The saying of Allah, the Exalted and Majestic: "For the poor who have been restricted in the cause of Allah, unable to travel in the land. The ignorant person thinks them rich because of their restraint. You recognize them by their mark. They do not ask people with insistence. And whatever good you spend, indeed, Allah is Knowing of it."

The 'lam' in His saying: "For the poor" is related to something omitted, its estimation being: spending or charity for the poor.

Mujahid, Al-Suddi, and others said: The intended meaning of these poor ones is the poor among the emigrants from Quraysh and others. Then the verse encompasses all who fall under the description of poverty throughout time. However, the poor among the emigrants are specifically mentioned because there were none other than them, as the Ansar were people of wealth and trade in their region.

Then Allah, the Exalted, clarified the conditions of those poor emigrants that necessitate compassion towards them by saying: "Who have been restricted in the cause of Allah." The meaning is: they have been confined and prevented. Some linguists have gone to the extent of saying that 'restricted' and 'confined' have the same meaning of confinement and prevention, whether that is due to an enemy or due to illness and similar excuses, as narrated by Ibn Sidah and others.

Al-Suddi interpreted here that the restriction is due to the enemy. Some of them went to the view that 'restricted' is due to illness and excuses, while 'confined' is due to the enemy. Based on this, Ibn Zayd and Qatadah interpreted it, and Al-Tabari favored this interpretation. He understood from this verse that they are those who have confined themselves by the bond of religion, the intention of jihad, and the fear of the enemy, as disbelief surrounded them, thus the fear of the enemy became an excuse by which they were restricted.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: This is a valid interpretation, as if these excuses have confined them, meaning they made them possessors of confinement, as they say: 'He buried him' means he placed him in his grave, and 'he made him a grave' means he made him one who has a grave. The enemy and everything surrounding restricts, and the preventing excuses confine by including the 'ta' and breaking the 'sad', meaning they make a person as if surrounded by it. And His saying: "In the cause of Allah" can refer to jihad and can refer to entering into Islam, and the wording encompasses both.

And 'traveling in the land' refers to engaging in trade. 'Traveling in the land' is walking to fulfill a person's need in livelihood. They were unable to travel in the land because the entire land was engulfed in disbelief. This was at the beginning of the migration. Their small number prevented them from earning through jihad, and the denial of the disbelievers of their Islam prevented them from engaging in trade. Thus, they remained poor, except that they, due to their restraint and avoidance of asking, and reliance on Allah, were thought by the ignorant to be rich because of their hidden conditions.

And 'restraint' is a form of exaggeration with the 'ta', from 'abstaining from something' if one refrains from it, and distances oneself from seeking it. With this meaning, Qatadah and others interpreted it.

Nafi', Abu 'Amr, and Al-Kisai read: "Yahsibuhum" with a kasra on the seen. Likewise, this action is in all of the Qur'an. Ibn 'Amir, 'Asim, and Hamzah read: "Yahsabahum" with a fatha on the seen in all of the Qur'an. These are two dialects in "Yahsabu" like "'ahida" and "ya'ahid" with a fatha and kasra on the ha in many letters that have come likewise. Abu Ali said: The fatha on the seen in "Yahsabu" is more correct because the 'ain in the past is broken. Its category is that it comes in the present tense opened. The reading with the kasra is good due to the hearing of it, even if it is odd from the analogy.

And "min" in His saying: "min al-ta' affuf" is for the beginning of the goal, meaning: from their ta' affuf, his reckoning began. It is not for the indication of the type, because the ignorant of them does not consider them rich with the richness of ta' affuf, but rather he considers them rich with the richness of wealth. And his reckoning from the ta' affuf is arising. This is based on the fact that they are completely abstinent from asking. This is what the majority of the interpreters have said, for they said in the interpretation of His saying: "They do not ask people with insistence" that the meaning is: they do not ask at all. And the verse can bear another meaning of "min" in it for the indication of the type, which we will mention later.

And "sima" is limited to: the sign. Some of the Arabs say: "simiya" with an added ya and with elongation. From it is the saying of the poet:

................ he has a simiya that does not escape the sight.

