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Surah 107 of 114

سورة الماعون

Al-Maaun

7 verses · tap any ayah to deep-dive

Ayat 1, 2, 3

أَرَءَيْتَ ٱلَّذِى يُكَذِّبُ بِٱلدِّينِ.(1)

فَذَٰلِكَ ٱلَّذِى يَدُعُّ ٱلْيَتِيمَ.(2)

وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ ٱلْمِسْكِينِ.(3)

Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense?(1) [Al-Maaun: 1, 2, 3]

Back to surah / Surah 107 · Al-Maaun / Ayah 1, 2, 3

Section 01

Traditional understanding

Translation, tafseer from classical and modern scholars, transliteration, word-by-word grammar.

Translation Sahih International

Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense?(1)

Tafseer Abdullah Yusuf

Seest thou one Who denies the Judgment (To come)?(1)

1. Din may mean either (I) the Judgment to come, the responsibility in the moral and spiritual world. for all actions done by men. or (2) Faith . Religion, the principles of right and wrong in spiritual matters,Which often conflict with selfish desires or predilections. It is men who deny Faith or future responsibility, that treat the helpless with contempt and lead arrogant selfish lives.

2. Then such is the one Who repulses the orphan.

3. And encourages not(1) the feeding of the indigent.
1.The Charity· or Love which feeds the indigent at the expense of Self is a noble form of virtue, which is beyond the reach of men who are so callous as even to discourage or forbid or look down upon the virtue of charity or kindness in others.

Tafseer Dr. Farooq Azam

Have you seen the one who denies the Day of Judgment?
Period of Revelation:

There is a difference of opinion relating to this Sûrah's place of revelation. Ibn Marduyah has cited Ibn 'Abbâs (may Allah bless them both) as saying that this Sûrah is Makki, and the same also is the view of Ata and Jâbir. But Abu Hayyan in Al-Bahr Al-Muhit, has cited Ibn 'Abbâs, Qatadah and Dahhak as saying that this Sûrah was revealed at Madinah. There is also a piece of evidence in the Sûrah itself, which points to its being a Madani revelation. It states a threat of destruction to those who offer the Salah (prayers) but are unmindful of their Salah since they want only to be seen offering the prayers. These kind of hypocrites were only at Madinah. Allah knows best. Since most the ulema have written this Sûrah as Makki Sûrah, therefore, we tabulate as such.


Major Issues, Divine Laws and Guidance

* Disbelief in the Hereafter is the main cause of moral decay.
* God consciousness, social welfare and caring about other people's necessities of life are the main purposes of Salah (prayers).

The theme of this Sûrah is to point out what kind of morals a man develops when he refuses to believe in the Hereafter. In verses 2-3 the condition of the disbelievers, who openly deny the Hereafter, is described. In the last four verses, the state of those hypocrites who apparently are Muslims but do not believe in the Hereafter, the Day of Judgement, reward and the punishment, has been described. The objective of depicting the attitude and conduct of two kinds of people is to stress the point that man cannot develop a strong, stable and pure character in himself unless he believes in the Hereafter

Those people who offer Salah (prayers), but do not practice good behavior with other believers and neighbors, and do not provide a helping hand when they are needed to do so, have not understood the very reason for which congregational Salah (prayers) are made obligatory. Therefore, it is pointed out that their prayers are nothing but a show and are not acceptable to Allah and such people may very well end up in the hellfire.

Have you seen the one who denies the Day of Judgment?[1]
He it is who drives away the orphan with harshness[2]
And does not encourage the feeding of the poor.[3]


Tafseer Ibn Abbas

And of the surah in which Small Kindnesses is mentioned, which is all Meccan and consists of 7 verses, 25 words and 111 letters:
[107:1] And from his narration on the authority of Ibn 'Abbas that he said regarding the interpretation of Allah's saying (Hast thou observed him who belieth religion?): '(Hast thou observed him who belieth religion?) And it is said this means: have you observed him who belies the Day of Reckoning? This is in reference to 'As Ibn Wa'il al-Sahmi.

[107:2] (That is he who repelleth the orphan) from his own right; and it is also said this means: he denies the orphan his right,
[107:3] (And urgeth not) nor observe (the feeding of the needy) giving alms to the needy.

Tafseer Jalalain

(Al-Mâ‘ûn) [107:1] Have you seen him who denies the Judgement?, the Requital and the Reckoning, that is to say, ‘Do you know who he is?’ If you do not know him then:
[107:2] That is he (read an implied huwa after the fā’ [of fa-dhālika]) who repels the orphan, that is to say, [who] violently drives him away from what is his due,
[107:3] and does not urge, either himself or others [to], the feeding of the needy: this was revealed regarding al-‘Āsī b. Wā’il or al-Walīd b. al-Mughīra.

Tafseer Ma’arif Ul-Quran

Have you seen him who denies the Requital?
The love of the world causes nations to lose faith and consign Allah to oblivion
This Surah denounces some of the evil actions of the pagans and the hypocrites, and it holds out a threat of destruction to those who commit them. If these evil actions are committed by believers, who do not reject the true faith, they are still heinous and gravely sinful, but the threat of chastisement made in this surah does not apply to them. Therefore, verse [107:1] أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ
(Have you not seen him who denies the Requital?), as a preamble, makes plain that the person who performs these evil deeds is one who cries lies to the Doom, and thus the warning of punishment mentioned in this Surah is for those who deny the religion and the Day of Judgement. The verse contains a subtle indication that the moral sins condemned in this Surah are far too inconceivable from a believer; only a non-believer or hypocrite would commit them.

The morally bad and sinful deeds mentioned here are:
[1]oppressing and insulting the orphan, and being unkind to them;
[2] despite the means, failing to feed the poor or failing to urge others to feed them; [3] praying [in public only, not in private] only to show the people; and
[4] failing to pay the Zakah [obligatory alms]. These actions are intrinsically bad and gravely sinful, but their commission in the wake of kufr [disbelief] and takdhib [rejection] are even more aggravating, because they attract eternal perdition, which in this Surah is described as wail [heavy affliction or calamity or disaster or destruction]

2.So he is the same one who pushes away the orphan.

