The Quran

أَأَشفَقتُم أَن تُقَدِّموا بَينَ يَدَي نَجواكُم صَدَقاتٍ ۚ فَإِذ لَم تَفعَلوا وَتابَ اللَّهُ عَلَيكُم فَأَقيمُوا الصَّلاةَ وَآتُوا الزَّكاةَ وَأَطيعُوا اللَّهَ وَرَسولَهُ ۚ وَاللَّهُ خَبيرٌ بِما تَعمَلونَ

Ali Unal

Is it that you are afraid of offering something in alms before your consultation (with him)? (If so) and you have not done it, and God has turned to you in forgiveness, then establish the Prayer in conformity with its conditions, and pay the Prescribed Purifying Alms, and obey God and His Messenger. God is fully aware of all that you do.¹

It is clear that this verse was revealed to train and educate the believers in their relations with the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings. Some people frequently appealed to him in private concerning their affairs, some with the hope of nearness to him, and still some others in order to appear to be near to him. Since the Messenger, upon him be peace and blessings, refused nobody, this caused him a lot of trouble; and since most of those who appealed to him were from among the wealthy, it caused grief for the poor. In order to train and educate the believers and make them more sincere in their relationship with him, and to purify their hearts, the Qur’ān ordered them to spend something in charity before their appeal to him. When this order had the desired effect, God annulled it. However, it still retains its spirit, meaning, and importance in educating people in their relationship with the leaders of Muslims.