Page 49 - Loyalty Described in the Qur'an

The Faithfulness of Believers

the way of Allah. They will spend it; then they will regret it;
then they will be overthrown. Those who disbelieve will be
gathered into Hell. (Surat al-Anfal, 36)
These people are not aware of the meaning or the value of spend-

ing in the way of Allah, or of the great gain it will bring them, both in
this world and the next. They do not know that everything they have
belongs to Allah and, for this reason, they refuse to spend anything of
this in the way of Allah. Even if they were to spend of something, their
gesture would not be to gain the favor of Allah, but to make a show
and to further their own advantage. Instead of feeling love and devo-
tion towards Allah and His prophet, they are inordinately devoted to

the material objects that Allah has given them as a means to show their
generosity. Their passion for wealth and possessions is so great that,
when they are reminded that they should be generous, their reaction
reveals their corrupted mentality. In the Qur'an, Allah describes how
those who reject Him behave in this respect:
And when they are told, "Spend from the provision Allah
has given you," those who disbelieve say to those who be-
lieve, "Why should we feed someone whom, if He wished,

Allah would feed Himself? You are clearly in error." (Surah
Ya Sin, 47)
This psychology of "material attainment" prevents the individual
from spending what he has to further the way of Allah, otherwise a
very important act of worship. For, spending in the way of Allah
demonstrates the deep faithfulness and devotion that believers feel to-
wards Allah. In the Qur'an, Allah speaks of the moral quality of certain
believers, whose devotion to Him is so profound that they came back

with tears streaming from their eyes when they were not able to find

47