3.And does not persuade (others) to feed the needy.

Tafseer Mufti Taqi Usmani

This Surah is Makki and comprises 7 'ayat (verses)
With the name of Allah, the All-Merciful, the Very-Merciful
Have you seen him who denies the Requital? [1]
So, he is the one who pushes away the orphan, [2]
And does not persuade (others) to feed the needy.
[3] According to some reports, this verse was revealed about ‘As Ibn Wa’il, a staunch unbeliever who was known for his miserliness. (Ruh-ul-Ma‘ani) The words, however, are general which indicate that acts like pushing away an orphan or refraining from feeding the needy are not conceivable from a Muslim who believes in Requital.

Tafseer Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi

The Arabic word "maun" (translated above as "minor articles " ) refers to things that are insignificant and which will barely decrease a person's wealth if he gives them away to others. This Surah condemns six things, each one contained in each of the six verses.
Allah begins by saying, "Have you not seen the person who denies the Day of Reckoning?" The first thing that Allah condemns in the Surah is denying the advent of resurrection and Judgment day. Of course, a person who denies Judgment day is a disbeliever.

Allah continues, "It is he who pushes the orphan away and who does not encourage feeding of the poor." This verse describes the extreme miserliness of the person who denies Judgment day. Not only is he too miserly to spend on the needy, but he does not even encourage others to do the same. Neither does he have mercy on orphans nor on the poor. This verse tells us that harsh and merciless behaviour can be a trait of only a disbeliever. A believer is endowed with a compassionate heart. He takes pity on the needy and is convinced that assisting them will have its rewards in the Hereafter. If a disbeliever has to render assistance to the needy, his deed is not to please Allah and he has no expectation of reward in the Hereafter. In Surah Al-Haqqah, Allah Ta'ala describes a disbeliever who will suffer in Hell. Allah says,"Verily he never believed in the Majestic Allah and he never encouraged feeding the poor." [ Surah 69, verse 33,34 ]

Tafseer Tafheem Ul-Quran

107:1) Did you see him1 who gives the lie to the Reward and Punishment2 of the Hereafter?3


1. The words “have you seen”, apparently, are directed to the Prophet (peace be upon him), but the Quranic style is that on such occasions it generally addresses every intelligent and thinking person. And seeing means seeing with the eyes, for what has been described in the succeeding verses can be seen by every seer with his eyes, as well as knowing, understanding and considering something deeply. If the word araaita is taken in the second meaning, the verse would mean: Do you know the kind of man who belies the rewards and punishments. Or: Have you considered the state of the person who belies the Judgment?
2. The word ad-din as Quranic term is used for the rewards and punishments of the Hereafter as well as for the religion of Islam. But the theme that follows is more relevant to the first meaning, although the second meaning is also not out of the context. Ibn Abbas has preferred the second meaning, while a majority of the commentators have preferred the first. In case the first meaning is taken, the theme of the Surah would mean that denial of the Hereafter produces such and such a character in man. In case the second meaning is taken, the object of the Surah would be to highlight the moral importance of Islam, to stress that Islam aims at producing an altogether different character in its adherents from that found in its deniers.
3. The style shows that the object of asking this question at the outset is not to ask whether he has seen the person or not, but to invite the listener to consider as to what kind of character is produced in man when he denies the judgment of the Hereafter, and to urge him to know the kind of the people who belie this creed so that he tries to understand the moral significance of belief in the Hereafter.


فَذٰلِكَ الَّذِىۡ يَدُعُّ الۡيَتِيۡمَۙ‏
(107:2) Such is4 the one who repulses the orphans away,5
4. The letter fa in the sentence fa-dhalika-alladhi expresses the meaning of a whole sentence, which is to this effect: If you do not know, then know that it is indeed he who drives away the orphan. Or, it gives the meaning: Because of his this very denial of the Hereafter he is the kind of man who drives away the orphan.
5. The sentence yadu ul yatim as used in the original, has several meanings:
(1) That he deprives the orphan of his rights and evicting him from his father’s heritage thrusts him away.
(2) That if an orphan comes to ask him for help, he repulses him instead of showing him any compassion, and if he still persists in his entreaties in the hope for mercy, he drives him away and out of sight.
(3) That he ill-treats the orphan.
For example, if in his own house there is a closely related orphan, it is the orphans lot to serve the whole house, to receive rebuffs and suffer humiliation for trivial things. Besides, this sentence also contains the meaning that the person does not behave unjustly and tyrannically only occasionally but this is his habit and settled practice. He does not have the feeling that it is an evil which he must give up, but he persists in it with full satisfaction, thinking that the orphan is a helpless, powerless creature; therefore, there is no harm if his rights are taken away wrongfully, or he is made the target of tyranny and injustice, or he is repulsed and driven away whenever he asks for help.
In this connection, Qadi Abul Hasan al-Mawardi has related a strange incident in his Aalam an-Nubuwwat. Abu Jahl was the testator of an orphan. The child one day came to him in the condition that he had no shred of a garment on his body and he implored him to be given something out of his father’s heritage. But the cruel man paid no attention to him and the poor child had to go back disappointed. The Quraish chiefs said to him out of fun: Go to Muhammad (peace be upon him) and put your complaint before him. He will recommend your case before Abu Jahl and get you your property. The child not knowing any background of the nature of relationship between Abu Jahl and the Prophet (peace be upon him) and not understanding the motive of the mischief-mongers, went straight to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and apprised him of his misfortune. The Prophet (peace be upon him) immediately arose and accompanied the child to the house of Abu Jahl, his bitterest enemy. Abu Jahl received him well and when the latter told him to restore to the child his right, he yielded and brought out whatever he owed to him. The Quraish chiefs were watching all this earnestly in the hope that an interesting altercation would take place between them. But when they saw what actually happened they were astounded and went to Abu Jahl and taunted him saying that he too perhaps had abandoned his religion. He said: By God, I have not abandoned my religion, but I so felt that on the right and left of Muhammad (peace be upon him) there was a spear which would enter my body if I acted against what he desired. This incident not only shows what was the attitude and conduct of the principal chiefs of the most civilized and noble tribe of Arabia towards the orphans and other helpless people in those days but it also shows what sublime character the Prophet (peace be upon him) possessed and what impact it had even on his bitterest enemies.

