Surah Al-Fajr — Verse 18

Key Words and Their Meanings:

• لَا تَحَاضُّونَ (lā taḥāḍḍūn): You do not urge or encourage one another. The root verb "ḥāḍḍa" implies mutual exhortation—each person prompting the other—showing that the neglect is collective, not merely individual.
• طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ (ṭaʿāmi al-miskīn): Feeding the poor and destitute—the one who has nothing to sustain themselves, who is broken by need and unable to meet their basic necessities.

The Interpretation:

This verse exposes a deep moral failure in human society: the absence of mutual encouragement to feed the needy. It is not just that people fail to give charity themselves—they fail to inspire, motivate, and push one another toward this noble act. The word "taḥāḍḍūn" carries the sense of collective responsibility, meaning that when one person sees another neglecting the poor, they should remind them, urge them, and make charity a shared social value.

The verse rebukes a heart that is so consumed by love of wealth and self-interest that it forgets the cries of the hungry. It points to a community where compassion has died, where no one speaks up for the weak, and where the suffering of the poor is met with cold indifference. This is a spiritual illness—a sign that faith has not truly penetrated the heart, because genuine faith always produces mercy and action.

Islam elevates feeding the poor to a status of great importance. The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) said: "He is not a believer who eats his fill while his neighbor goes hungry." This verse calls us to be proactive—not merely to give when asked, but to actively cultivate a culture of giving, to remind our families, our friends, and our communities of this duty, and to make generosity a defining characteristic of our society.

When we encourage one another to feed the poor, we build a community of compassion, where no one is left behind, where wealth circulates for the benefit of all, and where the pleasure of Allah is sought through service to His creation. This is the path of the righteous—a path that leads to honor in this world and eternal bliss in the Hereafter.

So let this verse be a mirror for your soul: Do you only care for yourself, or do you care for your brother and sister in need? Do you remain silent when you see injustice and hunger, or do you raise your voice and your hand to help? The choice is yours, and the rewards are immense—for Allah loves those who feed the hungry and has prepared for them a generous recompense.