ٱلَّذِينَ يُنفِقُونَ أَمْوَٰلَهُم بِٱلَّيْلِ وَٱلنَّهَارِ سِرًّۭا وَعَلَانِيَةًۭ فَلَهُمْ أَجْرُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ وَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ
Those who spend their wealth [in Allah 's way] by night and by day, secretly and publicly - they will have their reward with their Lord. And no fear will there be concerning them, nor will they grieve.
Introduction
This is āyah 274 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)
(Those who spend their wealth by night and day, by stealth and openly�) [2:274]. Abu Ibrahim Isma'il ibn Ibrahim al-Nasrabadhi informed us> 'Amr ibn Nujayd> Muhammad ibn al-Hasan ibn al-Khalil> Hisham ibn 'Ammar> Muhammad ibn Shu'ayb> Ibn Mahdi> Yazid ibn 'Abd Allah> 'Arib> his father> his grandfather> the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, who said: �This verse (Those who spend their wealth by night and day, by stealth and openly, verily their reward is with their Lord) was revealed about the owners of horses�. The Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, also said: �The devils will not bewitch anyone who has in his house a noble horse�. This is also the opinion of Abu Umamah, Abu'l-Darda', Makhul, al-Awza'i and Rabah ibn Zayd. They said: �This refers to those who tie their horses for the sake of Allah, they spend on them by night and day, secretly and in the open. The verse was revealed about those who do not keep horses for pride or as a guarantee for debts which are deemed impossible to pay back�. Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tha'labi informed us> al-Husayn ibn Muhammad al-Dinawari> 'Umar ibn Muhammad ibn 'Abd Allah al-Nahrawani> 'Ali ibn Muhammad ibn Mahrawayh al-Qazwini> 'Ali ibn Dawud al-Qantari> 'Abd Allah ibn Salih> Abu Shurayh> Qays ibn al-Hajjaj> Hanash ibn 'Abd Allah al-San'ani that Ibn 'Abbas said concerning the verse (Those who spend their wealth by night and day, by stealth and openly�): �This refers to the fodder given to horses�. The correctness of this is evidenced by the report which narrated to us> Abu Ishaq al-Muqri'> Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Ahmad ibn 'Abdus> Abu'l-'Abbas 'Abd Allah ibn Ya'qub al-Kirmani> Muhammad ibn Zakariyya al-Kirmani> Waki'> 'Abd al-Hamid ibn Bahram> Shahr ibn Hawshab> Asma' bint Yazid who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �Whoever ties a horse for the sake of Allah, and spends on it seeking nothing but the pleasure of Allah, that horse's satiety and hunger, drink and thirst, urine and dung will all be in his balance of good deeds on the Day of Judgement�. Abu Ishaq also informed us> Abu 'Amr al-Furati> Abu Musa 'Imran ibn Musa> Sa'id ibn 'Uthman al-Jazari> Faris ibn 'Umar> Salih ibn Muhammad> Sulayman ibn 'Amr> 'Abd al-Rahman ibn Yazid> Makhul> Jabir who reported that the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, said: �The one who spends on his horse for the sake of Allah is like the one who extends his hand to give in charity�.
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.
Community resources
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