A similar incident we have already related in
(E.N. 5 of Surah Al-Anbiya:...The disbelievers, who were the chiefs of Makkah, whispered to one another to this effect: Anyhow this man cannot be a Prophet because he is a human being like us and eats and drinks and has wife and children like us. We see nothing unusual about him that might distinguish him from us and make him worthy of the office of Prophethood. We, however, admit that there is some magic in his talk and personality. That is why anyone who listens to him or goes near Him is charmed. Therefore, the best thing for you is not to listen to him at all, nor go near him, for listening to him or going near him will only be involving yourselves intentionally in his snare.
The reason why they accused the Prophet (peace be upon him) of practicing magic was that even his antagonists were charmed by his personality when they met him. Muhammad bin Ishaq (152 A.H.) says: Once Utbah bin Rabiah, the father-in-law of Abu Sufyan, said to the chiefs that he wanted to see Muhammad and give him counsel. They said: We have full confidence in you. You may go and have a talk with him. Accordingly, he went to the Prophet (peace be upon him) and said: Dear nephew, you know that you were held in great honor here before this and you belong to a noble family. Why have you then brought this affliction to your people? You have caused discard among them. You consider your people to be fools. You speak ill of their religion and deities, and you declare their deceased forefathers to be disbelievers. My dear nephew, if your object is to become a rich man, we can give you so much wealth that you will become the richest man among us. If you are seeking a high rank, we will make you our chief, even our king, if you so like. But if you are suffering from a mental illness which makes you see illusions, we will have you treated by the best physicians. He went on talking in this strain and the Prophet (peace be upon him) remained silent. When he was done talking, the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Abul Walid, have you had your say or do you want to say anything more? He replied that he had said what he had to say. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) said: Now listen to me. And he began to recite Surah Ha-Mim-Sajdah after Bismillah and Utbah listened to him as if he had been charmed. When the Prophet (peace be upon him) came to (Ayat 38), he fell down in prostration. Then raising his head, he said: O Abul Walid, I have said whatever I had to say, and you have heard it. Now I have nothing more to say. After this Utbah walked back towards the chiefs who perceived him to be a changed man and remarked: By God, his face shows that he is not the same man that he was when he went from here. When he came to them, they asked: What has been the result of your mission? He answered: By God, today I have heard a thing the like of which I had never heard before. By Allah! It is not poetry nor sorcery nor divination. O people of Quraish, I advise you to leave him to himself. From what I have heard from him, I conclude that his message is going to bring about a great revolution here. If the Arabs overcome him, you will stand absolved from the charge of murdering your own brother, and if he overpowers the Arabs, his sovereignty will be your own sovereignty and his honor your own honor. The people answered: By God, you too, O Abul Walid, have been charmed by him. To this he replied: I have expressed my opinion. Now it is for you to accept or reject it. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. I, pp. 313-314). Baihaqi, in his narration of the above event, makes this addition: When the Prophet (peace be upon him) recited (Ayat 13): If they turn away from your message, say to them, I have warned you of the coming of a thunderbolt like the thunderbolt that visited the Aad and the Thamud, Utbah placed his hand on the mouth of the Prophet (peace be upon him), saying: For God’s sake, have mercy on your own people.
In this connection, ibn Ishaq has cited another event. Once a man from the clan of Arash came to Makkah with some camels and Abu Jahl bought them. When he demanded their price, he put him off by lame excuses. At last the man came to the Sanctuary of the Kabah and began to bewail publicly the dishonesty of Abu Jahl. The Prophet (peace be upon him) was also sitting in a corner of the Sanctuary. The chiefs of the Quraish said to the man: We cannot help you in any way in this matter; look, there is a man sitting: go to him and he will get you your money. Accordingly, the Arashi went towards the Prophet (peace be upon him) and the chiefs began to whisper jokingly: Today there will be great fun. When the man expressed his complaint before the Prophet (peace be upon him), he at once stood up and accompanied him to the house of Abu Jahl, followed by an informer of the chiefs. The Prophet (peace be upon him) knocked at Abu Jahl’s door, who asked from inside: Who is there? He answered: Muhammad. Hearing this, he at once came out and the Prophet (peace be upon him) said to him: Pay this man his dues. Abu Jahl went in without uttering a word, brought the price of the camels and paid the man. At this the informer ran back to the Quraish and told them the whole story and said: By God, today I have seen something which I had never seen before. When Abu Jahl came out, Muhammad asked him to pay the dues, and he obeyed him as if he were spell bound. (Ibn Hisham, Vol. II, pp. 29-30).
It was this charm of the personality, character and words of the Prophet (peace be upon him) which these people considered to be the effects of charm and warned the people not to go near him for fear of his magic.)

