O you who have faith in Allah and follow His Messenger, spend from the different types of permissible wealth that Allah has provided for you before the Day of Resurrection comes. On that day, there will be no sale so that a person may buy something of use to him, nor friendship that will be of benefit at a time of difficulty, and no intermediary that will protect him from any harm or bring any benefit unless Allah allows. The disbelievers are in the wrong due to their denial of Allah.
O you who believe! Spend of that with which We have provided for you, before a Day comes when there will be no bargaining, nor friendship, nor intercession. And it is the disbelievers who are the wrongdoers (254)
Allah commands His servants to spend for His sake, in the path of righteousness, from what He has granted them, so that they acquire and keep the reward of this righteous deed with their Lord and King. Let them rush to perform this deed in this life,
مِّن قَبْلِ أَن يَأْتِيَ يَوْمٌ
(before a Day comes) meaning, the Day of Resurrection,
لَّا بَيْعٌ فِيهِ وَلَا خُلَّةٌ وَلَا شَفَاعَةٌ
(when there will be no bargaining, nor friendship, nor intercession.)
This Ayah indicates that on that Day, no one will be able to bargain on behalf of himself or ransom himself with any amount, even if it was the earth's fill of gold; nor will his friendship or relation to anyone benefit him. Similarly, Allah said,
فَإِذَا نُفِخَ فِي الصُّورِ فَلَا أَنسَابَ بَيْنَهُمْ يَوْمَئِذٍ وَلَا يَتَسَاءَلُونَ
(Then, when the Trumpet is blown, there will be no kinship among them that Day, nor will they ask of one another)[23:101]
وَلَا شَفَاعَةٌ
(Nor intercession) meaning, they will not benefit by the intercession of anyone.
Allah's statement,
وَالْكَافِرُونَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
(and it is the disbelievers who are the wrongdoers) indicates that no injustice is worse than meeting Allah on that Day while a disbeliever. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded that 'Ata' bin Dinar said, "All thanks are due to Allah Who said,
وَالْكَافِرُونَ هُمُ الظَّالِمُونَ
(and it is the disbelievers who are the wrongdoers) but did not say, 'And it is the wrongdoers who are the disbelievers.'"
Commentary
Many injunctions relating to acts of worship and dealings with human beings have been taken up in this Surah, especially all those a person dislikes to obey finding them burdensome. Then, the most difficult act is to 'spend' one's life and possessions; and when you look at Divine injunctions relating to most situations they either relate to a man's life or his possessions. And when a man falls into the trap of sin, it is either caused by his love of life or expediency of possessions in most cases. As such, the love for these two is the root of sins, and the defence against and the deliverance from it is the object of all acts of obedience. It is for this reason that, following the injunctions relating to worship and social transactions, the subject of 'fighting' and 'spending' in the way of Allah were taken up. The first appeared in وَقَاتِلُوا فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّـهِ (And fight in the way of Allah) (244) and the second in مَّن ذَا الَّذِي يُقْرِضُ اللَّـهَ (Who is the one who would give Allah a good loan?) (245) After that, the former was emphasized by the story of Talut طالوت ، and now, emphasis is being laid on the later by أَنفِقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاكُم (Spend from what We have given to you) (254). Since a large number of affairs relating to the worship of Allah and dealings with human beings depend on spending out of what Allah has given, this subject has been dealt with in a greater detail. Therefore, the sections that follow have, in most of them, a discussion of the second aspect, which is, the 'spending' out of one's possessions. To sum up, it means: The time to act is still there. In the Hereafter, deeds are not on sale. They cannot be borrowed from a friend either. Once caught by the punishment, one cannot be released on someone's intercession, unless Allah Himself forgives.
Only one who spends for the cause of God finds God. When he finds Him, he comes into possession of a light which leads him on to the straight and undeviating path to paradise—the final destination of a true believer. On the other hand, one who wants God without paying this price, remains in darkness forever. ‘Spending for God’s cause’ relates here to any kind of sacrifice made for the sake of God, and not merely to spending one’s wealth: for instance, devoting one’s life to the cause of God; sacrificing one’s material interests and considerations to go ahead along God’s path. When one accepts an ideology at the cost of sacrifice, then it shows that one is sincere about it. Sincerity is a matter of great importance, for, regardless of the issue, it is only when one is sincere that one can delve deeply into the subject; then all its secrets are laid bare before one. It is this element of sincerity that enables a real relationship to be created between the man and his goal. In consequence, all the aspects of that goal are revealed to him.