Al-Maa'un
سُورَةُ المَاعُونِ
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
بِسْمِ ٱللَّهِ ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
عن سورة Al-Maa'un
Meccan · 7 آية
المحاور الرئيسية
The signs of denial of the faith: neglect of orphans, hypocrisy in prayer, refusal of small kindnesses
الأهمية والفضل
Al-Maun (Small Kindnesses) presents one of the most penetrating social critiques in the Quran: a person who denies the Day of Judgement is identifiable not by their theological statements but by their treatment of orphans and the poor, and by hypocrisy in prayer. The surah establishes that social indifference and ritual performance without sincere intention are both signs of the same underlying spiritual problem: denial of ultimate accountability.
شرح آية محورية
Ayah 4–5 ("Woe to those who pray but are heedless of their prayer") are among the most studied verses in Islamic spiritual formation. Scholars clarify that the verse is not condemning prayer but "heedlessness" (sahun) in prayer — performing the motions without presence of heart. The connection between prayerful insincerity and social cruelty (withholding al-maun) in the same surah implies that genuine prayer produces social generosity, and its absence reveals a heart disconnected from Allah.
الأعمال المرتبطة
Al-Maun is widely taught in Islamic social welfare courses as the Quranic mandate for caring for orphans and the poor. The condemnation of those who refuse al-maun (small acts of help — a pot, salt, simple tools) is used to establish that Islamic generosity operates at every scale, not only through large charitable donations. The surah is also used in Islamic spiritual formation to motivate khushu' (presence of heart) in salah.
بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ أَرَأَيْتَ الَّذِي يُكَذِّبُ بِالدِّينِ 1
Have you seen the one who denies the Recompense?
فَذَٰلِكَ الَّذِي يَدُعُّ الْيَتِيمَ 2
For that is the one who drives away the orphan
وَلَا يَحُضُّ عَلَىٰ طَعَامِ الْمِسْكِينِ 3
And does not encourage the feeding of the poor.
فَوَيْلٌ لِلْمُصَلِّينَ 4
So woe to those who pray
الَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنْ صَلَاتِهِمْ سَاهُونَ 5
[But] who are heedless of their prayer -
الَّذِينَ هُمْ يُرَاءُونَ 6
Those who make show [of their deeds]
وَيَمْنَعُونَ الْمَاعُونَ 7
And withhold [simple] assistance.