Page 45 Notes

02 Surah Al-Baqarah (continued)

Page 45 Grammar 

Page 45 - Related Hadith/Sunnah

2:265

2:266

2:267

2:268

2:269

Translation of the meaning by Sahih International.

Page 45 - Related Hadiths and Sunnah

Page 45 of the Quran contains Surah Al-Baqarah, Verses 265 through 269. This section details the psychological and spiritual dimensions of giving charity, introduces clear divine standards for what types of goods are acceptable to give, warns of Satan's psychological manipulation regarding poverty, and concludes with a profound verse on the concept of Al-Hikmah (Wisdom).

The Hadith and Sunnah provide rich historical context (Asbab al-Nuzul), precise legal definitions, and moral frameworks for these verses.

1. Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 266: The Parable of the Destroyed Garden

This verse provides a vivid analogy of a man with an incredibly fruitful garden of date palms and grapevines. He reaches old age and has weak, dependent children. Suddenly, a fiery whirlwind strikes the garden and burns it to ashes.

• The Prophetic Definition via Umar & Ibn Abbas: The exact interpretation of this parable is recorded as a core piece of exegesis directly from the Prophet’s top companions, detailing how an elite lifetime of good deeds can be tragically liquidated at the end of one's life by a lapse into bad behavior.
  Narrated Ibn Abbas: Umar bin Al-Khattab asked the Companions of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, "According to your opinion, about whom was this Ayah revealed: 'Would any of you wish to have a garden...' (2:266)?" They said, "Allah knows best." Umar became upset and said, "Say we know or we do not know!" Ibn Abbas then said, "O Chief of the Faithful! I have an opinion about it... This is an example set for a deed." Umar asked, "What type of deed?" Ibn Abbas replied: "For a wealthy man who works in Allah's pleasure (performing good deeds), and then Allah sends Shaytan to him, and he works in disobedience until he utterly destroys his past good works." — Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 65, Hadith 4538.

2. Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 267: Spending from the Best, Lawful Wealth

In this verse, Allah commands: "O you who have believed, spend from the good things which you have earned... and do not aim toward the defective therefrom, spending [from that] while you would not take it [yourself] except with closed eyes."

• The Circumstances of Revelation (Asbab al-Nuzul): The Sunnah records that some early Muslims in Medina used to cherry-pick their worst, rotten, or lowest-quality produce to give away as charity, prompting this divine reprimand.
  Narrated Al-Bara' bin 'Azib: Regarding the verse: "And do not aim toward the defective therefrom, spending..." Al-Bara' explained: This was revealed concerning us, the Ansar (the helpers of Medina). We were owners of date palms. A man would bring dates from his harvest, depending on whether he had a lot or a little, and hang the bundles on a line between two pillars in the Prophet's Mosque for the poor emigrants (Ahl al-Suffah) to eat. Some people who did not prioritize the afterlife would bring damaged, dried-out, or rotten bundles of dates to hang up. Therefore, Allah revealed this verse to forbid giving away things you wouldn’t even accept for yourself unless your eyes were closed in disgust. — Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2987 (Authenticated as Sahih); also recorded in Sunan Ibn Majah, Hadith 1822.

• The Sunnah of Purity in Charity: The Prophet ﷺ established that Allah takes personal offense to the presentation of unwholesome or illegal wealth as charity.
  Narrated Abu Hurairah: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "O people! Allah is Pure (Tayyib) and He accepts nothing but what is pure. And indeed, Allah has commanded the believers with that which He commanded the Messengers..." — Sahih Muslim, Hadith 1015.

3. Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 268: Satan's Threat of Poverty

This verse exposes a fundamental tactic of the devil: "Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality, while Allah promises you forgiveness from Him and bounty..."

• The Psychology of the Two "Whispers": The Sunnah provides a psychological map of human thoughts, explicitly classifying the fear of financial ruin when thinking about giving charity as an active satanic attack.
  Narrated Abdullah bin Mas'ud: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Indeed, Shaitan has a hold over the son of Adam, and the angel has a hold. As for the hold of Shaitan, it is threatening with evil and denying the truth. As for the hold of the angel, it is promising goodness and confirming the truth. Whosoever finds that (the angelic prompting), let him know that it is from Allah, and let him praise Allah. And whosoever finds the other, let him seek refuge in Allah from Shaitan." Then he ﷺ recited: "Satan threatens you with poverty and orders you to immorality..." (2:268) — Jami` at-Tirmidhi, Hadith 2988 (Graded Hasan).

4. Surah Al-Baqarah, Verse 269: The Gift of Wisdom (Al-Hikmah)

This verse outlines the immense value of divine perspective: "He grants wisdom to whom He pleases, and he, to whom wisdom is granted, is indeed granted abundant good..."

• The Two People Worthy of Envy: The Sunnah clarifies that "Wisdom" is not just internal thought, but the actual execution of sound judgment and teaching it to the public. It is so valuable that it is one of only two things a Muslim is allowed to dynamically envy.
  Narrated Abdullah bin Mas'ud: The Prophet ﷺ said: "There is no envy (permissible) except in two instances: A person whom Allah has endowed with wealth and he spends it righteously in the cause of truth, and a person whom Allah has given Hikmah (wisdom), and he judges by it and teaches it to others." — Sahih al-Bukhari, Book 1, Hadith 73; Sahih Muslim, Hadith 816.

• The Definition of Al-Hikmah: In the Sunnah, Al-Hikmah is practically defined as the deep understanding of the Quran combined with the synchronized application of the Prophet's ﷺ life choices. The Prophet ﷺ specifically made a famous supplication for his young cousin, Ibn Abbas, to be granted this exact gift: "O Allah, teach him the Book, and grant him Al-Hikmah (wisdom)." (Sahih al-Bukhari, Hadith 3727).