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ʾam tasʾaluhum kharjan fa-kharāju rabbika khayrun wa-huwa khayru r-rāziqīna
Do you ask a recompense from them? Your Lord’s recompense is better, and He is the best of providers.
— Ali Quli Qarai
23Al-Mu’minūnالمؤمنونVerse 72 of 118
The Believers23. Al-Mu’minūnالمؤمنون
Al Mu’minūn
The Believers
MeccanVerse 72 of 118
Surah al-Mu’minun - Verses 72-73
72. “Or is it that you ask them a recompense? But the recompense of your Lord is the best: He is the Best of the sustainers.”
73. “And verily you call them unto the Straight Way.”
The Arabic word /xarj/ means that which is consumed, however ‘kharaj’ means a fixed amount determined as a tax or rent on land.34 One must not ask for money to propagate religion. Allah is the One Who guarantees the sustenance of those who do that. This holy verse implies that whether the excuse of their escape from the truth was that the holy Prophet (S) might ask a recompense from them for his call, while the recompense of Allah would certainly be better, ands He is the Best for giving sustenance.
The verse says:
“Or is it that you ask them a recompense? But the recompense of your Lord is the best: He is the Best of the sustainers.”
Undoubtedly if a spiritual leader asks people for material reward and recompense for his call, not only would he provide an excuse for some pretext seekers to avoid him because of not having the financial resources, but he could also be accused of using his call to the Truth as a business to earn a living. Furthermore, what does this human being have to give to another? Is not all sustenance in the hands of Allah, the Provider and the All-Powerful? The previous verses, however, have already shown that the five major excuses that these blind-hearted people advanced to avoid yielding to the Truth and justified their opposition with only unfounded pretexts.
The Qur’an here illustrates the sincerity of the Prophet (S) and the truth of his call; it is that he does not seek any material gain from the people. If he did so, it would have provided one more excuse for the obstinate unbelievers to use against him. As a general conclusion, the next verse says:
“And verily you call them unto the Straight Way.”
It is ‘the Straight Way’ whose signs are obvious for those who do not blind themselves and soon it will be evident to those who are not minute. We know that the Straight Way is the shortest distance between two points and is the only way, but there are endless divergent paths to its left and right. In some narrations ‘the Straight Way’ has been interpreted to mean the guardianship of Imam Ali (as)35, but as we have said may times such narrations are the statement of some of the clear examples of the original meaning and they never contrast the existence of other examples, such as: the Qur’an, belief in Allah, Resurrection, Holy war, and justice.
Footnotes