Surah Al-Hadid, Ayah 11

Ordering Faith and encouraging spending

Allah the Exalted and Blessed orders having perfect faith in Him and in His Messenger, and that one should persist on this path adhereing firmly to it. Allah encourages spending from what He has made mankind trustees of, the wealth that you - mankind - have, that He has lent you. This wealth was in the hands of those before you and was later transferred to you. Therefore, O mankind, spend as Allah commanded you from the wealth that He entrusted to you for His obedience. Otherwise, He will hold you accountable and punish you for your ignoring what He ordained on you in this regard. Allah's statement,

وَلِلَّـهِ مِيرَ‌اثُ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْ‌ضِ (...while to Allah belongs the inheritance of the heavens and the earth?....57:10) The word mirath [ inheritance, heritage ] is the process by which the assets of a deceased person pass to the living heirs and beneficiaries. This transfer of ownership takes place automatically by virtue of the law of Shari` ah; the deceased has no choice in the matter. On this occasion, Allah has described the ownership of heaven and earth by the expression mirath [ inheritance, heritage ] presumably because all those assets deemed to be owned by men will ultimately return to Allah, no matter whether men like it or not. Although the Real Owner and Master of the heavens and the earth is Allah, He transferred part-ownership of things to man by His grace, but on the Day of Judgment, even this outward and partial ownership will no longer remain in the hands of anyone. At that stage, all sorts of ownership, apparent and real, outward and inward, will belong to none but Allah. Therefore, if those who are apparently owners of some wealth today spend it in Allah's way, they will receive its compensation in the Hereafter, and thus anything spent in the way of Allah will become the eternal property of the spender.

When the call of Islam is given, it is based on clear reasoning in its preliminary stages. The second stage is marked by victory in its immediate surroundings. In the first stage, only those who have the capacity to see the inherent greatness of a thing solely on the level of reasoning are courageous enough to make sacrifices for Islam. But when Islam has already been crowned by success, every individual is able to see its greatness and everybody feels proud of coming forward and offering his life and property for its sake. One who spends for the cause of Islam in the early stages has to do it without thought of reward, while in the latter stage, whatever a man spends is redoubled in this world itself, as a reward in various forms. That explains why, in the eyes of God, each group has a different status.