Al-Baqarah · Madani · ayah 280 of 286

Al-Baqarah 2:280

وَإِن كَانَ ذُو عُسْرَةٍ فَنَظِرَةٌ إِلَىٰ مَيْسَرَةٍ ۚ وَأَن تَصَدَّقُوا۟ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ ۖ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ

“And if someone is in hardship, then [let there be] postponement until [a time of] ease. But if you give [from your right as] charity, then it is better for you, if you only knew.”

Saheeh International

Essence

If a debtor is in hardship, wait until things ease for him; and if you let the debt go as charity, that is better still.

A reflection

The friend who crosses the road

A woman lent a friend eight hundred pounds. For months the friend avoids her, crossing the road when they meet. One day the woman knocks on her door. She asks gently: 'Is it really that bad?'

A Companion of the Ansar once went looking for a man who owed him money. The man kept hiding. One day a boy at the house said he was inside, eating. He called him out and asked why he hid. 'I am in hardship', the man said. 'I have nothing'. 'By Allah, are you truly in hardship?' 'Yes'. The Companion wept. Then he told him what he had heard the Prophet ﷺ say. Whoever would like Allah to save him from the distress of the Last Day, let him ease a debtor's hardship. Or let the debt go (Sahih Muslim).

This is the ayah lived. 'If one is in hardship, then respite until ease'. A concise commentary: you must delay your demand until a time of ease. A modern one: wait until Allah grants him provision, and he pays you what is yours.

Notice what the Companion did first. He asked. He did not assume the man was a cheat. He gave him the chance to tell the truth, and believed him. Then he wept, because the hadith had suddenly become his own choice.

Many creditors never ask. They see only avoidance and assume bad faith. But a person who hides from a debt is often ashamed, not dishonest. The first mercy is a question asked kindly.

The woman's friend opened the door, and cried. They worked out a plan over tea. Eight hundred pounds mattered less than either had feared.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.