Translation:
Serve Allah, and join not 550 any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, 551 neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, 552 the wayfarer (you meet), and what your right hands possess: 553 For Allah loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious;- 554
Serve Allah, and join not 550 any partners with Him; and do good- to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, those in need, neighbours who are near, 551 neighbours who are strangers, the companion by your side, 552 the wayfarer (you meet), and what your right hands possess: 553 For Allah loveth not the arrogant, the vainglorious;- 554
Translation:
AND WORSHIP God [alone], and do not ascribe divinity, in any way, to aught beside Him. 46 And do good unto your parents, and near of kin, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the neighbour from among your own people, and the neighbour who is a stranger, 47 and the friend by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom you rightfully possess. 48 Verily, God does not love any of those who, full of self-conceit, act in a boastful manner;
AND WORSHIP God [alone], and do not ascribe divinity, in any way, to aught beside Him. 46 And do good unto your parents, and near of kin, and unto orphans, and the needy, and the neighbour from among your own people, and the neighbour who is a stranger, 47 and the friend by your side, and the wayfarer, and those whom you rightfully possess. 48 Verily, God does not love any of those who, full of self-conceit, act in a boastful manner;
Commentary:
46 The expression shay’an (here rendered as "in any way") makes it clear that shirk ("the ascribing of divinity to anything beside God") is not confined to a worship of other "deities", but implies also the attribution of divine or quasi-divine powers to persons or objects not regarded as deities: in other words, it embraces also saint-worship, etc.
47 I.e., "whether he belongs to your own or to another community". That the expression "your own people" (dhu l-qurba) refers to the community and not to one's actual relatives is obvious from the fact that "the near of kin" have already been mentioned earlier in this sentence. The Prophet often stressed a believer's moral obligation towards his neighbours, whatever their faith; and his attitude has been summed up in his words, "Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him do good unto his neighbour" (Bukhari, Muslim, and other compilations).
48 According to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud and other Companions, "the friend by your side" (as-sahib bi’l-janb) is one's wife or husband (Tabari). By "those whom you rightfully possess" (lit., "whom your right hands possess") are meant, in this context, slaves of either sex. Since this verse enjoins the "doing of good" towards all people with whom one is in contact, and since the best that can be done to a slave is to free him, the above passage calls, elliptically, for the freeing of slaves (Manar V, 94). See also surah 2, verse 177, as well as 9:60, where the freeing of human beings from bondage is explicitly mentioned as one of the objectives to which zakah funds are to be dedicated.
46 The expression shay’an (here rendered as "in any way") makes it clear that shirk ("the ascribing of divinity to anything beside God") is not confined to a worship of other "deities", but implies also the attribution of divine or quasi-divine powers to persons or objects not regarded as deities: in other words, it embraces also saint-worship, etc.
47 I.e., "whether he belongs to your own or to another community". That the expression "your own people" (dhu l-qurba) refers to the community and not to one's actual relatives is obvious from the fact that "the near of kin" have already been mentioned earlier in this sentence. The Prophet often stressed a believer's moral obligation towards his neighbours, whatever their faith; and his attitude has been summed up in his words, "Whoever believes in God and the Last Day, let him do good unto his neighbour" (Bukhari, Muslim, and other compilations).
48 According to ‘Ali ibn Abi Talib, ‘Abd Allah ibn Mas’ud and other Companions, "the friend by your side" (as-sahib bi’l-janb) is one's wife or husband (Tabari). By "those whom you rightfully possess" (lit., "whom your right hands possess") are meant, in this context, slaves of either sex. Since this verse enjoins the "doing of good" towards all people with whom one is in contact, and since the best that can be done to a slave is to free him, the above passage calls, elliptically, for the freeing of slaves (Manar V, 94). See also surah 2, verse 177, as well as 9:60, where the freeing of human beings from bondage is explicitly mentioned as one of the objectives to which zakah funds are to be dedicated.
550 The essence of Islam is to serve Allah and do good to your fellow-creatures. This is wider and more comprehensive than "Love God and love your neighbour". For it includes duties to animals as our fellow-creatures, and emphasises practical service rather than sentiment.
551 Neighbours who are near: that is, in local situation as well as intimate relationships, just as neighbours who are strangers includes those whom we do not know or who live away from us or in a different sphere altogether.
552 The Companion by your side may be your intimate friends and associates, just as the wayfarer you meet may be a carnal acquaintance on your travels. This last is much wider than the "stranger within your gate."
553 What your right hands possess: For the meaning of the phrase see n. 537 above. (R).
554 Real deeds of service and kindness proceed, not from showing off or from a superior sort of condescension ( Cf. "White Man's Burden"), but from a frank recognition of our own humility and the real claims, before Allah, of all our fellow-creatures. For in our mutual needs we are equal before Allah, or perhaps the best of us (as the world sees us) may be worse than the worst of us (from the same point of view).