Bismillah-ir-Rahman-ir-Rahim.

In the Name of Allâh, the Most Beneficent, the Most Merciful. All the praises and thanks be to Allâh, the Lord of the 'Alamîn . The Only Owner of the Day of Recompense. You (Alone) we worship, and You (Alone) we ask for help. Guide us to the Straight Way. The Way of those on whom You have bestowed Your Grace , not (the way) of those who earned Your Anger, nor of those who went astray .

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102: (Al-Takathur)- Greed for More and More 

(Vying in Exuberance)

Number of Verses: 8

Sūra al-Takāthur (Arabic: سورة التَکاثُر) is the 102nd sura of the quran. It is a sura in thirty juz of the Qur'an. The word, "Takathur", which literally means to compete with others in accumulating money and possessions, has occurred in the first verse of the sura, and this is why it came to be known as "Sura al-Takathur".

In this sura, people who brag about their possessions, children and companions are reprimanded, warning that they will soon be interrogated for blessings they had at their disposal. According to hadiths, the "blessing" here refers to ahl al-bayt (a). It is said that the recitation of this sura amounts to the recitation of one thousand Qur'anic verses.

Numerous commentators believe that this Surah has been revealed in Mecca; then the subject mentioned in the Surah about vying and self-glorification is, customarily, referring to the tribes of Quraish who used to boast to each other, in vain, about worthless affairs.

But, some others, such as the late Tabarsi who cited his idea in Majma'-al-Bayan, believe that the Surah was revealed in Medina, and what is said is it about vying and boasting in each other's sight refers to the Jews or to two tribes among the 'Ansar'. But, regarding the close similarity that this Surah, being Meccan, has with the Meccan Suras, seems more proper.

The content of the Surah in general is firstly, a scorn on those people who, based on things of no value, boast to each other and secondly, there is a warning about the proposition of the Hereafter and the Hell-fire; and finally, warning that we will be questioned about the bounties in our life.

The name of the Surah is derived from the words in the first verse.

On the virtue of reciting the Surah, a tradition from the Prophet (S) says:

"He who recites it, Allah will not account the bounties he was given in the world and He will award him such a reward as if he had recited one thousand verses (of the Qur'an).

A tradition from Imam Sadiq (as) denotes that

"The recitation of this Surah in the obligatory and optional prayers has a reward similar to Martyrdom."

It is obvious that these total rewards are for the one who recites it, practices it in his daily life and harmonizes his mind and soul with it.

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Benefits

This Surah has 8 ayaat and it was revealed in Makkah. The Holy Prophet (S) said that whoever recites this Surah before going to sleep at night will be saved from the torments of the grave. If this Surah is recited in faraa'idh prayers, the reciter will get the reward of a hundred martyrs. If recited in the nawafil prayers, he will get the reward of fifty martyrs.

It is especially recommended to recite Surah at-Takathur in the 'Asr prayers and the person who does this remains under the protection of Allah until the day ends. Recitation of this Surah is a cure from headaches. Another way of reciting salaat al-Wahshat (apart from the commonly known way) is to recite Ayahul Kursi once and Surah al-Ikhlas twice after the al-Hamd of the first rak'aat and then recite Surah at-Takaathur ten times after the al-Hamd of the second rak'aat.

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Lessons

Trying to amass worldly comforts distracts one from striving for the Hereafter.If we were to truly acknowledge the reality of death and the Hereafter, we would not be distracted from striving to better it for ourselves.Reality will definitely strike once we are made to see Jahannam.We will be asked about our gratitude (or lack of it) for every blessing given to us by Allāh. May Allāh make us all from among His grateful servants. Āmīn.

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The desire to surpass one another in the acquisition of wealth has allured you until you reached the graves. By no means! you will soon come to know! Yes, By no means! you will soon come to know! (1-4)

By no means! if you knew with certainty that you would surely come across Hell, and you would observe it by your very eyes, and you would be questioned about these favours, then ...(5-8)

Explanation of the Surah

(The desire to surpass one other in the acquisition of wealth has allured you.) (1)

Alhameans 'to allure' and 'to deceive'.

Takathurmeans 'abundance in wealth and children'.

