Transliteration:( Wa yaa qawmi laaa as'alukum 'alaihi maalan in ajriya illaa 'alal laah; wa maaa ana bitaaridil lazeena aamanoo; innahum mulaaqoo Rabbihim wa laakinneee araakum qawman tajhaloon )
"And O my people, I do not ask you for any wealth in return. My reward is only with Allah. I am not going to drive away those who have believed; they will surely meet their Lord. But I see you are a people who are ignorant [66]."
This verse indicates that it is prohibited to accept wealth for the purpose of spreading the message of Islam. The Prophets did not ask for any material compensation, nor is it lawful for Ulema (Islamic scholars) to take payment for conveying the message of Islam. However, the teaching of religious education may have different rules, where compensation is allowed under certain conditions.
The disbelievers demanded that Hazrat Nuh (peace be upon him) distance himself from the poor believers so that they would not feel embarrassed associating with them. In response to this request, Hazrat Nuh (peace be upon him) clarified that he would not drive away the believers, as their reward is with Allah, and their faith and sincerity were more valuable than the superficial class distinctions the disbelievers sought to impose.
Hazrat Nuh (peace be upon him) pointed out that the arrogance of the disbelievers in refusing to associate with the poor Muslims stemmed from their ignorance. Ignorance leads to pride, while true knowledge inspires humility. Those who truly understand the importance of faith do not look down on others based on wealth or status.
29. And O my people! I ask of you no wealth for it, my reward is from none but Allah. I am not going to drive away those who have believed. Surely, they are going to meet their Lord, but I see that you are a people that are ignorant. 30. And O my people! Who will help me against Allah, if I drove them away Will you not then give a thought) Nuh says to his people, “I do not ask you for any wealth in return for my sincere advice to you.” Wealth (Mal) here means, “payment that I take from you.” Nuh means, “I am only seeking the reward from Allah, the Mighty and Sublime.” Concerning the statement,
(I am not going to drive away those who have believed.) This alludes to the fact that they (the disbelievers) requested Nuh to disassociate himself from the believers, because they were averse to them and felt themselves too important to sit with them. This is similar to the request of disbelievers to the seal of the Messengers to disassociate himself from a group of the people who were considered weak in their social status. They wanted the Prophet to sit with them in a special gathering of the elite. Therefore, Allah revealed,
(And turn not away those who invoke their Lord, morning and afternoon.) Allah also says,
(Thus We have tried some of them with others, that they might say: “Is it these (poor believers) whom Allah has favored from among us” Does not Allah know best those who are grateful)﴿6:53﴾
(11:29) My people! I seek no recompense from you.[35] My recompense is only with Allah. Nor will I drive away those who believe. They are destined to meet their Lord.[36] But I find you to be an ignorant people.
35. This was to bring home to them the fact that he had no selfish motive in the performance of his mission, as if to say: I am conveying the admonition to you without any demand or hope or expectation of worldly gains. Nay, I am bearing all the sufferings in the hope that you may at last realize that I have no axe to grind. And you cannot point out anything to show that I have any personal or selfish interest before me in the mission of the Message. See. (Surah Al-Muminun, ayat 72) note 70, (Surah Saba, ayat 12) note 17 and (Surah Ash-Shuraa, ayat 23) note 41.
36. That is, their true worth will be known only when they shall meet their Lord. Therefore it is not proper for you to treat them with contempt here in this world. Maybe they are precious stones, their Lord alone knows, and you are treating them as mere worthless stones. See (Surah Al- Anaam, Ayat, 52), (Surah Al-Kahf, Ayat 28).
For a faster and smoother experience,
install our mobile app now.
Related Ayat(Verses)/Topics