Yuqridu — to loan
The verb presents giving in Allah’s path as something entrusted now and returned with reward in the Hereafter.
Surah Al-Hadid
The goodly loan
Allah invites the believer to give sincerely in His path. The gift returns multiplied in quantity and crowned with a reward of noble, generous quality.
مَّن ذَا الَّذِي يُقْرِضُ اللَّهَ قَرْضًا حَسَنًا فَيُضَاعِفَهُ لَهُ وَلَهُ أَجْرٌ كَرِيمٌ
“Who is it that would loan Allah a goodly (or beautiful) loan so He will multiply it for him and he will have a generous reward?”
Language and meaning
A familiar transaction expresses an eternal return
The words for lending and loan describe spending in Allah’s way through concepts people already understand.
Qard — a loan
The expression is not literal. Allah owns everything, so nothing can be transferred to Him as though it were outside His ownership.
Allah is free of all need
Allah is the Self-Sufficient, the Praiseworthy. The metaphor puts the believer at ease and brings the unseen reward close through recognizable human dealings.
A Qur’anic commercial frame
Loan, purchase, and sale
The Qur’an also likens the offering of lives and wealth for Paradise to buying and selling. These commercial terms make the certainty and value of the exchange immediately intelligible.
إِنَّ اللَّهَ اشْتَرَىٰ مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ أَنفُسَهُمْ وَأَمْوَالَهُم بِأَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ “Verily, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties so that they will have Paradise” At-Tawbah: 111
فَاسْتَبْشِرُوا بِبَيْعِكُمُ الَّذِي بَايَعْتُم بِهِ “So rejoice in your sale which you have completed” At-Tawbah: 111
قَرْضًا حَسَنًا
What makes the loan beautiful
Qardan Hasanan joins lawful means, sincere intention, dignified conduct, and sound judgment in giving.
Lawful wealth
The gift comes from wealth acquired lawfully.
Sincere intention
The act seeks Allah’s reward with sincerity.
No ostentation
The gift remains free from showing off and seeking reputation.
No reminders of favour
The giver does not burden the recipient by recounting the gift.
No harm
The gift preserves the recipient’s dignity and causes no injury.
Sound wealth
The giver chooses from the middle, sound portion of the wealth.
The question urges action
“Who is it” calls the believer forward. It encourages generosity and identifies the giver as a believer of strong Iman.
Offering wealth in Al-Jihad to raise Allah’s word the highest.
Helping those in need through avenues of goodness.
Relieving the distressed with generosity and care.
The promised return
Multiplied in quantity. Noble in quality.
The ayah presents two dimensions of reward: multiplication and generosity.
He will multiply it
The loan does not merely return. Allah multiplies it for the giver.
A generous reward
Beyond multiplication, the reward itself is Kareem: dignified, honourable, generous, pure, fine, and exquisite.
No numerical limit is stated. The ayah declares multiplication without specifying how much, leaving no stated limit to its increase. A Kareem reward stands beyond that multiplication.
The depth of a single word
The semantic world of Kareem
The root carries dignity, generosity, excellence, purity, refinement, and honour.
الكَرْم
Al-Karm
A necklace made from gold and silver or pearls. The word is also used for a grape tree.
الكَرَمُ
Al-Karam of land
Soil that has been stirred, loosened, and cleansed of stones.
كَرَم الخيل
Karam of horses
The finest and most excellent among them in fineness and elegance.
التَّكْرِمَة
At-Takrimah
A special place prepared for a man to sit—whether a bedding area or couch—set aside to honour him.
تَكَرَّمَ · تَكَارَمَ
Takarrama and Takaarama
These carry the meaning of تَنَزَّهَ—Tanazzaha.
تَنَزَّهَ
Tanazzaha
To declare someone or something free of fault, impurities, or reproach.
Spending in Allah’s path receives a reward that is pure, refined, exquisite, noble, and generous.
Surah structure
The close of a perfectly symmetrical section
This ayah marks the end of the surah’s second section. Its five subjects form a balanced arrangement around a central heart.
Outer opening First subject
Outer close Fifth subject
Inner opening Second subject
Inner close Fourth subject
Third subject · The heart
Allah sends His revelations upon His slave
People are brought out of darknesses into light.
The first and fifth subjects correlate, the second and fourth correlate, and revelation stands at the centre.