Who Denies the Din? (107:1-3)
“Have you seen the one who denies the Din? That is the one who drives away the orphan and does not encourage the feeding of the poor.”
The Quran’s definition is behavioral, not doctrinal. The mukadhdhibun bil-din (denier/liar of the din) is identified by two acts: driving away (yadu’u) the orphan and not encouraging (la yahuddu ‘ala ta’am al-miskin) feeding the poor. The word yadu’u is strong — to push away with force or contempt — and its object is a yatim (orphan): someone who has already lost the primary person responsible for them.
The second act is even more striking: not refusing to feed the poor, but not encouraging others to feed them. The social failure of not promoting charity is placed at the same level as personally refusing.
The Praying Person Who Denies the Din (107:4-7)
“So woe to those who pray — [but] who are heedless of their prayer — those who make a show [of their deeds] and withhold [simple] assistance.”
The phrase al-ladhina hum ‘an salatihim sahun is precise: ‘an (away from) rather than fi (within). They are not distracted during prayer but alienated from it — the prayer has become something external to their inner life. The woe (wayl) is for the prayer that has been disconnected from its social consequences.
Riya’ (showing off/performative worship) and withholding al-ma’un (neighborly aid — the lending of small tools, salt, water, assistance) are the twin symptoms of this disconnection: outward performance without inward reality; social position without social responsibility.
The Theological Insight
The surah performs a bold equivalence: the open unbeliever who drives away orphans and the praying person who performs worship for show are placed in the same category of denial. What ties them is the absence of ihsan (excellence/beneficence) — the quality the Prophet described as “worship Allah as if you see Him, for if you do not see Him, He sees you.”
See also: Silat Al Rahim, Zakat And Khums, Akhlaq, Al Munafikun, Ukhuwwa Islamiyya, Ihsan