Transliteration:( Wa qaalatil Yahoodu Yadullaahi maghloolah; ghullat aideehim wa lu'inoo bimaa qaaloo; bal yadaahu mabsoo tataani yunfiqu kaifa yashaaa'; wa la yazeedanna kaseeramm minhum maaa unzila ilaika mir Rabbika tughyaananw wa kufraa; wa alqainaa bainahumul 'adaawata wal baghdaaa a' ilaa Yawmil Qiyaamah; kullamaaa awqadoo naaral lilharbi at fa-ahal laah; wa yas'awna fil ardi fasaadaa; wal laahu laa yuhibbul mufsideen )
 189. Reason for its revelation:
At first the Yahud of Madinah were very wealthy, but due to their enmity, and hostility towards the Holy Prophet ﷺ poverty began to creep into them. This Fakhaas, a Jew said that Allah's Hands have become tight ie He has become a miser (Allah forbid). In reply to him, the verse was revealed.
From this emerges two issues:
One's sustenance decreases with the increase of sins, while it becomes abundant through the pious.Â
2 The word of one is the word of the people if the people do not disassociate themselves from it. Observe, this name was uttered by Fakhaas only but Allah Almighty has said it was the word of the Yahud.
190. i.e. In this world or in the Hereafter. Their hands will be tied up in this world by making them miserly and niggardly and in the Hereafter they would be tied in chains and thrown into Hell. This is what happened and will happen to them.Â
191 By hands wide open' is meant extremely kind and generous by cherishing His friends and not despising His enemies. Literally Allah Almighty is pure of human qualities of hands and opening the hands.
192. By this is means bestowing wealth on some and making some poor. However, this is not because there is any shortage of His treasure or any fault in His kindness. This is not only in accordance with human demands but is full of inherent wisdom.
193. In that, the Holy QURAN is the cause of accentuating the infidelity and rebelliousness of these unfortunate wretches. As the the revelation of the QURAN increases so will their rejection of it. Strongly spiced food can make a person with a weak stomach ill, but that's no fault of the food. Similarly light of the sun blinds the bat.
From this discussion emerges three issues:
1. QURAN and Hadith accentuate the infidelity of those whose hearts are bereft of the love of the Holy Prophet, as is the case with todays irreligious and misguided Molvis. The greatness of a religion is due to the greatness of the promulgator of religion.
2 There can be an increase and decrease in infidelity but this is due to the nature of infidelity not in its quantity e.g. nobody is a half or a quarter infidel.
 3. For the Believer of the Holy Quran is a means of accentuating his Faith and Knowledge of the Divine.
Says Allah and Almighty: "Then as far as those who believe, it has increased them in faith." (S9: V124)
194. In this verse mention is made of their actual enmity for one another; their coming together to oppose the Muslims, or making friends with someone on the basis of expediency, all of which is temporary. Hence, this verse is not contrary to the following verse: "They are friends of each other among themselves." (S5:V51)
195. By "extinguishes" is meant these Yahud make every effort to unite all the ,infidels to fight the Muslims but in most cases they are not successful in this. And even if there ensues a battle between them and the Muslims, they suffer a humiliating defeat at the hands of the Muslims. The Battle of the Trench, and the Battles of Qadisiya and Yarmook during the rule of Hazrat Umar (May Allah be pleased with him) are living proof of this.
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64. The Jews say: “Allah’s Hand is tied up.” Be their hands tied up and be they accursed for what they uttered. Nay, both His Hands are widely outstretched. He spends as He wills. Verily, the revelation that has come to you from your Lord makes many of them increase in rebellion and disbelief. We have put enmity and hatred among them till the Day of Resurrection. Every time they kindled the fire of war, Allah extinguished it; and they (ever) strive to make mischief on the earth. And Allah does not like the mischief-makers. 65. And if only the People of the Scripture had believed and had Taqwa, We would indeed have expiated for them their sins and admitted them to Gardens of pleasure (in Paradise). 66. And if only they had acted according to the Tawrah, the Injil, and what has (now) been sent down to them from their Lord (the Qur’an), they would surely have gotten provision from above them and from underneath their feet. And among them is a Muqtasid Ummah, but for most of them; evil is their work.
