Surah Al Imran ayat 117 Tafsir Quran 3:117

﴿مَثَلُ مَا يُنفِقُونَ فِي هَٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَثَلِ رِيحٍ فِيهَا صِرٌّ أَصَابَتْ حَرْثَ قَوْمٍ ظَلَمُوا أَنفُسَهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَتْهُ ۚ وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَٰكِنْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ﴾
[ آل عمران: 117]

3:117 The example of what they spend in this worldly life is like that of a wind containing frost which strikes the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves and destroys it. And Allah has not wronged them, but they wrong themselves.

The likeness the description of what they the disbelievers expend in the life of this world in the way of enmity towards the Prophet or in the way of voluntary almsgiving or the like is as the likeness of a wind wherein is a blast of extreme hot or cold that smote the tillage the crops of a people who have wronged themselves through unbelief and disobedience and destroyed it so that they could not profit from it; so it is with what they expend it perishes and they profit nothing from it. God did not wrong them when they lost what they expended but they wronged themselves through unbelief which necessitated this loss.

The example of whatever they spent in this world that was not pertaining to Allah is just like the crops of wrong headed farmers who were wrongful of actions. Their yield was hit by an icy cold wind that reduced it to ruin. It was not Allah Who did them injustice but it was they who wronged themselves

Virtues of the People of the Scriptures Who Embrace Islam Muhammad bin Ishaq and others, including Al-Awfi who reported it from Ibn Abbas, said;"These Ayat were revealed about the clergy of the People of the Scriptures who embraced the faith.
For instance, there is Abdullah bin Salam, Asad bin Ubayd, Tha`labah bin Sa`yah, Usayd bin Sa`yah, and so forth. This Ayah means that those among the People of the Book whom Allah rebuked earlier are not at all the same as those among them who embraced Islam.Hence Allah's statement, لَيْسُواْ سَوَاء ... Not all of them are alike."Therefore, these two types of people are not equal, and indeed, there are believers and also criminals among the People of the Book, just as Allah said, ...
مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ أُمَّةٌ قَآئِمَةٌ ... a party of the People of the Scripture stand for the right,for they implement the Book of Allah, adhere to His Law and follow His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Therefore, this type is on the straight path, ...
يَتْلُونَ آيَاتِ اللّهِ آنَاء اللَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ they recite the verses of Allah during the hours of the night, prostrating themselves in prayer.They often stand in prayer at night for Tahajjud, and recite the Qur'an in their prayer. يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ They believe in Allah and the Last Day; they enjoin Al-Ma`ruf and forbid Al-Munkar; and they hasten in ( all ) good works; and they are among the righteous.
( 3: 114 )This is the same type of people mentioned at the end of the Surah; وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَمَن يُؤْمِنُ بِاللّهِ وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ خَاشِعِينَ لِلّهِ And there are, certainly, among the People of the Scripture ( Jews and Christians ), those who believe in Allah and in that which has been revealed to you, and in that which has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah.
( 3:199 )Allah said here, وَمَا يَفْعَلُواْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلَن يُكْفَرُوْهُ ... And whatever good they do, nothing will be rejected of them;meaning, their good deeds will not be lost with Allah.
Rather, He will award them the best rewards. ...
وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالْمُتَّقِينَ for Allah knows well the Muttaqin ( the pious ).for no deed performed by any person ever escapes His knowledge, nor is any reward for those who do good deeds ever lost with Him. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ... Surely, those who disbelieve,Allah mentions the disbelieving polytheists: ...
لَن تُغْنِيَ عَنْهُمْ أَمْوَالُهُمْ وَلاَ أَوْلاَدُهُم مِّنَ اللّهِ شَيْئًا ... neither their properties nor their offspring will avail them against Allah,meaning, nothing can avert Allah's torment and punishment from striking them. ...
وَأُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ They are the dwellers of the Fire, therein they will abide. The Parable of What the Disbelievers Spend in This Life Allah gave a parable for what the disbelievers spend in this life, as Mujahid, Al-Hasan and As-Suddi said. مَثَلُ مَا يُنْفِقُونَ فِى هِـذِهِ الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَثَلِ رِيحٍ فِيهَا صِرٌّ ( The likeness of what they spend in this world is the likeness of a wind of Sir; ) a frigid wind, as Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and others have said.
`Ata' said that Sir, means, `cold and snow.' Ibn `Abbas and Mujahid are also reported to have said that Sir means, `fire'.
This latter meaning does not contradict the meanings we mentioned above, because extreme cold weather, especially when accompanied by snow, burns plants and produce, and has the same effect fire has on such growth. أَصَابَتْ حَرْثَ قَوْمٍ ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَتْهُ ( It struck the harvest of a people who did wrong against themselves and destroyed it ) 3:117, by burning.
This Ayah mentions a calamity that strikes produce that is ready to harvest, destroying it by burning and depriving its owner of it when he needs it the most.
Such is the case with the disbelievers, for Allah destroys the rewards for their good deeds in this life, just as He destroyed the produce of the sinner because of his sins.
Both types did not build their work on firm foundations, وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَـكِنْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ ( And Allah wronged them not, but they wronged themselves. )