which points to the great moral superiority of the Prophet (peace be upon him) because of which the disbelieving Quraish branded him as a sorcerer.
(107:3) and urges6 not the feeding of the needy.7
6. La yahuddu means that the person neither persuades his own self, nor tells the people of his household, to provide the poor man with his food, nor does he urge others to recognize the rights of the poor and needy people of society who are starving and do something to satisfy their hunger.
Here, by giving only two conspicuous examples, Allah has pointed out what kind of evils are produced in the people who deny the Hereafter. The real object is not to point out only these two evils that the people drive away the orphans and do not urge giving away the food of the poor as a result of the denial of the Hereafter. But of the countless evils which are thus produced, two evils have been presented as an example, which every noble and sound-natured person will regard as hateful. Besides, another thing meant to be impressed is that if this very man had believed that he would have to go before God to render an account of his deeds, he would not have committed such evils as to deprive the orphan of his rights, tyrannize him, repulse him, neither feed the poor man himself nor urge others to give him his food. The characteristics of the believers in the Hereafter which have been described in Surah Al-Asr and Surah Al-Balad are that they exhort one another to mercy, and they exhort one another to the truth and to render the rights of others.
7. The words used are to taam-il-miskin and not itam-ilmiskin. If itam-il-miskin were the words, the meaning would be that he does not urge (others) to feed the poor. But taam -il-miskin means that he does not urge (others) to give away the food of the poor. In other words, the food that is given to the poor man is not the food of the giver but of the poor man himself; it is his right which is enjoined on the giver, and the giver is not doing him any favor but rendering him his right. This same thing had been said in Surah Adh-Dhariyat: And in their possessions is a due share of him who asks and of him who is needy. (verse 19).

Transliteration

Ayah 1

Araayta allathee yukaththibu bialddeeni

Ayah 2

Fathalika allathee yaduAAAAu alyateema

Ayah 3

Wala yahuddu AAala taAAami almiskeeni

Word-by-word

Ayah 1

# Arabic Pronunciation Meaning Root
1 أَرَأَيْتَ Araayta Have you seen? ر أ ي
2 الَّذِى allathee the one who —
3 يُكَذِّبُ yukaththibu denies ك ذ ب
4 بِالدِّينِ bialddeeni the Judgment د ي ن

Ayah 2

# Arabic Pronunciation Meaning Root
1 فَذَٰلِكَ Fathalika Then that —
2 الَّذِى allathee (is) the one who —
3 يَدُعُّ yaduAAAAu repulses د ع ع
4 الْيَتِيمَ alyateema the orphan ي ت م

Ayah 3

# Arabic Pronunciation Meaning Root
1 وَلَا Wala And (does) not —
2 يَحُضُّ yahuddu feel the urge ح ض ض
3 عَلَىٰ AAala to —
4 طَعَامِ taAAami feed ط ع م
5 الْمِسْكِينِ almiskeeni the poor س ك ن

Section 02

Cross-references

Similar verses elsewhere in the Qur’an and authentic ahadith narrated about this ayah.

Section 03

Articles & resources

Long-form articles, scientific commentary, and historical context linked from the legacy archive.

Articles

Scientific Data

Misconceptions

References

  1. Tafseer — Abdullah Yusuf
  2. Tafseer — Dr. Farooq Azam
  3. Tafseer — Ibn Abbas
  4. Tafseer — Jalalain
  5. Tafseer — Ma’arif Ul-Quran
  6. Tafseer — Mufti Taqi Usmani
  7. Tafseer — Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi
  8. Tafseer — Tafheem Ul-Quran
  9. Translation — Sahih International
  10. Hadith collections — 102 narrations from Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and others (see Cross-references)
  11. Linked articles — 28 long-form pieces

Ayat 4, 5, 6, 7

فَوَيْلٌۭ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ.(4)

ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ.(5)

ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَآءُونَ.(6)

وَيَمْنَعُونَ ٱلْمَاعُونَ.(7)

For that is the one who drives away the orphan(2) [Al-Maaun: 4, 5, 6, 7]

Back to surah / Surah 107 · Al-Maaun / Ayah 4, 5, 6, 7

Section 01

Traditional understanding

Translation, tafseer from classical and modern scholars, transliteration, word-by-word grammar.

Translation Sahih International

For that is the one who drives away the orphan(2)

Tafseer Abdullah Yusuf

So woe to the worshippers .
Who are neglectful Of their prayers.

True worship does not consist in the mere form of prayer, without the heart and mind being earnestly applied to seek the realisation of the presence of Allah. And to understand and do His holy Will .
Those who(want but) to be seen.

When they stand up to prayer,they stand without earnestness, to be seen of men. but little do they hold Allah in remembrance."
But refuse (to supply)(Even) neighbourly needs

Hypocrites make a great show of hollow acts of goodness, devotion and charity. !But they fail signally if you test them by little acts of neighbourly help or charity, the thousand little courtesies and kindnesses of daily life. the supply of needs which cost little but mean much.

Tafseer Dr. Farooq Azam

So woe to those who offer Salah (prayers),[4]
But are neglectful of their Salah (who neither observe the Salah as it ought to be observed, nor observe it on its prescribed timings);[5]
Those who make show of piety[6]
But refuse to offer help to the needy.[7]

Tafseer Ibn Abbas

[107:4] (Ah, woe) severe torment in the Fire (unto worshippers) unto the hypocrites
[107:5] Allah then explained who they are by saying: (Who are heedless of their prayer) who are distracted from their prayers and fail to perform them;
[107:6] (Who would be seen (at worship)) who would show off their prayer when they see people praying while abstain from praying when not seen.
[107:7] (Yet refuse small kindnesses!) i.e. they refuse acts of goodness; and it is also said this means: they refuse the poor-due; and it is also said: they refuse things that are lent and borrowed by people such as cooking pots and utensils, and similar things, which are of benefit to people'.

Tafseer Jalalain

[107:4] So woe to them who pray,

[107:5] those who are heedless of their prayers, neglectful, delaying them from their appointed times,

[107:6] those who make a pretence, with prayers and otherwise,

[107:7] and deny aid, as [insignificant as] a needle, a hatchet, a cooking pot or a bowl.

