Surah Al-Ma’un - Alms
(Revealed at Mecca)
7 Verses in 1 Section
Sections of Surah Al-Ma’un
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He who cares not for Prayer and withholds alms.
Al-Ma’un - He Who Cares Not For Prayer And Withholds Alms
Woe unto those praying ones who pray but care not for the prayer, do good to show to others - and refuse alms to the poor.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
“In the name of God the Beneficent the Merciful”
أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ
“What! Hast, thou seen him who belieth the Final Judgment1“ (107:1)
فَذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ
“That is he who repelleth the orphan” (107:2)
وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ
“And urgeth not others to feed the poor” (107:3)
فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ
“And woe unto those praying ones” (107:4)
الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ
“Who are heedless of their prayer” (107:5)
الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ
“Who do (a good deed only) to be seen” (107:6)
وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ
“And (also) withhold alms” (107:7)
Commentary
Verse 1
‘Deen’, i.e., religion, but here it means the Day of the Final Judgment as given in the opening chapter2. The reference is to disbelieve in the Day of Judgment. Those who deny the faith, the doctrines of the religion consequently become irresponsible and take even the most serious and grievous acts lightly and commit them with arrogance and impunity which not only degrades the individuals but also leads to disturb peace and harmony among the people. They treat the poor and the helpless with contempt and even practise cruelty to the poor souls.
The first three verses are about the disbelievers who rejected the belief in the Day of Judgment and behaved arrogantly. This condemns the belying attitude. (A.P.)
Verse 2
Those who disbelieve in the Day of Judgment, rebuke and keep away the helpless orphans repulsing their approach. It is said, Abu-Sofyan and Walid Ibn Moghaira and Abu Jahl and Aas Ibn Wail used to do this, and the reference applies directly to those who at the time of the revelation of these verses, were the disbelievers who did not believe in the Day of Judgment and behaved arrogantly, but its application is ever current to everyone who qualifies for it.
Verse 3
They neither themselves feed the poor nor do they encourage the others to do it. This is as well a warning to the true believers against the conduct.
Verse 4-5
Those of the worshippers who are careless about the prescribed daily canonical prayers. Those who sometimes pray and sometimes do not. Those who do not offer the prescribed daily prayers punctually and allow the exact time for the prayers to pass away in idleness or in the worldly business and enjoyments. Those who pray to show their prayerfulness and piety to the public and do not do it when they are alone.
The Holy Prophet said that the prayer is the central pillar of the faith, he who neglected it has destroyed the faith, and in another place, he said ‘‘If prayer is accepted all other deeds of righteousness of the individual will also be accepted, and if the prayer is rejected all the other deeds of goodness, be they of any degree and of any quantity, will be rejected” The first Holy Imam Ali Ibn Ali-Talib said: ‘‘Hypocrites are those who carelessly allow the prayer time to pass away” In one place he says: ‘‘I do not pray or serve God for fear of His chastisement, for it will be the prayer of the slave - nor do I pray or serve God to get the bliss in heaven which God promises, for it will be a trade; but I pray to Him and serve Him for it is due to Him and He alone deserves to he prayed to, and to be served”
This passage shows that even among the early Muslims of the Meccan period there were some who were negligent of their prayers and hypocrites in their religious practices and niggardly in charity. (A.P.).
Negligent of their prayers. This applies to the negligence in the observation of the time and attention during prayer - to attribute such a condition to the Holy Prophet amounts to blasphemy. (A.P.).
Verse 6
Those who offer prayers or do good deeds only to be seen and known as good men among the people, i.e., the hypocrites. This is a warning to all believers to see that whatever good they do, is exclusively to please the Lord and not to earn any name or fame.
Verse 7
‘Maun’ - The poor-rate - Alms - but it actually means things of insignificant price like water, fire, and salt which are the necessities of life. According to Ibn Abbas, Sayeed Ibn Jubair and Ibn Mas’ood they are the things of domestic use including even the vessel of daily use.
The Holy Prophet said ‘‘He who gave salt to anyone who needed it, it will he equal to liberating sixty miserable slaves and he who gave waler to one who needed it, will he equal to giving life to a dead man”.
