29 Preface إِنَّ الَّذينَ يَتلونَ كِتابَ اللَّهِ وَأَقامُوا الصَّلاةَ وَأَنفَقوا مِمّا رَزَقناهُم سِرًّا وَعَلانِيَةً يَرجونَ تِجارَةً لَن تَبورَYusuf AliThose who rehearse the Book of God, establish regular Prayer, and spend (in Charity)1 out of what We have provided for them, secretly and openly, hope for a commerce2 that will never fail:The man of God takes God’s Revelation (“the Book”) to heart, ever seeks to get closer and closer to God (“regular Prayer”), and in doing so, is moved more and more to practical Charity for his fellow-creatures. He is not ashamed of his Charity (“openly”), but he does not do it to be seen of men (“secretly”): he just does what is necessary for his fellow-creatures, whether people talk about it or not.Here is a metaphor from commerce. The good man’s Charity comes not merely out of superfluities, but out of “what God has provided” for him. He therefore recognises two things: (1) that his wealth (literal and metaphorical) is not his absolutely, but that it is given to him by God: and (2) that he must deny himself the use of some of it, as a merchant puts by some of his wealth to invest as capital. Only, the godly man’s Commerce will never fail or fluctuate; because God guarantees him the return, and even adds something to the return out of His own Bounty. That is, God gives more than ever our merits deserve.