Tafseer Ma’arif Ul-Quran

Verse {107:4-6}
فَوَيْلٌ لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ - 107:4الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ - 107:5الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ - 107:6
(So Woe to those performers of who are neglectful of their salah,who [do good only to] show off.) These verses describe the characteristics of the hypocrites who used to perform the prayers only to make a display of them to the people and prove that their claim of being sincere Muslims is true. As they do not believe in the obligatory nature of the prayers, they are not regular at them, and they do not observe the prescribed times, but offer them carelessly at the eleventh hour or completely out of time. They perform them only when they must to make a display of them, otherwise they have no place in their lives, The preposition 'an (translated above as 'of) in the prepositional phrase عَن صَلَاتِهِمْ
"[neglectful] of their salah" is significant. It indicates that they [the hypocrites] are neglectful of the very concept of salah. This does not refer to the unintentional errors, slips and mistakes that Muslims make in their prayers. The Holy Prophet & also made this type of unintentional mistakes in his prayers. The warning of Hell by the expression of wail does not apply to such mistakes. If that was the case, the prepositional phrase would have been fi salatihim [in their prayers] instead of ['an Salatihim [neglectful of their prayers].


Verse [107:7] (And refuse [to give even] small gifts.) The word ma’un literally means 'any small or petty thing' and idiomatically it refers to 'small household articles of common use such as axe, hoe, cooking pot which at the time of need neighbors borrow from one another'

Anyone who is unwilling to lend such small items is morally a very miserly and mean person. However, in the current verse the word ma'un is taken in the sense of Zakah [obligatory alms] because it is a little amount out of much wealth - only 2.1/2 out of the entire wealth. Majority of the commentators - like Sayyidna 'Ali, Ibn 'Umar, Hasan Basri,Qatadah, Dahhak & and others - hold the view that ma’un implies Zakah. [Mazharil. The threat of wail (torment of Hell) can only be for failure to fulfil one's legal obligation. Giving small items to help out one's fellow human beings is a humanitarian and philanthropic gesture that carries much reward in the Hereafter, but it is not an obligation at all, the violation of which could lead to eternal perdition. Traditions reporting that ma'un refers to pots and pans, and other household items of daily use are to show that if a person is reluctant to part with such small items, how will he have the heart to part with 2%% of his wealth? The Traditions purport to say that these people are so narrow-minded that they are not willing to make the least bit of selfless sacrifice for the welfare and well-being of others. They are morally mean, low and miserly in the extreme. Therefore, they do not pay their legal alms. Thus the threat of punishment in Hell-fire is not on account of failure to do one's neighborly acts of kindness, but for failure to pay the legal alms and perhaps for their extreme niggardliness.

Tafseer Mufti Taqi Usmani

So, Woe to those performers of Salah ,
who are neglectful of their Salah(1)
(1)This includes to miss Salah due to carelessness, or to perform it without - observing its due rules etc.
who (do good only to) show off,
And refuse (to give even) small gifts. (2)
(2)The original word used is Ma‘un, which literally means petty things, like pottery, salt, sugar etc. If a person is in extreme need for such a thing, it is obligatory on the owner to lend it to him. In other cases too, it is against courtesy to refuse such requests. According to Sayyiduna ‘Ali(r.a) Ma‘un in this verse refers to Zakah,because it is payable in a small proportion to one’s aggregate wealth.

Tafseer Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi

(4) Destruction be for those worshippers who neglect their Salah…
(5) Those who are ostentatious.
(6) The Arabic word "maun" (translated above as "minor articles " ) refers to things that are insignificant and which will barely decrease a person's wealth if he gives them away to others. This Surah condemns six things, each one contained in each of the six verses. Allah begins by saying, "Have you not seen the person who denies the Day of Reckoning?" The first thing that Allah condemns in the Surah is denying the advent of resurrection and Judgment day. Of course, a person who denies Judgment day is a disbeliever. Allah continues, "It is he who pushes the orphan away and who does not encourage feeding of the poor." This verse describes the extreme miserliness of the person who denies Judgment day. Not only is he too miserly to spend on the needy, but he does not even encourage others to do the same. Neither does he have mercy on orphans nor on the poor. This verse tells us that harsh and merciless behaviour can be a trait of only a disbeliever. A believer is endowed with a compassionate heart. He takes pity on the needy and is convinced that assisting them will have its rewards in the Hereafter. If a disbeliever has to render assistance to the needy, his deed is not to please Allah and he has no expectation of reward in the Hereafter. In Surah Al-Haqqah, Allah Ta'ala describes a disbeliever who will suffer in Hell. Allah says,"Verily he never believed in the Majestic Allah and he never encouraged feeding the poor." [ Surah 69, verse 33,34 ]

After describing three traits of the disbelievers, Allah Ta'ala mentions three traits of those people who claim to be Muslims but who do not practise religion properly. These people include the hypocrites as well as sincere believers who are lacking in the practical application of Islam in their lives. Allah says, "Destruction be for those worshippers who neglect their Salah; those who are ostentatious and who refuse even minor article." Allama Ibn Kathir (r.a)writes that "those worshippers who neglect their Salah" refers to all the following categories of people:
⦁ Those who do not perform their salah at all.
⦁ Those who are unaware of the times of salah and perform their salah at the incorrect times.
⦁ Those who perform their salah without observing the conditions and fundamentals of Salah.
⦁ Those who are not attentive in their salah.

Allama Ibn Kathir (r.a)writes further that those who have any number of these traits in them shall be deserving of the condemnation in proportion to the number of traits found in them. However, the person who has all these traits in him shall be deserving of the full force of the condemnation of this verse. Such a person possesses all the traits of a Munafiq (a hypocrite ) even though he may not be one at heart. Bukhari and Muslim report a hadith in which the Holy Prophet fJL- j UP ibi said that the Salah of a Munafiq is that he waits until the sun is between the horns of Satan before he hastily stands up for (the Asr) Salah and pecks at the ground four times. In such a Salah he hardly thinks of Allah at all.