The interpreters differed in determining this simiya by which these abstinent ones are known. Mujahid said: It is humility and modesty. Al-Suddi and Al-Rabi' said: It is the effort of need and the signs of poverty on their faces, and the lack of blessings. Ibn Zayd said it is the rags of the state. And a group said - and this was narrated by Makki -: It is the trace of prostration, and this is better, because they were devoted and relying, having no occupation in most cases except for prayer. Thus, the trace of prostration was always upon them.

And "ilhaf" and "ilha" have the same meaning. And a group said: It is taken from "alhafa" the thing when it covers and encompasses it with covering. From it is "luhaf" and from it is the saying of Ibn Ahmar:

He continues to surround them with his two arms and covers them with a thick covering.

He describes a male ostrich that broods over eggs. It is as if this persistent questioner encompasses the people with his question, and they are affected by that. Al-Tabari, Al-Zajjaj, and others went to the meaning that they do not ask at all, and the verse can accommodate both meanings: the denial of asking altogether and the denial of insistence only. As for the first, it is based on the fact that abstinence is a fixed attribute for them. The ignorant person considers them wealthy due to their abstinence, because of their poverty. And 'from' is for the beginning of the limit, and his saying: 'They do not ask the people insistently' does not mean that they ask without insistence, but rather it is meant to alert to the bad condition of those who ask insistently from the people. Just as you say: 'This is a good man who does not kill Muslims,' the saying 'good' implies that he does not kill or disobey, even if it is less than that. Then you alert by saying: 'He does not kill Muslims' to the ugliness of the act of others who kill. This is often said if the alerted matter is present in the issue, referred to in the speaker's and listener's minds. The question of insistence has not been absent for a period, and it is something that is disliked, and for that reason it was alerted to. As for the second meaning, it is that abstinence is included in the calculation, meaning that they do not show any asking, but it is little. In summary, the ignorant person, while knowing their poverty, considers them wealthy in abstinence. Thus, 'from' is for indicating the type according to this interpretation. Then he denied them the asking of insistence, and the non-insistence remains established for them according to what the evidence of the speech requires. This meaning in the denial of insistence only is what the words of Al-Suddi necessitate. Al-Zajjaj, may Allah have mercy on him, said: The meaning is that there is no asking from them, so there is no insistence. This is as Imru' al-Qais said: 'On a path that is not guided by its beacon...' meaning there is no beacon, so there is no guidance. The judge Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: If Al-Zajjaj meant that there is no asking from them at all, then that is not given by the words that come after 'no.' Rather, the asking is negated if the meaning is controlled from the beginning of the verse as we have presented. And if he meant: There is no asking of insistence from them, then that is the text of the verse. As for his likening the verse to the poem of Imru' al-Qais, that is incorrect. This is because his saying: 'On a path that is not guided by its beacon...' and his other saying: 'Stop at the ruins that have not been erased by time...' and his other saying: 'And from whom I feared injustice in the judgment, I did not fear your injustice, O Afiya...' and what follows this has an arrangement that precedes the meaning that there is no guidance by the beacon even if the beacon exists. Thus, it does not negate except the meaning that the negation particle has entered upon it only. Likewise, the safety is negated even if the time is present, and likewise, the fear is negated even if the injustice exists. This does not follow in the verse.

And it is permissible that the poets mean that the second is nonexistent. Therefore, they introduced the particle of negation to the first, as the first cannot be correct except with the existence of the second. That is, if there is no guiding light, then there will be no guidance by a light. And if there is no foot, then there will be no protection. And if there is no injustice, then there will be no fear. And His saying, the Exalted: "They do not ask the people for alms," does not entail anything from this, because the particle of negation entered upon a general matter concerning alms and others. Then it was specified by His saying: "for alms" as a part of that generality. Thus, the absence of alms does not negate the question. And in the verse of poetry, the first is negated by the absence of the second, as the particle of negation entered upon something whose existence is related to the existence of what is intended to be nonexistent. And the question is not like this with alms; rather, the matter is the opposite, as alms may be absent from them while they still have a question without alms.

And if the speech were: "They do not ask the people for a question," the similarity to the preceding verses would be closer. Likewise, if it were after: "They do not ask for anything if the absence of the question is absent," as if you said: for earning or something like that - the similarity would be valid. And Allah is the One sought for help. And His saying, the Exalted: "And whatever good you spend, indeed Allah is All-Knowing of it," is a pure promise. That is, He knows it and counts it to reward and recompense for it.