Allah states that the Jews, may Allah’s continuous curses descend on them until the Day of Resurrection, describe Him as a miser. Allah is far holier than what they attribute to Him. The Jews also claim that Allah is poor, while they are rich. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas commented on Allah’s statement,
(The Jews say, “Allah’s Hand is tied up.”) “They do not mean that Allah’s Hand is literally tied up. Rather, they mean that He is a miser and does not spend from what He has. Allah is far holier than what they attribute to Him.” Similar was reported from Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Qatadah, As-Suddi and Ad-Dahhak. Allah said in another Ayah,
(And let not your hand be tied (like a miser) to your neck, nor stretch it forth to its utmost reach (like a spendthrift), so that you become blameworthy and in severe poverty.) In this Ayah, Allah prohibits stinginess and extravagance, which includes unnecessary and improper expenditures. Allah describes stinginess by saying,
(And let not your hand be tied (like a miser) to your neck. ) Therefore, this is the meaning that the Jews meant, may Allah’s curses be on them. `Ikrimah said that this Ayah was revealed about Finhas, one of the Jews, may Allah curse him. We mentioned before that Finhas said,
(“Truly, Allah is poor and we are rich!”) and that Abu Bakr smacked him. Allah has refuted what the Jews attribute to Him and cursed them in retaliation for their lies and fabrications about Him. Allah said,
(Be their hands tied up and be they accursed for what they uttered.) What Allah said occurred, for the Jews are indeed miserly, envious, cowards and tremendously humiliated. Allah said in other Ayat,
(Or have they a share in the dominion Then in that case they would not give mankind even a Naqir. Or do they envy men for what Allah has given them of His bounty Then, We had already given the family of Ibrahim the Book and the Hikmah, and conferred upon them a great kingdom.) and, n
(Indignity is put over them.)
Allah said next,
(Nay, both His Hands are widely outstretched. He spends (of His bounty) as He wills.) Allah’s favors are ample, His bounty unlimited, as He owns the treasures of everything. Any good that reaches His servants is from Him alone, without partners. He has created everything that we need by night or by day, while traveling or at home and in all situations and conditions. Allah said,
(And He gave you of all that you asked for, and if you count the blessings of Allah, never will you be able to count them. Verily, man is indeed an extreme wrongdoer, an extreme ingrate.) There are many other Ayat on this subject. Imam Ahmad bin Hanbal said that `Abdur-Razzaq narrated to him that Ma`mar said that Hammam bin Munabbih said, “This is what Abu Hurayrah narrated to us that the Messenger of Allah said,
(Allah’s Right Hand is perfectly full, and no amount of spending can decrease what He has, even though He spends by night and by day. Do you see how much Allah has spent since He created the heavens and earth Yet surely it has not decreased what He has in His Right Hand. His Throne is over the water and in His Other Hand is the hold by which He raises and lowers.) He also said, قُولُ اللهُ تَعَالى:
(Allah said, `Spend and I will spend on you.’)” This Hadith was recorded in the Two Sahihs.
Allah said,
(Verily, the revelation that has come to you from your Lord makes many of them increase in rebellion and disbelief.) meaning, the bounty that comes to you, O Muhammad, is a calamity for your enemies, the Jews and their kind. The more the revelation increases the believers in faith, good works, and beneficial knowledge, the more the disbelievers increase in envy for you and your Ummah, the more they increase in Tughyan — which is to exceed the ordained limits for things — and in disbelief — meaning denial of you. Allah said in other Ayat,
(Say: “It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing. And as for those who disbelieve, there is heaviness (deafness) in their ears, and it is blindness for them. They are those who are called from a place far away.”) and,
(And We send down of the Qur’an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe, and it increases wrongdoers in nothing but loss. ) Allah said next,
(We have put enmity and hatred among them till the Day of Resurrection.) Therefore, their hearts are never united. Rather, their various groups and sects will always have enmity and hatred for each other, because they do not agree on the truth, and because they opposed you and denied you. Allah’s statement,
(Every time they kindled the fire of war, Allah extinguished it;) means, every time they try to plot against you and kindled the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it and makes their plots turn against them. Therefore, their evil plots will return to harm them.