Allah Ta'ala also mentions that such people perform Salah for show. There are many such people who have no true concern for their Salah but merely perform their Salah because they fear that others may think ill of them if they neglect their Salah. They therefore perform Salah only to show others. Condemning this behaviour of the hypocrites in Surah Nisa, Allah Ta'ala says, "Indeed the hypocrites seek to deceive Allah whereas He deceives them.When they stand up in Salah, they stand up lazily, to be seen by people and they remember Allah only a little therein." [ Surah 4, verse 142 ]
A person who has faith in Allah and in His promises will perform his Salah scrupulously. It will make no difference to him whether he performs Salah in public or in private. In either case, the Salah will be meticulous. He will not regard humans as beings worthy of pleasing through Ibadah (worship). He will perform Tahajjud Salah (supererogatory prayer) sincerely without making statements like, "It was really freezing cold this morning when I got up for Tahajjud." Just as some people boast about their physical acts of worship, there are many people who insist that a plaque with their names should be displayed on mosques or classrooms that they sponsor. Others insist that honorary titles should be attached to their names whenever their names are taken. There are also others who donate to people and then remind the recipients of their favour, thereby causing them hurt. Allah says in Surah Baqarah, "O you who believe! Render not your charity in vain by reminders of your generosity or by injury, like him who spends his wealth to be seen by people and believes not in Allah nor in the Last Day. His similitude is like that of a rock on which there is some sand. Smitten by a rainstorm, it is left bare. They have no control of anything which they earn,and Allah does not guide the disbelieving folk." [ Surah 2, verse 264]
One should bear in mind that the joy that enters one's heart after carrying out a good deed is not ostentation. Similarly, carrying out a good deed in front of people does not necessarily entail ostentation. Ostentation is a condition of the heart which spurs one to do something so that people may think highly of one and praise one. Foolish are those people whom Satan has fooled into believing that they should not perform Salah with Jama'ah (congregation) because it is a public act and public acts denote ostentation. An act done publicly will be regarded as ostentation only when one's purpose is to promote one's image. If one intends only to please Allah, the act may be private or public. Of course, a good deed carried out privately is better. Allah Ta'ala says in Surah Baqarah [ Surah 2, verse 272], " If you make your charity apparent, then this is good, but if you secretly give it to the poor, it will be better for you and atone for some of your sins. Allah is Informed of what you do." The fact that this verse describes giving charity publicly as "good" means that no harm is done by doing so, as long as one is sincere.

who are neglectful of their Salah,
This includes to miss Salah due to carelessness, or to perform it without - observing its due rules etc..

The third trait of some people that Allah condemns is that they "refuse even minor articles."These articles ("ma'un " ) are such that allowing others to use them will neither cause one loss nor harm, nor will the article itself be tainted. When Sayyidina Abdullah bin Mas'ud iui was asked what these articles were, he replied that they were those things that people usually borrowed from each other like hammers, pots, buckets, scales, etc. Sayyidina Abdullah bin Abbas (r.a)also described "Maun" as articles used domestically. Sayyidina Ikrima gave examples of "Maun" asstrainers, buckets and needles. Other commentators have interpreted "refuse even minor articles" to mean that these people refuse to pay the obligatory Zakah.
Because the Salah performed for show is not a Salah for Allah, performing such a Salah denotes an act of miserliness towards "Allah, Who deserves much better. After mentioning this miserliness in one's Ibadah (worship), Allah speaks about miserliness with one's wealth when He condemns those people who "refuse even minor articles." If a person refuses to lend articles to others which will cause no loss to him whatsoever, how can such a person be expected to part with other things?

Failure to pay Zakah is also a terrible act of miserliness because Allah is instructing one to part with only one fortieth (2.5%) of one's wealth after having it with one for an entire year. Expressing reluctance and delaying in giving something minor to someone is tantamount to not giving at all. Minor acts like giving a matchstick to someone to light a stove or lending someone a Qur'an or a mat for Salah will earn one great rewards and refusing these things will be a source of tremendous deprivation even though one will lose nothing. It is indeed tragic that there are some people who are extremely miserly and who would refuse even such insignificant things.

Sayyidah Ayesha(r.a) once asked the Holy Prophet^ -OP in what things may not be refused. The Holy Prophet(s.a.w) replied, "Water, salt and fire." Sayyidah Ayesha(r.a) said, "We understand ( people's need for) water. What about fire and salt?" The Holy Prophet (s.a.w)replied, "The person who gives fire will receive the reward of giving in charity everything that the fire cooks and the person who gives salt will receive the rewards of giving in charity all the food that the salt gives flavour to. The person who gives a believer a sip of water in a place where water is available is like one who frees a slave. The person who gives a Mu'min (Believer) a sip of water in a place where water is not available is like one who has given life to a person." ["Mishkat" p. 260]

Sayyidina Abu Dharr ^ narrates that he heard the Holy Prophet UP ibi say, "Smiling with your Muslim brother is Sadaqa (charity). Enjoining good is Sadaqa (charity),forbidding evil is Sadaqa (charity),guiding a lost person is Sadaqa ( charity ), assisting a person with weak eyesight is Sadaqa ( charity), removing a stone, thorn or bone from the road is Sadaqa ( charity) and pouring water from your bucket into your brother's bucket is also Sadaqa (charity) " ["Mishkat" p. 169 from Tirmidhi]

Tafseer Tafheem Ul-Quran

(107:4) Woe, then, to those who pray,8
8. The fa in fa-wail-ul -lil-musallin signifies that such was the condition of the open deniers of the Hereafter. One may then consider the condition of the hypocrites who are included among the praying ones (i.e. Muslims). Since, despite being Muslims they regard the Hereafter as a falsehood, one may note what path of ruin they are following.
Though musallin means the praying ones, in view of the context in which this word has been used and the characteristics of these people that follow, this word, in fact, does not have the meaning of the praying ones but of the people of salat, i.e. of those included among Muslims.

