An-Nisa · Madani · ayah 38 of 176

An-Nisa 4:38

وَٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَٰلَهُمْ رِئَآءَ ٱلنَّاسِ وَلَا يُؤْمِنُونَ بِٱللَّهِ وَلَا بِٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ ۗ وَمَن يَكُنِ ٱلشَّيْطَـٰنُ لَهُۥ قَرِينًا فَسَآءَ قَرِينًا

“And [also] those who spend of their wealth to be seen by the people and believe not in Allāh nor in the Last Day. And he to whom Satan is a companion - then evil is he as a companion.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Giving to be seen is a purchase: the giver buys applause and is paid in full, with Satan roped beside him.

A reflection

The purchase was applause, and it was delivered

A charity dinner. The compère reads out each pledge with the donor's name, to applause. One man keeps his card on the table through three rounds. When the spotlight swings towards his table, he raises it high, and the room cheers.

The ayah names this exactly: spending 'to be seen by people'. One commentary spells out the motive. It is for vainglory, and so that people will say: how generous they are, how open-handed. Not for the face of Allah.

There is a hard honesty in what follows. Sahih Muslim records a hadith about the first people judged on the Last Day. Among them is a man to whom Allah gave wealth of every kind. He says he left no cause Allah loves without spending in it. He is told: you lie. You did it so that it would be said, 'He is generous.' And it was said.

That last phrase is the whole tragedy. Nothing was stolen from him. He wanted applause, and he got applause. The transaction closed on the night of the dinner. There is nothing left to collect.

This is what makes showing off so quietly costly. It does not feel like a sin. It feels like generosity with a little extra pleasure attached. But the pleasure is the payment. Whoever takes it in full, here, has emptied the account.

The feeling is common, and catching it is a skill. It shows up as a small pang when nobody notices what you gave. Or as a story you tell later, steering the conversation towards it. Those are signals worth listening to, not reasons for despair. They tell you which audience you were really playing to.

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.