Sharing what we hold feels hard to most of us; yet the Qur'an speaks of giving not as a loss but as purification and blessing. Hoarding our wealth does not enrich us; rather, sharing cleanses both the giver and the community. Let us try to understand the "why" of infaq and zakat through the language of the verses themselves.
What does the Qur'an say?
Take charity from their wealth; with it you purify them and cleanse them. Offer salat (support) for them! Surely your salat (support) is a source of peace and security for them. Allah is the All-Hearing, the All-Knowing. (9:103)
The example of those who spend (infaq) their wealth in Allah's way is like a grain that grows seven ears, in each ear a hundred grains. Allah gives manifold to whom He wills (who deserves it). Allah is All-Embracing (in means), All-Knowing. (2:261)
O you who believe! Spend (give) from the good things you have earned and from what We have brought out for you from the earth! Do not aim to give the bad of it — which you would not take yourselves except with closed eyes. Know that surely Allah is Free of need, Praiseworthy. (2:267)
Believe in and trust Allah and His Messenger! Spend (give) from that in which He has made you trustees (over wealth)! For those among you who trust and who spend (give) there is a great reward. (57:7)
Key word / root
A few words stand out at the level of the text. The expression in 9:103, "tuzakkihim" (you cleanse them), shares the same root (z-k-w / z-k-y) as the word "zakat"; in Arabic this root carries both "purification/growing pure" and "growth/blessing." The word "tutahhiruhum" (you purify them) in the same verse, however, comes from a different root (t-h-r) and means "to cleanse, to purify." "Infaq" (root n-f-q) means to spend, to share. The word "mustakhlafin" in 57:7 comes from the root kh-l-f and points to "one entrusted with something, made a successor over it." (This root note is at the level of text/lexicon; it is not a detailed exegetical interpretation.)
What do we learn?
(Interpretation) Reading these verses together, a picture emerges: according to 9:103, giving is an act that "purifies" the giver as much as the receiver; that is, infaq is first the cleansing of the heart from stinginess and selfishness, not merely of wealth. The seven-ear image in 2:261 is an inviting picture showing that what is given is not lost but multiplied many times over. 2:267 sets a standard for the ethics of giving: a person is called to share the valuable part of their earnings, not the bad goods they would themselves be ashamed to accept. 57:7 completes the picture: wealth ultimately belongs to Allah, and the human being is only a "trustee" appointed over it. Remembering that the true owner is Allah turns giving from a sacrifice into the right use of a trust.
Different readings
The Qur'anic text uses both the concept of "infaq" (spending/sharing in Allah's way in general) and "zakat." In the Islamic tradition these two are distinguished as follows: "zakat" is read as an obligation (fard) taken from specific kinds of wealth at specific rates; "infaq/sadaqa" is read as a broader, voluntary sharing. The details of the measures and rates of this distinction (nisab, percentages, how much from which wealth) are largely derived from hadith and fiqh; these verses of the Qur'anic text do not give numerical rates. This should be stated honestly.
An honest boundary
Certain at the level of the text: that giving/infaq purifies the giver (9:103), is blessed (2:261), that one should give from the valuable part of wealth (2:267), and that the human is a trustee over wealth (57:7). At the level of interpretation: reading these verses through themes such as "purification of wealth, social justice, freedom from selfishness" is a meaningful inference, but it is an exegetical reading. The disputed part / not in the Qur'anic text: the precise rates of zakat, the nisab thresholds, and the details of obligation are fiqh regulations; they do not appear in the wording of these verses.
Conclusion: In the language of the Qur'an, giving is not a diminishing but the purification of the heart, the blessing of wealth, and the peace of delivering a trust to where it belongs. Perhaps the most beautiful beginning is to remember to whom what we hold truly belongs, and to take a step toward this purification today through a sincere act of sharing, however small.
Source: Qur'anic verses (M. Okuyan meal). Presented with a text/interpretation distinction; not a fiqh fatwa.