۞ لَّيْسَ عَلَيْكَ هُدَىٰهُمْ وَلَٰكِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يَهْدِى مَن يَشَآءُ ۗ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍۢ فَلِأَنفُسِكُمْ ۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُونَ إِلَّا ٱبْتِغَآءَ وَجْهِ ٱللَّهِ ۚ وَمَا تُنفِقُوا۟ مِنْ خَيْرٍۢ يُوَفَّ إِلَيْكُمْ وَأَنتُمْ لَا تُظْلَمُونَ
Not upon you, [O Muhammad], is [responsibility for] their guidance, but Allah guides whom He wills. And whatever good you [believers] spend is for yourselves, and you do not spend except seeking the countenance of Allah. And whatever you spend of good - it will be fully repaid to you, and you will not be wronged.
Introduction
This is āyah 272 of Sūrat Al-Baqara (The Cow), the 87th sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Medinan period and sits within Juzʾ 3. Medinan verses often address community life, law, and the building of society.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Medinan
- Order revealed
- 87 of 114
- Surah
- Al-Baqara (2)
(The guiding of them is not thy duty�) [2:272]. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn al-Harith informed us> 'Abd Allah ibn Muhammad ibn Ja'far> 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Muhammad ibn Muslim> Sahl ibn 'Uthman al-'Askari> Jarir> Ash'ath ibn Ishaq> Ja'far ibn al-Mughirah> Sa'id ibn Jubayr who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �Do not give alms except to the people of your own religion�. Allah, exalted is He, then revealed (The guiding of them is not thy duty�), upon which the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �Give alms to people of other religions�. Ahmad informed us> 'Abd Allah> 'Abd al-Rahman> Sahl> Ibn Numayr> al-Hajjaj> Salman al-Makki> Ibn al-Hanafiyyah who said: �Muslims used to dislike giving alms to the poor among the idolaters until this verse was revealed. They were then ordered to give them alms�. Said al-Kalbi: �The Messenger of Allah went to perform the lesser pilgrimage to make up for the lesser pilgrimage which he missed the previous year ('Umrat al-Qada') and had with him Asma' bint Abi Bakr. The mother of Asma', Qutaylah, and her grandmother, who were still idolateresses at that time, came to see her and ask her for help. Asma' said: 'I will not give you anything until I consult the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, for you do not follow my religion'. She went and consulted him about this matter, upon which Allah, exalted is He, revealed this verse. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, commanded her after the revelation of this verse to give alms to both of them. She gave them alms and helped them�. Said al-Kalbi: �There is another way of understanding this verse. It happened that some Muslims had relatives, in-laws and ties through suckling among the Jews. Because of this, they used to help them before the advent of Islam. When they became Muslim, they disliked to keep on helping them and wanted to force these Jews to become Muslim. They consulted the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, about this. This verse was revealed as a response to their consultation, after which the Muslims continued their help to them�.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
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