in awe of Judgement Day and out of their love for God (76:9-10).
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Because he hath oppressed and hath forsaken the poor; because he hath violently taken away an house which he builded not; Surely he shall not feel quietness in his belly, he shall not save of that which he desired.
- Is not thy wickedness great? and thine iniquities infinite? For thou hast taken a pledge from thy brother for nought, and stripped the naked of their clothing. Thou hast not given water to the weary to drink, and thou hast withholden bread from the hungry. But as for the mighty man, he had the earth; and the honourable man dwelt in it. Thou hast sent widows away empty, and the arms of the fatherless have been broken.
- They turn the needy out of the way: the poor of the earth hide themselves together.
- They cause him to go naked without clothing, and they take away the sheaf from the hungry.
- Defend the poor and fatherless: do justice to the afflicted and needy. 4 Deliver the poor and needy: rid them out of the hand of the wicked.
- The LORD will enter into judgment with the ancients of his people, and the princes thereof: for ye have eaten up the vineyard; the spoil of the poor is in your houses. What mean ye that ye beat my people to pieces, and grind the faces of the poor? saith the Lord GOD of hosts.
- Woe unto them that decree unrighteous decrees, and that write grievousness which they have prescribed; To turn aside the needy from judgment, and to take away the right from the poor of my people, that widows may be their prey, and that they may rob the fatherless! And what will ye do in the day of visitation, and in the desolation which shall come from far? to whom will ye flee for help? and where will ye leave your glory?
- Forasmuch therefore as your treading is upon the poor, and ye take from him burdens of wheat: ye have built houses of hewn stone, but ye shall not dwell in them; ye have planted pleasant vineyards, but ye shall not drink wine of them. For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right.
- The people of the land have used oppression, and exercised robbery, and have vexed the poor and needy: yea, they have oppressed the stranger wrongfully.
[1] Alusi, 29/51; Zamakhshari, 4/605; Razi, 30/632.
[2] Job 20:19-20.
[3] Job 22:5-9.
[4] Job 24:4.
[5] Job 24:10.
[6] Psalms 82:3-4.
[7] Isaiah 3:14-15.
[8] Isaiah 10:1-3.
[9] Amos 5:11-12.
[10] Ezekiel 22:29.