The Holy Qur'an, akin to a profound ocean, conceals boundless meanings within its verses, each serving as a guide for the seekers of truth. Verse 117 of Surah Al-Imran employs a novel and profound metaphor to speak of the spending of disbelievers, likening it to a scorching, destructive wind that not only brings no good but rather heralds ruin for the doer and others. This treatise, by contemplating this noble verse and elaborating its meanings, examines the ethical, philosophical, and social dimensions of disbelievers' spending. The objective is to elucidate the messages of this verse for the seekers of knowledge, enabling them to grasp, with deeper insight, the reality of spending and its effects in both worldly and otherworldly life.
The example of what they spend in this worldly life is like a wind containing a piercing cold that strikes the tillage of a people who wronged themselves and destroys it. And Allah has not wronged them, but they wrong themselves.
The example of what they spend in this worldly life is like a wind in which there is severe cold, reaching the cultivation of a people who have wronged themselves and destroying it. And Allah has not wronged them, but rather they wrong themselves.
Verse 117 of Surah Al-Imran continues the preceding verses (115 and 116) that address the spending of disbelievers and the companions of the Fire. This verse, employing a rhetorical simile, compares the spending of disbelievers to a destructive phenomenon which not only brings no good but results in the destruction of the doer and others. This continuity emphasises the distinction between the good of the pious and the spending of disbelievers, indicating that true good arises solely from sincere intention and genuine faith.
The Holy Qur'an likens the spending of disbelievers to a wind containing a piercing cold a scorching, intense wind embedded with severe cold. This simile elegantly demonstrates the destructive impact of spending devoid of faith. Here, the wind is not a gentle, refreshing breeze but a fierce, devastating storm whose piercing cold devastates the fields of a people who have wronged themselves. This image vividly conveys that spending without a pure intention is like a wind that, instead of fostering growth, destroys everything.
From the perspective of moral philosophy, every action comprises two dimensions: objective goodness and agentive goodness. Objective goodness refers to the apparent and material benefit of the action, whereas agentive goodness depends on the intention and purpose of the agent. For instance, if a person feeds an impurity to a dog and the dog is satiated, the act has objective goodness because a living beings need is fulfilled. However, agentive goodness relies on the spenders intention of good or evil. If the spenders intention is disbelief, hypocrisy, or polytheism, then the act lacks agentive goodness and holds no spiritual value.
Verse 117 focuses on the reprehensibility of the agentive aspect of disbelievers spending. It does not disregard the objective goodness of spending (such as helping others) but emphasises that without sincere intention, this spending neither yields any afterlife benefit nor avoids harm and destruction. This distinction is fundamental for understanding the difference between good deeds and acts of disbelief.
Due to its roots in hypocrisy and disbelief, disbelievers spending is harmful not only to themselves but also leads others to perdition. The Holy Qur'an compares such spending to a wind that destroys the fields of a people who have wronged themselves. These people, through disbelief and hypocrisy, have oppressed themselves, and their spending, rather than bringing good, results in mutual destruction. This dual destruction demonstrates the profound impact of impure intention, which drags both the spender (the eater) and the recipient (the eaten) towards ruin.
One instance of disbelievers spending is the eight-year war imposed upon Iran. This war resembled spending ostensibly intended for conquest and domination but ultimately led to the ruin of its instigators. Instead of good, the war brought misery and hardship to both sides involved. This example illustrates that spending without good intention and faith results in oppression and destruction, as the Qur'an states: And Allah has not wronged them, but they wrong themselves.
The narrator refers to a case involving ascetics who sacrificed poor and defenseless individuals to the war. This act appeared as spending and aid, yet in essence, it was blatant oppression of those individuals, carried out out of hypocrisy and without faith. The narrators refusal to participate in this oppressive act reflects his profound understanding of the reprehensibility of such spending. This example clearly shows that spending without faith is not good but leads to human destruction.
