بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ
Allah says in the Qur’an:
” Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly loan so He may multiply it for him many times over? And it is Allah who withholds and grants abundance, and to Him you will be returned.” [2:245]
He gives mankind an opportunity, one that many of us overlook or misunderstand. The phrase in Arabic used for “goodly loan” is “qardan hasana” which is referring to a loan that one offers someone without a date of return, thus the receiver may return the loan whenever they are able or fit to. Allah here is asking us to give Him a loan which may seem odd since He is the one who provides us with everything we possess.
So what kind of loan is Allah talking about here? The first thing that comes to our minds is wealth, our money, giving charity and spending in the path of Allah. However, that is only part of it as Allah does not say “whoever spends from their money”, rather He covers all of what He has given us, as mentioned in another ayah:
“Believe in Allah and His Messenger and spend out of that in which He has made you successors. For those who have believed among you and spent, there will be a great reward.” [57:7]
Thus it is not merely our wealth but also our skills, our ability to control our emotions etc. An example could be anger; if one were to be provoked and the anger is held back for the sake of Allah, that is a loan – and Allah tells us that it will all be paid back in multiplicity.
How will it be paid back we may ask? Many of us assume all the wealth we spend and sacrifices we make for the sake of Allah will be paid back in money but that’s not always the case. Allah can give us back things that are worth a lot more than wealth such as physical/mental health, stability of family relations or most important of all: mercy in the afterlife. Assuming money is all that we should get back and within our own set time is not what “qardan hasana” is all about.
As Muslims, we spend for Allah and do not look at what we get back. We as believers must be fully convinced by Allah’s words when He tells us that He will give back to His slaves. Allah ends with a reminder for us all, that we shall return to Him. That day is when what we see as valuable now will mean nothing and all that will be left is what we spent in the dunya.
May Allah make us of those who spend in His way, from our wealth, abilities and more in the sincerest and purist form.
Allah knows best.