Quran Garden

Session 299

Chapter 2

Verse 272

It is not for you to guide them; it is God who guides whoever He will.  Whatever charity you give benefits your own soul, provided you do it for the sake of God: whatever you give will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged. (Chapter 2: Verse 272)

             Look at the bounties of Islam, benefiting even those who do not believe in it.  God asks you to give the obligatory Zakat almsgiving to your believing brothers and sisters, then He gives you the opportunity to increase your reward by giving a voluntary Sadaqa to the needy regardless of their faith.  God says: It is not for you to guide them; it is God who guides whoever He will.  Whatever charity you give benefits your own soul, provided you do it for the sake of God.

Here you may ask, why was there a shift in the subject? Where did the issue of ‘It is not for you to guide them; it is God who guides whoever He will’ come from? The preceding verses discussed charity and giving, and the next verses continue to discuss charity and giving.  So why did God, the All-Wise, interject with guidance?

Here is the story behind this verse: At the time of the Prophet, there were many Muslims who had poor non-believing relatives.  They wanted to help their relatives financially, yet they were unsure if it is OK to assist a non-believer.  So they went to the Prophet to ask.  One of the believers was Asma, the daughter of Abu Bakr.  Her mom, a non-believer, was in need.  She went and asked the prophet: ‘Should I help my Mom?’ He, peace be upon him, replied: ‘Of course you should!’ 

There were also some Muslims who withheld financial help from their relatives to pressure them into Islam.  To stop such practices, God revealed: ‘It is not for you to guide them; it is God who guides whoever He will.  Whatever charity you give benefits your own soul.’

             Allah prioritized the care of your fellow humans over pushing any belief system on them.  Allah is the Lord of every human being, even if He is not the deity of every human being.  Let me explain this further.  Allah is the creator; He brought everyone into existence.  You and I had no say whether to be born or not.  Thus, Allah takes on the responsibility of providing for each one of us regardless of our belief.  Allah, Our Lord, provides the believer and non-believer alike with air, water, food and all the necessities of life.  Allah, Our Lord, shows the believer and non-believer alike His path of guidance.  Whether you accept Allah as your deity and entrust Him with your affairs is up to you. 

              Another reason behind the revelation of this verse is to encourage the believers to give well.  Some had been giving substandard items, such as food that was about to spoil or worn and torn clothes.    

             Islam came to curb the whims of the ego.  Your faith should be a counterweight against your greed and self-indulgence.  Thus, Islam repeatedly addressed moral issues in faith.  God says: ‘It is not for you to guide them; it is God who guides whoever He will. Whatever charity you give benefits your own soul.’  Our beloved Prophet Muhammad used to feel sorrow if he saw the believers unenthusiastic about implementing God’s commands.  Allah explained to Muhammad that his job was only to convey the message, not to chase after each person to accept and implement it. 

Here, we should take time to address a critical issue.  Some people quote verses such as ‘It is not for you to guide them; it is God who guides whoever He will’ and say: ‘since God guides whoever He wills, then our job is done. We do not have to talk to people about Islam.’ Or they claim: “I cannot help myself from doing sin.  If God wants me to be good, He will make me good.  God guides whoever He will.”  We answer that to truly understand the issue of guidance, you have to study all the Quranic verses that address this issue, not just one.  God says in the 82^nd verse of chapter 4:

Why do they not ponder over the Quran!?

             The Quran is the Devine word of God.  It should not be taken lightly or glanced over.  Allah is asking you to read, ponder, and examine the Quran inside and out.  Keeping that in mind, let’s look into the issue of guidance. 

If guidance was exclusively God’s domain where He chooses who is guided and who is not, then there would have been no punishment or reward in the hereafter.  You cannot punish someone for an act he or she had nothing to do with.  Having paradise as a reward for the righteous and hellfire as punishment for the sinner indicates freedom of choice. 

             So how do we reconcile these two issues: the issue of ‘It is not for you to guide them; it is God who guides whoever He will’ on the one hand and the issue of freedom of choice on the other? Let’s examine the Quran.  God says:

As for the tribe of Thamood, We gave them guidance, but they preferred blindness, so they were struck by a blast of humiliating punishment for their misdeeds.  Yet We saved those who believed and were mindful of God.  (41:17-18)

Allah guides all humanity towards His path.  More specifically, God calls everyone to faith; He sends prophets and messengers and supports them with miracles and scriptures to deliver his message to everyone.  God clarifies the outcome of those who follow His path and those who abandon it.  So whoever wants to follow the right path can do so, and whoever chooses to abandon it can do so.  This is summarized by the phrase: ‘We gave them guidance, but they preferred blindness.’

Here is another example.  First, listen to the following verse where God addresses the Prophet and says:

and you certainly guide them to the right path (42:52)

Now listen to a second verse, where again, God also addresses the prophet and says:                                                   

You cannot guide the ones you love to the truth; it is God who guides whoever He will: He knows best those who will follow guidance. (28:56)

At first glance these two verses are in contradiction: One verse affirms that the prophet guides, while the other denies him guidance even to his loved ones.  How can this be? We answer that our beloved prophet Muhammad is the means of delivering God’s book and general guidance to humanity.  He lit the path towards heaven for everyone.  Allah confirms: ‘and you certainly guide them to the right path.’  On the other hand, Prophet Muhammad cannot force anyone into faith.  The phrase ‘Surely you cannot guide whom you love’ ensures that every person has the freedom to believe or not. 

We say to people who use verses such as ‘It is not for you to guide them; it is God who guides whoever He will’ to absolve themselves from the responsibility of faith and deed: you are wrong.  You cannot blame God for your disbelief or shortcomings.  Allah has sent you prophets and scriptures.  He filled the universe around you with sign after sign of His Lordship.  Moreover, if you choose to follow God’s guidance, the Lord will support you with his divine guidance; He will endear faith and piety to your heart and facilitate for you the actions that lead to paradise.  God says:

As for those who follow true guidance, He leads them far ahead in their right ways and grants them piety and restraints from evil suited to their condition. (47:17)

This brings us back to the verse.  God says addressing our stinginess: ‘Whatever charity you give benefits your own soul.’  People do not want to give because they like to keep what they have.  God assures you that if you give your time or money to help others while keeping God in mind, you are in fact benefiting yourself.  He says: ‘provided you do it for the sake of God: whatever you give will be repaid to you in full.’ 

Hasan Albasri, a famous righteous man, used to rejoice when someone would come and ask him for charity.  He would say: ‘I welcome the one who will carry my good deeds to the hereafter free of charge.’  Another righteous man was asked by his friend: ‘How many people have you helped today?’ He answered: ‘none.’ The friend replied: ‘But I saw you give money to a poor family, aid an elderly woman, and visit a sick child.’  The righteous man said: ‘I was doing good to help myself.’ 

Allah wants you to turn your thoughts about charity upside down: You are not helping others; you are helping yourself.  You are not spending your money on charity; you are saving it for later.  Your wealth is not decreasing; it is being invested with a guaranteed return by the Lord of the Worlds.  He says: ‘whatever you give will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged.’ 

I have always said to people who came to me complaining about the ill treatment they received from poor relatives they helped: ‘You deserve what you got.  When you helped your relatives, you were expecting thanks and praise from them.  Had you helped them for God’s sake –and for His sake alone- you wouldn’t have been disappointed.’  God says: ‘Whatever charity you give benefits your own soul, provided you do it for the sake of God: whatever you give will be repaid to you in full, and you will not be wronged.’