Surah Muhammad 47:36

Showing the Triviality of the Worldly Life and encouraging Spending

Expressing the insignificance and worthlessness of the worldly life, Allah says,

(This worldly life is only amusement and diversion.) which means that such is its outcome, except for that which is done for the sake of Allah. Because of this, Allah says,

(And if you believe and have Taqwa of Allah, He will grant you your rewards, and will not ask from you (to sacrifice all of) your possessions.) meaning, He is in no need of you, and asks you for nothing. He only ordained giving charity from your wealth so that you would help your needy brothers. The benefit of that would then come back to you, as well as the rewards. Allah then says,

(If He would demand of you all of it and urge you, you would withhold.) meaning, if He pressures you much, you would become stingy.

(And He will expose your (secret) ill--wills.) Qatadah said, "Allah knows that extracting wealth (i.e., money from people) brings about ill-wills. " Indeed, Qatadah has said the truth, because money is dear to the people, and they do not spend it except in things that are dearer to them than it. Allah then says,

(Here you are now invited to spend in Allah's cause; but among you are those who withhold (stingily).) meaning, they refuse to spend. Allah continues,

(And whoever acts stingily is but stingy toward himself.) meaning, he only reduces his own rewards, and the bad outcome of that will come back to him.

(For Allah is indeed Al-Ghani) Allah is in need of nothing else, whereas everything is ever in need of Him. Thus, Allah says,

(while you are the needy.) meaning, specifically of Him. The description of Allah as Al-Ghani (in no need) is a necessary description of Allah; on the other hand, the description of the creation as Faqr (needy) is a necessary description for them that they cannot avoid. Allah then says,

(And if you turn away, ) which means, if you turn away from obeying Him and adhering to His Laws.

(He will replace you with other people; then they will not be like you.) meaning, rather, they will be people who will listen to Him and obey His commands. This concludes the Tafsir of Surat Al-Qital. And Allah is worthy of all praise and gratitude.

Allah mendorong orang-orang yang beriman agar berjihad dan menginfakkan harta di jalan-Nya, untuk menghancurkan musuh-musuh Allah dan musuh-musuh mereka, yaitu orang-orang kafir Mekah. Mereka jangan sekali-kali terpesona oleh kehidupan dunia yang menyebabkan mereka meninggalkan jihad karena kehidupan dunia hanyalah sementara, hanya sebagai permainan, dan senda gurau. Semua yang ada di dunia ini akan hilang lenyap, kecuali ketaatan dan ibadah kepada Allah karena ketaatan dan ibadah itu menjadi sebab untuk memperoleh kehidupan yang sebenarnya nanti di akhirat. Dari ayat ini dapat dipahami bahwa jihad di jalan Allah termasuk perbuatan ibadah yang menunjukkan ketaatan dan kepatuhan kepada-Nya. Oleh karena itu, lakukanlah jihad sebagaimana melakukan ibadah-ibadah yang lain.

Selanjutnya Allah menyatakan bahwa perbuatan yang bisa menjadi persiapan yang sebenarnya di akhirat nanti ialah beriman kepada Allah, melaksanakan segala perintah dan menjauhkan semua larangan-Nya, dan meninfakkan harta di jalan-Nya sebagaimana yang diajarkan oleh Nabi Muhammad. Yang dituntut dari harta yang diinfakkan itu hanyalah sebagian kecil dari penghasilan, tidak semuanya, dan diberikan sebagai zakat, sedekah, amal jariah, dan sebagainya. Jika mereka melaksanakan yang demikian itu, Allah akan membalasnya dengan balasan yang berlipat ganda berupa ketenangan hidup di dunia, dan surga di akhirat.