Quran Universe
9:54

وَمَا مَنَعَهُمۡ أَن تُقۡبَلَ مِنۡهُمۡ نَفَقَٰتُهُمۡ إِلَّآ أَنَّهُمۡ كَفَرُواْ بِٱللَّهِ وَبِرَسُولِهِۦ وَلَا يَأۡتُونَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ إِلَّا وَهُمۡ كُسَالَىٰ وَلَا يُنفِقُونَ إِلَّا وَهُمۡ كَٰرِهُونَ

Wama manaAAahum an tuqbala minhum nafaqatuhum illa annahum kafaroo biAllahi wabirasoolihi wala yatoona alssalata illa wahum kusala wala yunfiqoona illa wahum karihoona

And what prevents their expenditures from being accepted from them but that they have disbelieved in Allah and in His Messenger and that they come not to prayer except while they are lazy and that they do not spend except while they are unwilling.

Word by word
  1. وَمَاAnd not
  2. مَنَعَهُمۡprevents them
  3. أَنthat
  4. تُقۡبَلَis accepted
  5. مِنۡهُمۡfrom them
  6. نَفَقَٰتُهُمۡtheir contributions
  7. إِلَّآexcept
  8. أَنَّهُمۡthat they
  9. كَفَرُواْdisbelieve
  10. بِٱللَّهِin Allah
  11. وَبِرَسُولِهِۦand in His Messenger
  12. وَلَاand not
  13. يَأۡتُونَthey come
  14. ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ(to) the prayer
  15. إِلَّاexcept
  16. وَهُمۡwhile they
  17. كُسَالَىٰ(are) lazy
  18. وَلَاand not
  19. يُنفِقُونَthey spend
  20. إِلَّاexcept
  21. وَهُمۡwhile they
  22. كَٰرِهُونَ(are) unwilling
At-Tawbah · 9:54Madinah

Coming to prayer lazily, giving reluctantly.

Three signs worth checking in yourself

Why it was refused
no real faithin Allah and His Messenger ﷺ
lazy prayerdragging to it
reluctant givinghating to spend
How to read this verse
a list about them
a mirror for mecheck the signs

The verse explains why their spending was refused: they disbelieved, came to prayer only lazily, and spent only unwillingly. Ibn Kathir notes they had neither good intention nor eagerness for acts of faith.

Everyone has days of dragging to prayer and sighing at the charity box. The danger is when it becomes your settled way. Use the verse as a mirror, not a weapon. How do you come to salah most days?

As long as I pray and give, how I feel about it is irrelevant.

Laziness in prayer and reluctance in giving are signs to treat early.

Try this

For your next prayer, make wudu slowly and arrive a few minutes early.

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.