The Quran

Preface

وَإِذا قيلَ لَهُم أَنفِقوا مِمّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ قالَ الَّذينَ كَفَروا لِلَّذينَ آمَنوا أَنُطعِمُ مَن لَو يَشاءُ اللَّهُ أَطعَمَهُ إِن أَنتُم إِلّا في ضَلالٍ مُبينٍ

Yusuf Ali

And when they are told, “Spend ye of (the bounties)¹ with which God has provided you,” the Unbelievers say to those who believe: “Shall we then feed those whom, if God had so willed,² He would have fed, (Himself)?- Ye are in nothing but manifest error.”

To selfish men, the good may make an appeal, and say: “Look God has given you wealth, or influence, or knowledge, or talent. Why not spend some of it in charity, i.e., for the good of your fellow-creatures?” But the selfish only think of themselves and laugh such teaching to scorn.
They are too full of themselves to have a corner in their hearts for others.
“If,” they say, “God gave them nothing, why should we?” There is arrogance in this as well as blasphemy: arrogance in thinking that they are favoured because of their merits, and blasphemy in laying the blame of other people’s misfortunes on God. They further try to turn the tables on the Believers by pretending that the Believers are entirely on the wrong track. They forget that all men are on probation and trial: they hold their gifts on trust; those apparently less favoured, in that they have fewer of this world’s goods, may be really more fortunate, because they are learning patience, self-reliance, and the true value of things ephemeral which is apt to be very much exaggerated in men’s eyes.