Today's juz includes an ayah from Surah Fatir (the Originator)---sounds like a superhero name!
Ayah 29/30 of this Allah reads,
Truly those who recite the Book of God, perform the prayer, and spend from that which We have provided them secretly and openly hope for a commerce that will never perish, that He may pay them their rewards in full and increase them from His Bounty. Truly He is Forgiving, Thankful.
We see again that the duties given to believers are to pray, enjoin what is right, and to do good deeds. The authors discuss this as worship with "one's tongue, worshiping with one's body, and expending one's wealth" (p. 1063). What is especially interesting in these ayahs is the mention of spending "from that which We have provided them secretly and openly". The commentators interpret this as spending wealth openly in society and also privately, both in charity and both for the seeking the higher commerce which the commentators say (citing Fakhr al-Din al-Razi) is "seeking the Face of God".
The editors of this volume have noted that the public spending (keeping in mind the higher commerce) is meant to encourage others to do the same. This stuck with me, as I constantly hear (and also find myself agreeing with) criticism of public acts of giving within the community. There is a criticism of those who have money being given public opportunities to "give". Although the interpreters stress sincerity in the impetus for spending of wealth, sincerity is difficult to determine through the human gaze. For me the question remains, is there more to public giving than a spectacle of privilege and wealth?
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