(107:5) but are heedless in their Prayers,
9. The words used are an-salat-i him sahun and not fi salati- him ahun. In case the words fi salat-i him had been used, the meaning would be that they forget in the course of their Prayer. But forgetting in the course of the Prayer is no sin in the eyes of the Shariah, nothing to say of its being hypocrisy, nor is it a fault or anything blameworthy. The Prophet (peace be upon him) himself sometimes forgot in the Prayer and to compensate for it he prescribed the method of sajdah sahv. On the contrary, an salat-i-him sahun means that they are neglectful of their Prayer. Whether they perform the Prayer, or do not perform it, it is of little importance to them. They are not regular at the Prayers. When they perform it, they do not observe the prescribed times, but offer it carelessly at the eleventh hour. Or, when they rise up for the Prayer, they rise up and perform it with an unwilling heart, as if it were a calamity imposed on them. They play with their garments, yawn and betray absence of every trace of Allah’s remembrance in their hearts. Throughout the Prayer they show no feeling at all that they are performing the Prayer, nor of what they are reciting; their minds wander and they perform articles of the Prayer without due attention; they somehow perform a semblance of the Prayer and try to be rid of it as soon as possible. And there are many people who would perform the Prayer only when they must, otherwise the Prayer has no place in their lives. The Prayer time comes but they show no concern that it is the Prayer time; they hear the call to the Prayer but do not understand what the caller is calling to, whom he is calling and for what purpose. These in fact are the signs of absence of faith in the Hereafter. The claimants to Islam believe thus only because they do not believe that they would be rewarded for performing the Prayer, nor have the faith that they would be punished for not performing it. On this very basis, Anas bin Malik and Ata bin Dinar say: Thanks to God that he said an salat-ihim and not fi salat-i-him. That is, we do forget in the course of the Prayer but we are not forgetful and neglectful of it; therefore, we shall not be counted among the hypocrites.
The Quran at another place has described this state of the hypocrites, thus: They come to offer their Prayer but reluctantly, and they spend in the way of Allah with unwilling hearts. (Surah At-Taubah, Ayat 54). The Messenger (peace be upon him) of Allah has said: This is the Prayer of the hypocrite; this is the Prayer of the hypocrite; this is the Prayer of the hypocrite! He watches the sun at the Asr time until when it reaches between the two horns of Satan (i.e. when the time of sunset approaches), he gets up and performs the Prayer carelessly, in which he remembers Allah but little. (Bukhari, Muslim, Musnad Ahmad). Musab bin Saad has related from his father, Saad bin Abi Waqqas: When I asked the Prophet (peace be upon him) about the people who are neglectful of their Prayer, he said: These are the people who perform their Prayers when the prescribed time for it has passed. (Ibn Jarir, Abu Yala, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn abi Hatim, Tabarani in Ausat; Ibn Marduyah, Baihaqi in As-Sunan). This tradition has been related as a statement of Saad himself also as a mauquf hadith and its sanad is stronger. Its being a marfu narration of the saying of the Prophet (peace be upon him) has been regarded as weak by Baihaqi and Hakim). Another tradition from Musab is that he asked his father: Have you considered this verse? Does it mean giving up the Prayer, or wandering of one’s attention in the course of the Prayer, who among us has not his attention divided. He replied: No, it implies wasting the prescribed time of the Prayer and performing it when its time has elapsed. (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Shaibah, Abu Yala, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Marduyah, Baihaqi in As-Sunan).
Here, one should understand that coming of other thoughts in the mind in the course of the Prayer is one thing and being unmindful of the Prayer and thinking other things during it quite another. The first state is a natural human weakness. Thoughts do interfere without intention, and as soon as a believer feels that his attention is wandering from the Prayer, he gathers it and brings it back to the Prayer. The other state is of being neglectful of the Prayer, for in it man only goes through an exercise of the Prayer mechanically, he has no intention of the remembrance of God in his heart. From the commencement of the Prayer till its completion his heart is not turned towards God even for a moment, and he remains engrossed in the thoughts with which he entered the Prayer.

(107:6) those who do good (in order) to be seen,10
10. This can be an independent sentence as well as one relating to the preceding sentence. In the first case, it would mean that they do not perform any act of goodness with a pure intention for the sake of God, but whatever they do, they do to be seen of others so that they are praised, are considered righteous, their good act is publicized and its advantage and benefit accrues to them here in the world. In the second case, the meaning would be that they pray to be seen. The commentators generally have preferred the second meaning, for at first sight it appears that it relates to the preceding sentence. Ibn Abbas says: It implies the hypocrites who prayed to be seen. They performed the Prayer if there was somebody to see them, but did not perform it if there was nobody to see them. In another tradition his words are to the effect: If they were alone they did not pray; but if there were others, they prayed. (Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim , Ibn Marduyah, Baihaqi , in Ash-Shuab). In the Quran the hypocrites have been described thus: When they rise up for the salat, they go reluctantly to it, merely to be seen of people and they remember Allah but little. (Surah An-Nisa, Ayat 142).

