The Small Kindnesses

Al Maun

Verses

Revelation

Makki

Period

Early Meccan

Surah No.

107 / 114

Overview

Ties the denial of the Day of Judgement to concrete social cruelty: the one who calls the faith a lie is the one who shoves the orphan aside and never urges that the poor be fed. The surah then turns to worshippers who pray without presence of heart, pray to be seen, and refuse even the loan of a household utensil.

أسباب النزول

Occasion of Revelation (Asbab al-Nuzul)

Reports differ. Several early authorities name a specific hypocrite of Madinah, others al-As ibn Wa'il or Abu Sufyan, who would slaughter a large camel yet turn away an orphan who asked for a piece of meat. Al-Qurtubi notes the first three verses concern an open denier and the last four the hypocrite, which is why part is treated as Makkan and part as Madinan.

Key Themes

Denial of the Recompense revealed through conduct, not just creedCruelty to the orphan and indifference to the hungry as marks of unbeliefPrayer without presence of heart, and prayer performed for showWithholding al-Ma'un, the small loans of daily life, as a symptom of a hard heartThe obligation of small, everyday acts of kindness and sharing

Notable Verses

107:1-3

“Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense? That is the one who repulses the orphan and does not urge the feeding of the poor.”

Ibn Kathir observes that the surah defines the denier of the Judgement by two social sins before it mentions worship at all: harshness to the orphan, who cannot repay, and failing even to encourage others to feed the hungry. Al-Razi notes the phrase is not that he fails to feed the poor himself but that he does not urge it, a still lower bar, so that indifference to the plight of others is itself a mark of the hard heart.