A novel example in this lecture is the story of Shuja al-Mulks son. Due to arrogance and oppression, the father ruined his own life and that of his children. Although the son maintained faith and prayer, due to his inherited temperaments, he did not pursue nobility but turned to driving for the municipality. This example highlights the deep impact of innate temperaments (jubliyat) on human life, which remain constant even amid changing circumstances.
Innate temperaments or deep-rooted dispositions, unlike physical needs such as the stomach which change rapidly, remain fixed over centuries. A noble person preserves their noble spirit even in poverty, while a beggar retains the disposition of begging even in wealth. These temperaments determine a persons fate in this world and the Hereafter. Disbelievers spending, rooted in impure temperaments, leads to destruction, whereas believers spending, arising from pure temperaments, brings eternal good.
The narrator emphasises the value of a labourer who earns his livelihood through lawful toil. One penny of the lawful earnings of such a labourer holds more worth than one hundred tomans of impure income. This example demonstrates the significance of pure intention and righteous action. True lawful earnings arise not merely from effort but from pure intention and faith in God. This point underscores the Qur'anic statement: Eat and drink pleasantly for what you used to do.
At the conclusion of verse 117, the Qur'an states: And Allah has not wronged them, but they wrong themselves. This phrase absolves God from any injustice and attributes the ruin of the people to their own oppression. This oppression is rooted in disbelief and hypocrisy, manifesting in their intention and action. The spending of disbelievers, born from hypocrisy and disbelief, results in their own and others destruction, which is the natural consequence of their deeds, not divine injustice.
Disbelief and hypocrisy are the two principal roots of self-oppression. Disbelief, whether of the heart (erroneous belief) or in action (impure deed), transforms spending into a worthless and destructive act. Hypocrisy, which is outwardly pleasing but inwardly corrupt, turns spending into a means of destruction. As the Qur'an indicates, these two draw the soul toward injustice and deprive it of true good.
The universe is held by the Lord, who governs it with wisdom and power. This reality can be incomprehensible to human intellect, limited as it is to natural and biological sciences. Yet faith in this truth delivers a person from disbelief and hypocrisy and guides them toward true good. The narrator, by referring to his salvation from certain deaths, beautifully demonstrates that God determines human destiny through His wisdom.
Verse 117 reiterates the theme of verses 115 and 116: the good of the pious is everlasting, whereas the good of disbelievers, due to disbelief and hypocrisy, becomes the tillage of a people destroyed and is reduced to refuse. The Qur'an states: And whatever good they do, it will never be denied. This verse considers the good of the pious eternal, while the good of disbelievers, due to impure intention, leads to ruin.
Eat and drink pleasantly for what you used to do.
This verse refers to partaking in the fruits of ones present labour. True good arises from an action performed with sincere intention and faith. Eating from inheritance or others wealth is never pleasant, for it is inconsistent with human disposition. This consistency continues in the Hereafter, as the Qur'an says: They are given in likeness (to what they had in the world).
Verse 117 of Surah Al-Imran, through a profound simile, likens the spending of disbelievers to a scorching, destructive wind that annihilates the fields of a people who wronged themselves. This verse emphasises the significance of sincere intention and faith in spending, demonstrating that spending without faith neither brings good nor benefits, but leads the doer and others to destruction. The distinction between objective and agentive goodness reveals the philosophical depth of this verse, which recognises true good as contingent upon pure intention and genuine faith.
Historical examples such as the eight-year war and the martyrs of the ascetics, alongside narratives like the son of Shuja al-Mulk, illustrate the influence of innate temperaments and impure intentions on human destiny. Innate temperaments, as deep-rooted dispositions, remain constant despite changing circumstances and transform disbelievers spending into a destructive act. The Qur'an exonerates God from injustice and emphasises that the oppression of the people is self-inflicted, offering a profound lesson on the importance of faith and sincerity of intention.
This verse is challenging for contemporary understanding and demands a deeper contemplation of faith and divine wisdom. The good of the pious, rooted in faith, is eternal, while the good of disbelievers, due to hypocrisy and disbelief, culminates in ruin. Humans must guard their intention and deeds, avoid self-oppression, and strive toward true good.
Supervised by Sadegh Khademi