(3:117) The example of what they spend in the life of this world is like that of a wind accompanied with frost which smites the harvest of a people who wronged themselves, and lays it to waste. *91 It is not Allah who wronged them; rather it is they who wrong themselves.

The example of what they spend in meaning

*91).
The term 'harvest' in this parable refers to this life which resembles a field of cultivation the harvest of which one will reap in the World to Come.
The 'wind' refers to the superficial appearance of righteousness, for the sake of which unbelievers spend their wealth on philanthropic and charitable causes.
The expression 'frost' indicates their lack of true faith and their failure to follow the Divine Laws, as a result of which their entire life has gone astray.
By means of this parable God seeks to bring home to them that while wind is useful for the growth of cultivation if that wind turns into frost it destroys it.
So it is with man's acts of charity: they can prove helpful to the growth of the harvest one will reap in the Hereafter but are liable to be destructive if mixed with unbelief.
God is the Lord and Master of man as well as of all that man owns, and the world in which he lives.
If a man either does not recognize the sovereignty of his Lord and unlawfully serves others or disobeys God's Laws then his actions become crimes for which he deserves to be tried; his acts of 'charity' are but the acts of a servant who unlawfully helps himself to his master's treasure and then spends it as he likes.

 

Virtues of the People of the Scriptures Who Embrace Islam Muhammad bin Ishaq and others, including Al-Awfi who reported it from Ibn Abbas, said;"These Ayat were revealed about the clergy of the People of the Scriptures who embraced the faith.
For instance, there is Abdullah bin Salam, Asad bin Ubayd, Tha`labah bin Sa`yah, Usayd bin Sa`yah, and so forth. This Ayah means that those among the People of the Book whom Allah rebuked earlier are not at all the same as those among them who embraced Islam.Hence Allah's statement, لَيْسُواْ سَوَاء ... Not all of them are alike."Therefore, these two types of people are not equal, and indeed, there are believers and also criminals among the People of the Book, just as Allah said, ...
مِّنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ أُمَّةٌ قَآئِمَةٌ ... a party of the People of the Scripture stand for the right,for they implement the Book of Allah, adhere to His Law and follow His Prophet Muhammad ﷺ. Therefore, this type is on the straight path, ...
يَتْلُونَ آيَاتِ اللّهِ آنَاء اللَّيْلِ وَهُمْ يَسْجُدُونَ they recite the verses of Allah during the hours of the night, prostrating themselves in prayer.They often stand in prayer at night for Tahajjud, and recite the Qur'an in their prayer. يُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللّهِ وَالْيَوْمِ الآخِرِ وَيَأْمُرُونَ بِالْمَعْرُوفِ وَيَنْهَوْنَ عَنِ الْمُنكَرِ وَيُسَارِعُونَ فِي الْخَيْرَاتِ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ مِنَ الصَّالِحِينَ They believe in Allah and the Last Day; they enjoin Al-Ma`ruf and forbid Al-Munkar; and they hasten in ( all ) good works; and they are among the righteous.
( 3: 114 )This is the same type of people mentioned at the end of the Surah; وَإِنَّ مِنْ أَهْلِ الْكِتَابِ لَمَن يُؤْمِنُ بِاللّهِ وَمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكُمْ وَمَآ أُنزِلَ إِلَيْهِمْ خَاشِعِينَ لِلّهِ And there are, certainly, among the People of the Scripture ( Jews and Christians ), those who believe in Allah and in that which has been revealed to you, and in that which has been revealed to them, humbling themselves before Allah.
