وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّقُوا مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَمَا خَلْفَكُمْ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ ﴿۴۵﴾ وَمَا تَأْتِيهِمْ مِنْ آيَةٍ مِنْ آيَاتِ رَبِّهِمْ إِلَّا كَانُوا عَنْهَا مُعْرِضِينَ ﴿۴۶﴾ وَإِذَا قِيلَ لَهُمْ أَنْفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقَكُمُ اللَّهُ قَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنُطْعِمُ مَنْ لَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ أَطْعَمَهُ إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ ﴿۴۷﴾ وَيَقُولُونَ مَتَى هَذَا الْوَعْدُ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ ﴿۴۸﴾

﴾45﴿ Wa izaa qeela lahumuttaqoo maa baina aideekum wa maa khalfakum la'allakum turhamoon
﴾46﴿ Wa maa ta'teehim min aayatim min Aayaati Rabbihim illaa kaanoo 'anhaa mu'rideen
﴾47﴿ Wa izaa qeela lahum anfiqoo mimmaa razaqakumul laahu qaalal lazeena kafaroo lillazeena aamanooo anut'imu mal-law yashaaa'ul laahu at'amahooo in antum illaa fee dalaalim mubeen
﴾48﴿ Wa yaqooloona mataa haazal wa'du in kuntum saadiqeen

﴾45﴿ And when it is said to them, "Save yourselves from the punishment before you and from what is behind you, so that you may be shown mercy
﴾46﴿ (But they turn away) and no sign comes to them from the signs of their Lord except that they turn away from it
﴾47﴿ And when it is said to them, Spend from what Allah Almighty has given you, the disbelievers say about the believers, "Shall we feed someone whom, if Allah had willed, He would have fed, You are only in clear misguidance
﴾48﴿ And they say, When will this promise be fulfilled, if you are truthful

[45,46] This verse is a rebuke (زجر) for their turning away from the path of righteousness (تقوی) and ignoring the signs (آیات).
"مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيكُمْ وَمَا خَلْفَكُمْ"—there are two interpretations:
According to the first view, “what is before you” refers to worldly punishments, like those that befell the past nations who denied the truth, and “what is behind you” refers to the punishment of the Hereafter.
The second view reverses this: “before you” refers to the Hereafter, and “behind you” to worldly punishments.
[47] This is the second rebuke (زجر دوم), addressing their rejection of Allah’s command due to a false excuse.
"أَنْفِقُوا"—this refers to legitimate (shar‘ī) spending: that is, spending in the name of Allah on the needy.
It does not refer to spending in the name of other than Allah, such as giving at the shrines of idols or graves, because that is not charity, it is extravagance (اسراف).
At that time in Makkah, most of the needy were believers, so this command implies tawḥīd in financial worship, and cannot be directed to a polytheist merely to give charity.
"أَنُطْعِمُ مَنْ لَوْ يَشَاءُ اللَّهُ أَطْعَمَهُ"—this statement carries three possible meanings: 1. Mockery—They used to hear from the believers that Allah is the Provider, and that everything is tied to Allah’s will.
So they said: According to your claim, if Allah willed to feed the poor, He would have—so why should we?
2. As Ibn ʿAṭiyyah (may Allah be pleased with him) explains: They agreed with Allah’s will, saying: If Allah does not give someone provision, we also will not give.
3. As mentioned by Qurṭubī and others: The statement is technically correct, but their intention behind it is false—it is a case of “a true word used for falsehood” (كلمة حق أريد بها الباطل).
They only used Allah’s will as a pretense for their stinginess and hard-heartedness, not out of sincere submission to His decree.
"إِنْ أَنْتُمْ إِلَّا فِي ضَلَالٍ مُبِينٍ"—this phrase has two explanations:
According to one, it is the disbelievers speaking to the believers, saying: You go against Allah’s will and command us to act contrary to His will, so you are clearly misguided.
According to the other view, this is Allah speaking to the disbelievers, declaring that their logic is a result of clear misguidance, because they deny Allah’s actual command.
[48] This is the third rebuke (زجر سوم), and it is directed at their denial of resurrection after death (بعث بعدالموت).
It is connected to the phrase "مَا بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَمَا خَلْفَهُمْ"—referring to the punishments of this world and the Hereafter, which they continue to ignore and deny.