(107:7) and deny people the articles of common necessity.
11. The word used is maun. The view held by Ali, Ibn Umar, Saeed bin Jubair, Qatadah, Hasan Basri, Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah, Dahhak, Ibn Zaid, Ikrimah, Mujahid, Ata and Zuhri is that it implies the zakat while Ibn Abbas, Ibn Masud, Ibrahim Nakhai, Abu Malik and many other scholars have expressed the opinion that it implies items of common use; for example, cooking-pot, bucket, hatchet, balance, salt, water, fire, flint (now its successor, the match-stick ), etc. which the people generally borrow from each other. A statement of Saeed bin Jubair and Mujahid also supports it. Another view of Ali also is that it implies the zakat as well as the little courtesies and kindnesses of daily life. Ibn Abi Hatim has related from Ikrimah that maun of the highest form is zakat and of the lowest lending of a sieve, bucket, or needle to a borrower. Abdullah bin Masud says: We, the companions of Muhammad (peace be upon him), used to say, and according to other traditions, in the time of the Prophet (peace be upon him), used to say that maun implies lending of the cooking pot, hatchet, bucket, balance, and such other things. (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Shaibah, Abu Daud, Nasai, Bazzar, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Tabarani in Al- Ausat, Ibn Marduyah, Baihaqi in As-Sunan). Saad bin Iyad without specifying any names has related almost the same view from the companions of the Prophet (peace be upon him), which shows that he had heard this from several companions. (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Shaibah). Dailami, Ibn Asakir, and Abu Nuaim have related a tradition from Abu Hurairah in which he says that the Prophet (peace be upon him) explained this verse saying that it implies the hatchet, bucket and other such things. If this tradition is genuine, it probably did not come to the notice of other scholars; otherwise it was not possible that other people should have given any other commentary of this verse.
Maun in fact is a small, little thing useful to the people. Accordingly, zakat also is maun, for it is a little amount out of much wealth, which one has to give away in order to help the poor, and the other small items of common use are also maun as mentioned by Abdullah Ibn Masud and the scholars who share his viewpoint. The majority of the commentators say that maun applies to all those small things which the neighbors usually ask each other for, and asking for these is not in any way blameworthy, for the rich and the poor, all stand in need of these at one time or another. However, to show stinginess in lending these is regarded as mean behavior morally. Generally these things by themselves last and the neighbor returns them in the original form after he has used them. It would also be maun if a neighbor asks the other for a bed or bedding items on the arrival of guests, or asks the neighbor’s permission to have loaves baked in his oven, or wants to leave some valuables in the neighbor’s custody when going out of his house for some days. Thus, the verse means to impress that denial of the Hereafter renders a man so narrow-minded and niggardly that he is not even prepared to make a most minor sacrifice for the sake of others.

Transliteration

Ayah 4

Fawaylun lilmusalleena

Ayah 5

Allatheena hum AAan salatihim sahoona

Ayah 6

Allatheena hum yuraoona

Ayah 7

WayamnaAAoona almaAAoona

Word-by-word

Ayah 4

# Arabic Pronunciation Meaning Root
1 فَوَيْلٌ Fawaylun So woe —
2 لِّلْمُصَلِّينَ lilmusalleena to those who pray ص ل و

Ayah 5

# Arabic Pronunciation Meaning Root
1 الَّذِينَ Allatheena Those who —
2 هُمْ hum [they] —
3 عَن AAan about —
4 صَلَاتِهِمْ salatihim their prayers ص ل و
5 سَاهُونَ sahoona (are) neglectful س ه و

Ayah 6

# Arabic Pronunciation Meaning Root
1 الَّذِينَ Allatheena Those who —
2 هُمْ hum [they] —
3 يُرَآءُونَ yuraoona make show ر أ ي

Ayah 7

# Arabic Pronunciation Meaning Root
1 وَيَمْنَعُونَ WayamnaAAoona And they deny م ن ع
2 الْمَاعُونَ almaAAoona [the] small kindnesses م ع ن

Section 02

Cross-references

Similar verses elsewhere in the Qur’an and authentic ahadith narrated about this ayah.

Section 03

Articles & resources

Long-form articles, scientific commentary, and historical context linked from the legacy archive.

Articles

Scientific Data

Misconceptions

Section 04

Audio & video lectures

0 videos · 20 audio lectures from contemporary scholars.

Az-Zalzalah - An-Nas Az-Zalzalah Audio lecture Az-Zalzalah - An-Nas Az-Zalzalah Audio lecture HijabIqbal HijabIqbal Audio lecture HijabIqbal HijabIqbal Audio lecture Al-'Asr - An-Nas Al-'Asr - An-Nas Audio lecture Al-'Asr - An-Nas Al-'Asr - An-Nas Audio lecture Al-Qadr_-_Al-Naas Al-Qadr_-_Al-Naas Audio lecture Al-Qadr_-_Al-Naas Al-Qadr_-_Al-Naas Audio lecture Al-Ma-un Al-Ma-un Audio lecture Al-Ma-un Al-Ma-un Audio lecture Al-Asr-Al-Maun_Tafsir_Al-Maun_1-7. Al-Asr-Al-Maun_Tafsir_Al-Maun_1-7. Audio lecture Al-Asr-Al-Maun_Tafsir_Al-Maun_1-7. Al-Asr-Al-Maun_Tafsir_Al-Maun_1-7. Audio lecture Tafsir_Quraish_-_Al-Lahab Tafsir_Quraish_-_Al-Lahab Audio lecture Tafsir_Quraish_-_Al-Lahab Tafsir_Quraish_-_Al-Lahab Audio lecture How to be earrnest in salah: How to be earrnest in salah: Audio lecture How to be earrnest in salah: How to be earrnest in salah: Audio lecture How To Be Earnest In Prayer by Amina Elahi - Part 2 Amina Elahi Audio lecture How To Be Earnest In Prayer by Amina Elahi - Part 2 Amina Elahi Audio lecture Dr. Israr Ahmed - Dr. Israr Ahmed - Audio lecture Dr. Israr Ahmed - Dr. Israr Ahmed - Audio lecture

References

  1. Tafseer — Abdullah Yusuf
  2. Tafseer — Dr. Farooq Azam
  3. Tafseer — Ibn Abbas
  4. Tafseer — Jalalain
  5. Tafseer — Ma’arif Ul-Quran
  6. Tafseer — Mufti Taqi Usmani
  7. Tafseer — Shaikh Ashiq Ilahi
  8. Tafseer — Tafheem Ul-Quran
  9. Translation — Sahih International
  10. Hadith collections — 114 narrations from Bukhari, Muslim, Tirmidhi, Abu Dawud and others (see Cross-references)
  11. Linked articles — 46 long-form pieces

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