2. Al-Baqara

(If ye publish your almsgiving�) [2:271]. Said al-Kalbi: �When the saying of Allah, exalted is He, (And whatsoever good thing ye spend�) [2:272], the Companions asked: �O Messenger of Allah! Is giving alms in secret better or giving it in the open?� In response Allah revealed this verse�.

(The guiding of them is not thy duty�) [2:272]. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Harith informed us> 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far> 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Muslim> Sahl ibn 'Uthman al-'Askari> Jarir> Ash'ath ibn Ishaq> Ja'far ibn al-Mughirah> Sa'id ibn Jubayr who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �Do not give alms except to the people of your own religion�. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (The guiding of them is not thy duty�), upon which the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �Give alms to people of other religions�. Ahmad informed us> 'Abd Allah> 'Abd al-Rahman> Sahl> Ibn Numayr> al-Hajjaj> Salman al-Makki> Ibn al-Hanafiyyah who said: �Muslims used to dislike giving alms to the poor among the idolaters until this verse was revealed. They were then ordered to give them alms�. Said al-Kalbi: �The Messenger of Allah went to perform the lesser pilgrimage to make up for the lesser pilgrimage which he missed the previous year ('Umrat al-Qada') and had with him Asma' bint Abi Bakr. The mother of Asma', Qutaylah, and her grandmother, who were still idolateresses at that time, came to see her and ask her for help. Asma' said: 'I will not give you anything until I consult the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, for you do not follow my religion'. She went and consulted him about this matter, upon which Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, commanded her after the revelation of this verse to give alms to both of them. She gave them alms and helped them�. Said al-Kalbi: �There is another way of understanding this verse. It happened that some Muslims had relatives, in-laws and ties through suckling among the Jews. Because of this, they used to help them before the advent of Islam. When they became Muslim, they disliked to keep on helping them and wanted to force these Jews to become Muslim. They consulted the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, about this. This verse was revealed as a response to their consultation, after which the Muslims continued their help to them�.

(Those who spend their wealth by night and day, by stealth and openly�) [2:274]. Abu Ibrahim Isma'il ibn Ibrahim al-Nasrabadhi informed us> 'Amr ibn Nujayd> Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Khalil> Hisham ibn 'Ammar> Muhammad ibn Shu'ayb> Ibn Mahdi> Yazid ibn 'Abd Allah> 'Arib> his father> his grandfather> the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, who said: �This verse (Those who spend their wealth by night and day, by stealth and openly, verily their reward is with their Lord) was revealed about the owners of horses�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, also said: �The devils will not bewitch anyone who has in his house a noble horse�. This is also the opinion of Abu Umamah, Abu'l-Darda', Makhul, al-Awza'i and Rabah ibn Zayd. They said: �This refers to those who tie their horses for the sake of Allah, they spend on them by night and day, secretly and in the open. The verse was revealed about those who do not keep horses for pride or as a guarantee for debts which are deemed impossible to pay back�. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tha'labi informed us> al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Dinawari> 'Umar ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Nahrawani> 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Mahrawayh al-Qazwini> 'Ali ibn Dawud al-Qantari> 'Abd Allah ibn Salih> Abu Shurayh> Qays ibn al-Hajjaj> Hanash ibn 'Abd Allah al-San'ani that Ibn 'Abbas said concerning the verse (Those who spend their wealth by night and day, by stealth and openly�): �This refers to the fodder given to horses�. The correctness of this is evidenced by the report which narrated to us> Abu Ishaq al-Muqri'> Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn 'Abdus> Abu'l-'Abbas 'Abd Allah ibn Ya'qub al-Kirmani> Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Kirmani> Waki'> 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Bahram> Shahr ibn Hawshab> Asma' bint Yazid who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �Whoever ties a horse for the sake of Allah, and spends on it seeking nothing but the pleasure of Allah, that horse's satiety and hunger, drink and thirst, urine and dung will all be in his balance of good deeds on the Day of Judgement�. Abu Ishaq also informed us> Abu 'Amr al-Furati> Abu Musa 'Imran ibn Musa> Sa'id ibn 'Uthman al-Jazari> Faris ibn 'Umar> Salih ibn Muhammad> Sulayman ibn 'Amr> 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid> Makhul> Jabir who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �The one who spends on his horse for the sake of Allah is like the one who extends his hand to give in charity�.

(O ye who believe! Observe your duty to Allah, and give up what remaineth (due to you) from usury) [2:278]. Muhammad ibn �Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn Ja�far informed us> Abu �Amr ibn Hamdan> Abu Ya�la> Ahmad ibn al-Akhnas> Muhammad ibn Fudayl> al-Kalbi> Abu Salih> Ibn �Abbas who said: �We heard, and Allah knows best, that this verse was revealed about the Banu �Amr ibn �Umayr ibn �Awf, from Thaqif, and Banu�l-Mughirah, from Banu Makhzum, because Banu�l-Mughirah used to borrow from Thaqif money with usury. When Allah, exalted is He, made His Messenger conquer Mecca, He abolished all usurious transactions. Banu �Amr ibn �Umayr and Banu�l-Mughirah, then, went to see �Attab ibn Usayd who was in Mecca. Banu�l-Mughirah said: �Why are we the most wretched of all people? Usury has been cancelled from amongst people, but we still pay it�. The Banu �Amr ibn �Umayr said: �The treaty that we have stipulates that usury is paid to us�. �Attab sent a letter to the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, regarding this matter. Then this verse and the verse after it (And if ye do not, then be warned of war (against you) from Allah and His messenger�) were revealed. The Banu �Amr knew that they would not be paid usury when the result involves a war from Allah and His Messenger. Allah, exalted is He, says: (And if ye repent, then ye have your principal (without interest)) such that you would not take more (Wrong not, and ye shall not be wronged) by being given less than your capital�. �Ata� and �Ikrimah also said: �This verse was revealed about al-�Abbas ibn �Abd al-Muttalib and �Uthman ibn �Affan who had lent someone dates. When it was time for the collection of the dates, the owner of the dates said to them: �If you take all of what is due to you what remains will not be enough for me and my dependents. Why do you not take half of what is due to you and I will double the interest that was initially agreed?� They both agreed. When the term was due, they both asked the man to pay what was agreed. This reached the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and he warned them against going ahead with it.

(And if the debtor is in straitened circumstances�) [2:280]. Said al-Kalbi: �The Banu �Amr ibn �Umayr said to Banu�l-Mughirah: �Give us our capitals and we will spare you the payment of the usury on them�. The Banu�l-Mughirah said: �We are now in straitened circumstances, please give us some respite until the time of the harvest�. Banu�l-Mughirah refused this request. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (And if the debtor is in straitened circumstances�)�.