Tafsīr al-Qurṭubī 74:6

Sūrat al-Muddaththir 74:6 — Do not grant favors in order to seek gain.

This āyah may be explored in ⌜at least⌝ three ways:

General Interpretation

The āyah has eleven interpretations:

1. Do not equate the fulfillment of the weighty duties of Prophethood to granting a favor to your Lord, just like how an ordinary individual may carry another person's load and seek gain in return.
2. Do not give a gift with the expectation of receiving a better one in return. This was the opinion of Ibn ʿAbbās, ʿIkrimah, and Qatādah. al-Ḍaḥḥāk said that Allah forbade this for the Messenger ﷺ because he is commanded to uphold the noblest of manners and the loftiest of character. However, there is no such prohibition for his Ummah. This was also the opinion of Mujāhid.
3. Do not exaggerate your seeking of good, just like one would say that 'the rope is strong while it is actually weak' (i.e. to overstate the value of deeds). The evidence for this is the reading of Ibn Masʿūd: وَلَا تَمْنُنْ تَسْتَكْثِرْ مِنَ الْخَيْرِ (Do not confer favor to seek more in goodness.) This was another opinion of Mujāhid.
4. Do not regard your good acts to be superior and then expect good in return for doing them. This is because such is bestowed upon you from Allah. The is also from Mujāhid as well as al-Rabīʿ. In another opinion from Ibn Kaysān: Do not exaggerate your deeds in your own eyes. This is because what you were able to do is Allah's favor upon you and that Allah has enabled you for His servitude and worship.
5. Do not regard your good acts as a favor granted to Allah expecting a reward from Him in return. This was the opinion of al-Ḥasan.
6. Do not regard the Quran and the Prophethood as a favor granted toward people while demanding compensation for it in return.
7. Do not give in charity with the expectation of a quid pro quo. This was the opinion of al-Quraẓī.
8. If you do give in charity then do it for the sake of Allah. This was the opinion of Zayd b. Aslam.
9. Do not lament that you invoked Allah in supplication and it was not answered for you.
10. Do not perform good acts in obedience to Allah and then demand a reward for them. Rather, show patience while waiting for Allah's Decree and He may reward you for it.
11. Do not engage in good acts in order to flaunt before others.

Implication for the Prophet ﷺ

If the above mentioned interpretations are what is intended by the āyah then the most dominant of them is the opinion of Ibn ʿAbbās: Do not give in charity to then demand more than what you gave monetarily. It is said: I did minnah (favored) upon someone, that is, I gave it to him. And it is said that ʿaṭiyyah (giving) is a minnah (favor). It is as if the Prophet ﷺ was commanded to give for the sake of Allah and to then not expect a reward in return from the creation of Allah because he ﷺ was not seeking gains in the worldly life. This is why he said: "it is not for me to take even from the fayʾ (booty gained in an expedition without battle being fought) that Allah has bestowed upon you, except the fifth of it, and this fifth will come back to you." (mentioned at least in Mālik)

And what he would prefer after spending on his family was directed towards the interests of the Muslims. That is why he did not accumulate wealth for himself nor he had any personal savings. Allah had removed the worldly desire from his heart. This is why he was not allowed to receive charity but was allowed to receive gifts. And thus he accepted gifts and rewarded the giver. And he ﷺ said, "If I am invited to a ⌜meal of⌝ a trotter I will accept it; and if I am given a trotter as a present I will accept it." (Bukhārī 5178). Ibn al-ʿArabī said that he would accept gifts as his Sunnah (way), and he would not seek to accumulate as part of Shariʿah (Divine law).

When a gift is given with the intention of benefiting someone, it is the affluent individuals who would be inclined to decline it, as it might be perceived as a form of a demeaning gesture. This is why, it is said by the one who said, "It means do not give a gift and wait for it to be rewarded, because waiting for it exhibits greed," as this falls in the realm of avoidance. Allah ﷻ says, "And, ⌜O Prophet,⌝ do not extend your eyes toward that by which We have given enjoyment to ⌜some⌝ categories of them, ⌜its being but⌝ the splendor of worldly life by which We test them. And the provision of your Lord is better and more enduring. (Ṭā Hā 20:131)" And as such, this is allowed for all people because this is of the worldly utilities, of the desire to earn, and of accumulation of wealth.

As to the one who said that this means good acts — that is, do not regard your good acts as a favor granted to Allah expecting a reward from Him in return — then this is the sound implication of the āyah. Certainly, if the son of Adam were to obey Allah all his life without faltering, he would not have reached even a portion of Allah's blessings without showing gratitude.

Variant Readings

The statement of Allah وَلَا تَمْنُنْ (wa-lā tamnun) is a general reading. Abū al-Sammāl al-ʿAdawī, Ash-hab al-ʿUqaylī, and al-Ḥasan read it as وَلَا تَمُنَّ (wa-lā tamunna) with idghām ending with a fatḥah.

The word تَسْتَكْثِرُ (tastakthiru) is a general reading and it is marfūʿ (nominative) case and it is in the meaning of ḥāl (state); As one would say, jāʾa Zaydun yarkuḍu (Zayd came running), that is, rakiḍun (in the state of running). And this implies: do not give a thing of measure and then take something better in its exchange. al-Ḥasan read it with a jazam (jussive mood) as used in an answer to negative but this opinion is rejected because it is not an answer. It is possible that it becomes a badal (replacement) for tamnun as if Allah said, lā tastakthir (do not seek to gain). Abū Ḥātim rejected this option and said that mann is not done for gain and does not replace it.

It is conceivable that there be a supporting light sakan (consonantal pause) after this word or that it deems a waqf (stop). al-Aʿmash and Yaḥyá read it as تَسْتَكْثِرَ (tastakthira) in the naṣb (accusative) case implying the lām al-kay, as if Allah says, وَلَا تَمْنُنْ لِتَسْتَكْثِرَ (wa-lā tamnun tastakthira) that is, do not grant favors in order to seek gain... This is supported by the reading of Ibn Masʿūd: وَلَا تَمْنُنْ أَنْ تَسْتَكْثِرَ (wa-lā tamnun an tastakthira). al-Kasāʾī said that if the word an is dropped, it becomes marfūʿ and it carries the same meaning.

And al-mann is in the meaning of counting of the favors given by the one favoring them and this goes back to the second interpretation. This is supported by the statement of Allah ﷻ: "Do not invalidate your charities by giving ⌜reminders of the favors⌝ and harm (Baqarah 2:264)," and this could be the intended meaning in this āyah. And Allah knows best.