Al Mu’minūn

وَالَّذِينَ يُؤْتُونَ مَآ ءَاتَوْا وَقُلُوبُهُمْ وَجِلَةٌ أَنَّهُمْ إِلَي رَبّـِهِمْ رَاجِعُونَ

60. “And those who give what they give (in charity) while their hearts are full of fear that they must (finally) return unto their Lord, ”

The Arabic word /wajilah/ means worry and anxiety. The believer is afraid of Allah because he will have to stand before Him on the Day of Resurrection.

(“...with hearts afraid...”)

This verse mentions the stage of belief in the Resurrection and its effect upon the behaviour and the special attention of the true believers to Resurrection in practice when it occupies a central place in their thoughts. The verse indicates that those who try their best to obey Allah in giving people their due and are aware that they will soon return to their Lord, feel guilt and fear that they might not have adequately performed their obligations.

The verse says:

“And those who give what they give (in charity) while their hearts are full of fear that they must (finally) return unto their Lord, ”

They are not like those who lack foresight, have low ambition, and think that they are the favorites and are among the near stationed of Allah and fall in a surprising state of personality because of doing some small good deed, and think themselves better than others. The true believers, on the contrary, when they do even the best of good deeds that might equal the worship of Jinn and man together, they say, as Imam Ali (as) said:

“Alas! Long is the journey of the Hereafter and small the supplies.”

These verses indicate that man’s spiritual perfection is realized in five stages:

1. The knowledge and gnosis which are the causes of fear:

(“...who from fear of their Lord are cautious, ”) ²⁸

2. Enduring and profound belief in that which Allah has revealed:

(“...who believe in...”) ²⁹

3. Avoidance of all kinds of polytheism, both the hidden and the apparent ones:

(“...who do not associate (aught) with their Lord...”) ³⁰

4. Charitableness in what Allah (s.w.t.) has bestowed upon a human being

(“...give what they give (in charity)...”) ³¹

5. Lack of conceit and, in its stead, concern that whatever good one had done one might not have been adequately sincere, or that it might have been rejected by his Lord or that one’s duty might have been something else rendering him unable to answer Allah on the Day of Judgment

(“...while their hearts are full of fear...”)

Footnotes

1. 28. verse 57
2. 29. verse 58
3. 30. verse 59
4. 31. verse 60