(and they (ever) strive to make mischief on earth. And Allah does not like the mischief-makers.) It is their habit to always strive to cause mischief on the earth, and Allah does not like those with such behavior.
Allah said next,
(And if only the People of the Scripture had believed and had Taqwa…) Consequently, had the People of the Book believed in Allah and His Messenger and avoided the sins and prohibitions that they committed;
(We would indeed have expiated for them their sins and admitted them to Gardens of pleasure (in Paradise).) meaning We would have removed the dangers from them and granted them their objectives.
(And if only they had acted according to the Tawrah, the Injil, and what has (now) been sent down to them from their Lord,) meaning, the Qur’an, as Ibn `Abbas and others said.
(they would surely have gotten provision from above them and from underneath their feet.) Had they adhered to the Books that they have with them which they inherited from the Prophets, without altering or changing these Books, these would have directed them to follow the truth and implement the revelation that Allah sent Muhammad with. These Books testify to the Prophet’s truth and command that he must be followed. Allah’s statement,
(they would surely have gotten provision from above them and from underneath their feet.) refers to the tremendous provision that would have descended to them from the sky and grown for them on the earth. Allah said in another Ayah,
(And if the people of the towns had believed and had Taqwa, certainly, We should have opened for them blessings from the heaven and the earth.) Allah’s statement,
(And among them is a Muqtasid Ummah, but for most of them; evil is their work.) is similar to Allah’s statement,
(And of the people of Musa there is a community who lead (the men) with truth and establish justice therewith.)﴿7:159﴾ and His statement about the followers of `Isa, peace be upon him,
(So We gave those among them who believed, their (due) reward.) Therefore, Allah gave them the highest grade of Iqtisad, which is the middle course, given to this Ummah. Above them there is the grade of Sabiqun, as Allah described in His statement;
(Then We gave the Book as inheritance to such of Our servants whom We chose. Then of them are some who wrong themselves, and of them are some who follow a middle course, and of them are some who, by Allah’s permission, are Sabiq (foremost) in good deeds. That itself is indeed a great grace. `Adn (Eden) Paradise (everlasting Gardens) will they enter, therein will they be adorned with bracelets of gold and pearls, and their garments there will be of silk.)﴿35:32-33﴾
(5:64) The Jews say: ‘The Hand of Allah is fettered. [92] It is their own hands which are fettered,[93] and they stand cursed for the evil they have uttered.[94] No! His Hands are outspread; He spends as He wills. Surely the message that has been revealed to you from your Lord has increased many of them in their in-surgence and unbelief,[95] and so We have cast enmity and spite among them until the Day of Resurrection. And as often as they kindle the fire of war, Allah extinguishes it; and they go about trying to spread mischief on earth, whereas Allah does not love those who spread mischief.
92. To say that someone’s hands are tied, in Arabic usage, is to say that he is niggardly, that something prevents him from being generous and bountiful. Thus the Jewish observation does not mean that God’s Hand is literally tied but that He is niggardly and miserly. For centuries the Jews had lived in humiliation and misery. Their past greatness had become legend, seemingly too remote ever to be restored, and so they would blasphemously lament that God had become a miser and that as the door to His treasury was now permanently locked, that He had nothing to offer them except suffering and calamity. This attitude, however, is not confined to the Jews. When confronted with trials and tribulations foolish people of other nations, too, are prone to utter such blasphemies rather than turn to God with humble prayer and supplication.
93. They accused God of the miserliness from which they themselves had suffered and had become notorious for.
94. If they entertained the hope that by such insolent and taunting expressions they might evoke God’s munificence, and that His bounties would begin to shower upon them, they were dreaming of the impossible. Indeed, such insolence was bound to have the opposite effect – to alienate them further from God’s bounty, to cast them even further from His mercy.
95. Instead of learning any lessons from the Book of God, instead of recognizing their own mistakes and wrongs and then trying to make amends for them, instead of probing their miserable situation and then turning to reform, they reacted by launching a violent campaign of opposition to truth and righteousness. Rather than take to the right way as a result of being reminded of the forgotten lesson of righteousness, they attempted to suppress the voice which sought to remind them and others of such things.
[273]- Implying inability to give or stinginess.
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