Translation:
Those who spend their wealth for the purpose assigned by God,144 their likeness is that of a grain germinating into seven sheaths, and in each sheath there are a hundred grains. Thus, God multiplies for whom He wills. He is the abundantly Giving, Knowing. Those who spend their wealth for the purpose defined by God and do not make their spending a cause for insult or injury (to the receiving party), their reward is with God, and there will be no fear or grief for them. A kind word with forgiveness is better than charity followed by injury. God is Self-Sufficient, Forbearing.
O people of faith, do not make your charity worthless by insult and injury in the manner of those who spend their wealth to be seen by people, and they do not believe in God and the Last Day. Such charity is like the soil on a smooth rock that a heavy rainfall washes away (without producing anything). They do not benefit from what they spend, and God does not guide people who refuse to acknowledge the truth. (On the other hand), those who spend their wealth seeking God’s grace and strengthening their souls are like a garden on an elevated ground so that when rain falls on it, it brings forth double produce; if heavy rain is not there, even light rain is sufficient for growth. God sees all of what you do.
Interpretation
144 Charity should be wholesome, beneficial, and dignified. Good charity will be rewarded in ample terms while bad charity will result in no benefit for the giver or for the receiver. Charity is also a way to express our gratitude to God and is considered a gift to God.
Charity is a major institution of Islam, and Zakat is one of the pillars of the Islamic faith. Yet charity has become a purely personal obligation and not an institution of collective responsibility and social infrastructure to improve the quality of life for those less fortunate. A lack of trust, personal arrogance, a poor understanding of charitable causes, and a lack of serious dialogue on how best to administer charity and how to eliminate the over-reliance on donations from other countries have all paralyzed the social fabric of many Muslim countries.
Charity should be directed to improve self-reliance and not promote dependence; however, individual Muslims and Muslim countries are doing the opposite. Many personal charities are not properly channeled through institutional frameworks for sustainable gains. And too many Muslim countries are becoming debt-bound to other wealthier countries and are failing to develop self-reliant economies through educating their masses and developing productive businesses and institutions. Also, many of the wealthier countries are more interested in creating dependencies and extracting undue favors from providing aid than in genuinely improving human conditions which are sustainable.
Reflection:
These are wonderful verses explaining the manner in which charity should be given and how we should behave afterward. Giving charity and helping others in a dignified manner have been cornerstones of the message of Islam and the works of the Prophet, yet charity, or the lack thereof, has become a major source of shame and arrogance for some Muslim countries, and many Muslim communities continue to struggle needlessly while their neighboring communities waste precious resources. I have been to a number of oil-rich countries in the Middle East where the ruling families squander the wealth that belongs to the people and give their citizens hefty allowances that only create a false sense of entitlement and unproductive arro- gance while at the same time treating their more unfortunate non-citizens, who come from various countries to build the roads and manage their households, in a manner that robs their dignity and marginalizes their hard labor. All of these issues contradict Islam’s teachings and the Qur’an’s instructions.
Action:
What we need to do is seriously allocate a portion of our resources (e.g., money, capabilities, intelligence, etc.) for the benefit of others and make them a means by which to improve the quality of life for others without causing them to lose any dignity or honor.