Quran Universe
9:53

قُلۡ أَنفِقُواْ طَوۡعًا أَوۡ كَرۡهٗا لَّن يُتَقَبَّلَ مِنكُمۡ إِنَّكُمۡ كُنتُمۡ قَوۡمٗا فَٰسِقِينَ

Qul anfiqoo tawAAan aw karhan lan yutaqabbala minkum innakum kuntum qawman fasiqeena

Say, "Spend willingly or unwillingly; never will it be accepted from you. Indeed, you have been a defiantly disobedient people."

Word by word
  1. قُلۡSay
  2. أَنفِقُواْSpend
  3. طَوۡعًاwillingly
  4. أَوۡor
  5. كَرۡهٗاunwillingly
  6. لَّنnever
  7. يُتَقَبَّلَwill be accepted
  8. مِنكُمۡfrom you
  9. إِنَّكُمۡIndeed,you
  10. كُنتُمۡ[you] are
  11. قَوۡمٗاa people
  12. فَٰسِقِينَdefiantly disobedient
At-Tawbah · 9:53Madinah

Spending without faith behind it is not accepted.

Money is not the whole of a gift

Their spending
willingly
or unwillingly
either way
not acceptedno faith beneath it
What Allah accepts
the amount
the faith insideAllah accepts only good

The hypocrites were told: spend willingly or unwillingly, it will not be accepted from you. Ibn Kathir notes that Allah is Good and accepts only what is good, from people of taqwa.

You transfer a donation to make the guilt go away, or so your name appears on the list. Allah looks for what is behind the transfer. A small amount given with faith outweighs a large one given to be seen.

As long as I give a lot, the reason does not matter.

Allah accepts what is given with faith, not just the size of it.

Try this

Give a small amount today, secretly, purely for Allah.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir (shared passage from 9:52)

Say: "Do you wait for us (anything) except one of the two best things; while we await for you either that Allah will afflict you with a punishment from Himself or at our hands. So wait, we too are waiting with you. (52)Say: "Spend willingly or unwillingly, it will not be accepted from you. Verily, you are ever a people who are rebellious. (53)And nothing prevents their contributions from being accepted from them except that they disbelieved in Allah and in His Messenger, and that they came not to the Salah except in a lazy state, and that they offer not contributions but unwillingly (54)

Allah said,

قُلْ 

(Say), O Muhammad to them,

هَلْ تَرَبَّصُونَ بِنَا

(Do you wait for us), anything,

إِلَّا إِحْدَى الْحُسْنَيَيْنِ

(except one of the two best things), martyrdom or victory over you, according to the meaning given by Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah, and others.

وَنَحْنُ نَتَرَبَّصُ بِكُمْ

(while we await for you), that this will touch you,

أَن يُصِيبَكُمُ اللَّهُ بِعَذَابٍ مِّنْ عِندِهِ أَوْ بِأَيْدِينَا

(either that Allah will afflict you with a punishment from Himself or at our hands), either capture or killing,

فَتَرَبَّصُوا إِنَّا مَعَكُم مُّتَرَبِّصُونَ

(So wait, we too are waiting with you.) Allah said next,

قُلْ أَنفِقُوا طَوْعًا أَوْ كَرْهًا

(Say: Spend willingly or unwillingly), for whatever you spend either way,

لَّن يُتَقَبَّلَ مِنكُمْ ۖ إِنَّكُمْ كُنتُمْ قَوْمًا فَاسِقِينَ

(it will not be accepted from you. Verily, you are ever a people who are rebellious.)

Allah mentions the reason behind not accepting their charity from them,

إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِاللَّهِ وَبِرَسُولِهِ

(except that they disbelieved in Allah and in His Messenger.) and the deeds are accepted if they are preceded with faith,

وَلَا يَأْتُونَ الصَّلَاةَ إِلَّا وَهُمْ كُسَالَىٰ

(and that they came not to the Salah except in a lazy state.)

Therefore, they neither have good intention nor eagerness to perform the acts [of faith],

وَمَا مَنَعَهُمْ أَن تُقْبَلَ مِنْهُمْ نَفَقَاتُهُمْ إِلَّا أَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا بِاللَّهِ وَبِرَسُولِهِ وَلَا يَأْتُونَ الصَّلَاةَ إِلَّا وَهُمْ كُسَالَىٰ وَلَا يُنفِقُونَ إِلَّا وَهُمْ كَارِهُونَ

(And nothing prevents their contributions from being accepted from them except that they disbelieved in Allah and in His Messenger, and that they came not to the Salah (the prayer) except in a lazy state, and that they offer not contributions but unwillingly.)

The Truthful, to whom the Truth was revealed, Muhammad, peace be upon him, said that Allah does not stop giving rewards until you (believers) stop performing good deeds, and that Allah is Tayyib [Good and Pure] and only accepts what is Tayyib. This is why Allah does not accept charity or good deeds from the people described in these Ayat, because He only accepts it from those who have Taqwa.