WayamnaAAoona almaAAoon (surah Maun: 7)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(107:7) and deny people the articles of common necessity. *11

Wa yamna`oonal ma`oon

*11) The word used is ma'un. The view held by Hadrat `Ali, Ibn `Umar, Sa`id bin Jubair, Qatadah, Hasan Basri, Muhammad bin Hanafiyyah, Dahhak, Ibn Zaid, `Ikrimah, Mujahid, `Ata' and Zuhri (may Allah show them mercy) is that it implies the zakat while Ibn `Abbas, Ibn Mas`ud, Ibrahim Nakha`i, Abu Malik and many other scholars have expressed the opinion that it implies items of common use; for example, cooking-pot, bucket, hatchet, balance, salt, water, fire, flint (now its successor, the match-stick), etc. which the people generally borrow from each other. A statement of Sa'id bin Jubair and Mujahid also supports it. Another view of Hadrat 'Ali also is that it implies the zakat as well as the little courtesies and kindnesses of daily Iife. Ibn Abi Hatim has related from `Ikrimah that ma'un of the highest form is zakat and of the lowest lending of a sieve, bucket, or needle to a barrrower. Hadrat `Abdullah bin Mas`ud says: "We, the Companions of Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace), used to say (and according to other traditions, in the time of the Holy Prophet, used to say) that ma `un implies lending of the cooking pot, hatchet. bucket, balance, and such other things." (Ibn Jarir. Ibn Abi Shaibah, Abu Da'ud, Nasa'i, Bazzar, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, Tabarani in AI-Ausat, Ibn Marduyah, Baihaqi in As-Sunan). Sa`d bin 'Iyad without specifying any names has related almost the same view from the Companions of the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace), which shows that he had heard this from several Companions. (Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Shaibah). Dailami, Ibn `Asakir, and Abu Nu`aim have related a tradition from Hadrat Abu Hurairah in which he says that the Holy Prophet (upon whom be peace) himself explained this verse saying that it implies the hatchet, bucket and other such things. If this tradition is genuine it probably did not come to the notice of other scholars; otherwise it was not possible that other people should have given any other commentary of this verse.
Ma`un in fact is a small, little thing useful to the people. Accordingly, zakat also is ma`un, for it is a little amount out of much wealth, which one has to give away in order to help the poor, and the other small items of common use also are ma 'un as mentioned by Hadrat `Abdullah.Ibn Mas`ud and the scholars who share his viewpoint. The majority of the commentators say that ma `un applies to all those small things which the neighbours usually ask each other for, and asking for these is not in any way blameworthy, for the rich and the poor, all stand in need of these at one time or another. However, to show stinginess in lending these is regarded as mean behaviour morally. Generally these things by themselves last and the neighbour returns them in the original form after he has used them. It would also be maim if a neighbour asks the other for a bed or bedding items on the arrival of guests, or asks the neighbour's permission to have loaves baked in his, oven, or wants to leave some valuables in the neighbour's custody when going out of his house for some days. Thus, the verse means to impress that denial of the Hereafter renders a man so narrow-minded and niggardly that he is not even prepared to make a most minor sacrifice for the sake of others.