( 3:199 )Allah said here, وَمَا يَفْعَلُواْ مِنْ خَيْرٍ فَلَن يُكْفَرُوْهُ ... And whatever good they do, nothing will be rejected of them;meaning, their good deeds will not be lost with Allah.
Rather, He will award them the best rewards. ...
وَاللّهُ عَلِيمٌ بِالْمُتَّقِينَ for Allah knows well the Muttaqin ( the pious ).for no deed performed by any person ever escapes His knowledge, nor is any reward for those who do good deeds ever lost with Him. إِنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ ... Surely, those who disbelieve,Allah mentions the disbelieving polytheists: ...
لَن تُغْنِيَ عَنْهُمْ أَمْوَالُهُمْ وَلاَ أَوْلاَدُهُم مِّنَ اللّهِ شَيْئًا ... neither their properties nor their offspring will avail them against Allah,meaning, nothing can avert Allah's torment and punishment from striking them. ...
وَأُوْلَـئِكَ أَصْحَابُ النَّارِ هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ They are the dwellers of the Fire, therein they will abide. The Parable of What the Disbelievers Spend in This Life Allah gave a parable for what the disbelievers spend in this life, as Mujahid, Al-Hasan and As-Suddi said. مَثَلُ مَا يُنْفِقُونَ فِى هِـذِهِ الْحَيَوةِ الدُّنْيَا كَمَثَلِ رِيحٍ فِيهَا صِرٌّ ( The likeness of what they spend in this world is the likeness of a wind of Sir; ) a frigid wind, as Ibn `Abbas, `Ikrimah, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak, Ar-Rabi` bin Anas and others have said.
`Ata' said that Sir, means, `cold and snow.' Ibn `Abbas and Mujahid are also reported to have said that Sir means, `fire'.
This latter meaning does not contradict the meanings we mentioned above, because extreme cold weather, especially when accompanied by snow, burns plants and produce, and has the same effect fire has on such growth. أَصَابَتْ حَرْثَ قَوْمٍ ظَلَمُواْ أَنفُسَهُمْ فَأَهْلَكَتْهُ ( It struck the harvest of a people who did wrong against themselves and destroyed it ) 3:117, by burning.
This Ayah mentions a calamity that strikes produce that is ready to harvest, destroying it by burning and depriving its owner of it when he needs it the most.
Such is the case with the disbelievers, for Allah destroys the rewards for their good deeds in this life, just as He destroyed the produce of the sinner because of his sins.
Both types did not build their work on firm foundations, وَمَا ظَلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلَـكِنْ أَنفُسَهُمْ يَظْلِمُونَ ( And Allah wronged them not, but they wronged themselves. )

( The likeness of that which they spend in this life of the world ) He says: the likeness of what the Jews spend when they are following Judaism ( is as the likeness of a biting, icy wind which smites the harvest of a people who have wronged themselves ) by not giving what is due to Allah from it, ( and devastateth it ) ruined it; likewise, idolatry destroys one’s spending just as wind destroys the harvest. ( Allah wronged them not ) by thwarting the benefit of their harvest and spending, ( but they did wrong themselves ) through disbelief and withholding what is due to Allah from the harvest.

The likeness of what they spend in this world is the likeness of a wind which is extremely cold; it struck the harvest of a people who did wrong aginst themselves and destroyed it, (i.e. the good deed of a person is only accepted if he is a monotheist and believes in all the Prophets of Allah, including Christ and Muhammad SAW). Allah wronged them not, but they wronged themselves.

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