Surah Yaseen · سُوْرَةُ يٰسٓ · Juz 23
Q 36:47
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ أَنفِقُوا۟ مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ قَالَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا۟ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوٓا۟ أَنُطْعِمُ مَن لَّوْ يَشَآءُ ٱللَّهُ أَطْعَمَهُۥٓ إِنْ أَنتُمْ إِلَّا فِى ضَلَـٰلٍ مُّبِينٍ
Translations
And when it is said to them, "Spend from that which Allah has provided for you," those who disbelieve say to those who believe, "Should we feed one whom, if Allah had willed, He would have fed? You are not but in clear error."Et quand on leur dit: «Dépensez de ce qu'Allah vous a attribué», ceux qui ont mécru disent à ceux qui ont cru: «Nourrirons-nous quelqu'un qu'Allah aurait nourri s'Il l'avait voulu? Vous n'êtes que dans un égarement évident».Tafsir
When these stubborn ones are told: Assist the poor and the needy with the wealth that Allah has provided you with, they disapprovingly reply saying to those who have faith: Shall we feed those whom Allah could feed if He wanted to?! So we do not go against His will. You, O believers, are simply in clearly error and far off from the truth.
Read Ibn Kathir (Ibn Kathir (abridged, English))
And when it is said to them: "Beware of that which is before you, and that which is behind you, in order that you may receive mercy. (45)And never came an Ayah from among the Ayat of their Lord to them, but they did turn away from it (46)And when it is said to them: "Spend of that with which Allah has provided you," those who disbelieve say to those who believe: "Shall we feed those whom, if Allah willed, He would have fed? You are only in a plain error. (47)
The Misguidance of the Idolators
Allah tells us how the idolators persisted in their misguidance and in not paying attention to the sins that they had committed in the past or what was to happen to them in the future, on the Day of Resurrection.
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّقُوا مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَمَا خَلْفَكُمْ
(And when it is said to them: "Fear of that which is before you, and that which is behind you...") Mujahid said, "This refers to sins." Others said it is the opposite.
لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ
(in order that you may receive mercy.) means, 'so that, if you fear such things Allah will have mercy on you and will save you from His punishment.' The wording implies that they would not respond. Rather that they would turn away and ignore that, as Allah says:
وَمَا تَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ آيَةٍ مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ
(And never came an Ayah from among the Ayat of their Lord to them,) meaning, signs of Tawhid and the truth of the Messengers,
إِلَّا كَانُوا عَنْهَا مُعْرِضِينَ
(but they did turn away from it,) means, they did not accept it or benefit from it.
وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ أَنْفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ
(And when it is said to them: "Spend of that with which Allah has provided you,") means, when they are told to spend of that which Allah has provided to them on the poor and needy among the Muslims,
قَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا
(those who disbelieve say to those who believe) means, about the believers who are poor, i.e., they say to those believers who tell them to spend on the needy,
أَنُطْعِمُ مَنْ لَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ أَطْعَمَهُ
(Shall we feed those whom, if Allah willed, He (Himself) would have fed?) meaning, 'those whom you are telling us to spend on, if Allah had wanted to, He would have made them independent and fed them from His provision, so we are in accordance with the will of Allah with regard to them.'
إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ
(You are only in a plain error.) means, 'by telling us to do that.'
Arabic text: Tanzil (Uthmani). Translations: Sahih International (en), Muhammad Hamidullah (fr). tanzil.net