Al-Insan · Madani · ayah 9 of 31

Al-Insan 76:9

إِنَّمَا نُطْعِمُكُمْ لِوَجْهِ ٱللَّهِ لَا نُرِيدُ مِنكُمْ جَزَآءً وَلَا شُكُورًا

“[Saying], "We feed you only for the face [i.e., approval] of Allāh. We wish not from you reward or gratitude.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Their gift was aimed at one Face only, so they wanted nothing back, not even thanks, and that freed the giver too.

A reflection

Not modesty: aim

Most readers hear this ayah as good manners. Don't fish for compliments; don't expect a thank-you card. Be humble about your kindness. That is part of it, but it shrinks the ayah to etiquette.

The ayah is about aim. Li-wajhi Allāh: 'for the Face of Allah'. The commentators explain it as seeking His pleasure and nearness, and the wording speaks of His Face. The root pictures the face as the part of you that you turn towards whatever you want. The gift is turned wholly towards Him.

One classical commentary spells out why the second half follows. Good done for others has three possible aims. It is for Allah, or for some return such as repayment or praise, or for both. The first is what Allah accepts. The other two He rejects, and the commentary calls the mixed aim a kind of partnership. Having said 'for the Face of Allah', the righteous close the loophole at once. 'We want from you no reward, and no thanks'.

A later scholar adds a point of grammar. The word for thanks here is best read as a single verbal noun, not a plural. They are not refusing certain kinds of thanks. They are refusing to want thanks at all.

A mechanic keeps one bay free on Saturday mornings for single mothers' cars. He charges for parts only. When a customer tries to press a cake on him, he waves it away with a smile. 'Say a prayer for my dad,' he says, and goes back under the bonnet.

That is the shape of it. Not coldness, not false modesty, but a gift with a single address. Seeking thanks, the commentary says, belongs with the reminders and hurts that void charity (2:264). A gift aimed at people can be spoiled by people. A gift aimed at His Face cannot be spoiled by anyone.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.