According to the custom in the pre-Islamic Arab society, a family was responsible for the defence and security of a tribe. Due to this reason, the family which had the largest number of individuals was entrusted with this task. This naturally resulted in a race to outdo one other not only in the accretion of wealth, but also in the size of a family. Anyone who has studied their customs and traditions knows that they used to take a lot of pride in not only outdoione another in wealth but also in having a large family. In present times, with the change in the social set up, this situation has also changed. Specially, due to the widely acclaimed concept of family-planning, the general trend is to raise the standard of living by having as small a family as possible. Almost all people seem to be afflicted with this malady, and one seldom comes across anyone who has not been a prey to this contagious disease. Also, since no upper limit has been fixed in the standard of living, their thirst for wealth never quenches, and in fact every bit gathered makes them yearn for more. They have been caught in a vicious circle, and there seems no end to this race for material gains. As no limit has been set for the standard of living, the rate at which their greed is continuing to increase, is much more than the rate at which the standard of living itself is increasing. It is this which the Qur'an terms as takathur, and asserts that it effectively allures a person to the extent that he becomes unmindful to the other important realities of life. He is so overcome by the desire to acquire worldly riches that he becomes totally indifferent to the life that awaits him in the Hereafter.

(Until you reached the graves.) (2)

This means that their whole life is spent in the acquisition of wealth and material benefits, till the final resting place is encountered. In Arabic, the verbal noun, ziyarat, from which the word zurtum is derived, simply means 'to see', contrary to its connotation in Urdu, where a certain amount of holiness and sanctity is also attached to this meaning. Hence, zurtum means: 'you saw the graves' that is 'you were consigned to the graves'. To quote a Hamasi poet:

Idha zurtu ardan ba'da tul ijtinabiha

Faqadtu sadiqi wa'l biladu kama hiya.

(When I see my place years after remaining away from it, it seems as if I have lost all my friends, but the place is the same as it was before.)

Although there was an Arabic tradition, according to which the Arabs used to keep an account of the graves of their people and proudly mentioned them in their gatherings, but this is not implied here. But, indeed one wonders why the expression zurtumu'l maqabir has been used by the Qur'an, instead of simply saying 'until death overtook you'. In my opinion, the reason behind adopting this particular style is firstly, to maintain the rhyme of the verses and secondly, to express regret and pity over the unfortunate people, who have deprived themselves of the reward in the Hereafter by indulging in a relentless race for wealth.

(By no means! you will soon come to know. Yes, By no means! you will soon come to know.) (3-4)

This serves as a forceful intimation to those who consider material success in life all that one must strive for. It sounds a warning to those who after being explained everything, are not willing to open their eyes to the actual reality. It cautions them that this life whose charms have allured them so much is not the end. In fact, the life in the Hereafter which at the moment is invisible to them is the life for which they must really strive for, which very soon they will behold from their very eyes.

The double stress in these verses is to make this warning more efficacious, as well as to express the fact that a nation which rejects and denies the message of a Prophet directly assigned towards them, faces severe punishment not only in this world, but also in the next. In other words, it admonishes them to either mend their ways or get ready to face this double humiliation -- for a decision about their fate is about to be made.

The threat hidden beneath the word ta'lamun (you will come to know) is too evident to be described in words.

(By no means! if you knew definitely that you would surely come across Hell, and you would observe it by your very eyes, and you would be questioned about these blessings, then... (5-8)

These verses unveil the real reason behind the carefree attitude of such people. It is attributed to their lack of belief in the Day of Judgement, a day in which they will observe the abyss of Hell from their very eyes. A day when they will be held answerable for all the favours and blessings the Almighty had showered upon them, and which they had squandered against His liking. If they had a true belief in the Day of Judgement, they would never have indulged in these material pursuits, and would have spent all their time and energies in preparing themselves for it.

It would be appropriate here to analyze the grammatical structure and construction of these verses. The apodosis of the hypothetical particle law (jawab-i-law) is omitted here. Though almost all the commentators agree to this, but they do not consider the subsequent verses as subordinate to this conditional clause of the foremost verse. However, in my opinion the subsequent verses are also subordinate to the hypothetical particle law of the first verse, and they are not separate or independent sentences. The over all apodosis oflaw is omitted because the context readily suggests it. We can unfold the whole sentence as thus: 'If you knew all these aspects, you would never have adopted this attitude'. In grammatical terminology, the verse latarawunnal jahim is in place of the object of the verse law ta'alamuna 'ilama'l yaqin (If you knew with certainty that you would see the blazing fire of hell). The asseverative particle lam, appended to the energetic verb tarawunna is meant to emphasize this certainty.

It follows from this that the 'ilmu'l Yaqin or certain knowledge needed to have faith in the Day of Judgement is already present in the manifest verses of the Qur'an, in our own intuition, as well as in every phenomenon of nature. As such, every person must accept and acclaim this reality. Anyone who evades it by paying no heed to these strong testimonies present inside and outside him, can have no excuse for this attitude, and strictly deserves to be punished.

Another evident conclusion is that though certain knowledge about realities which in this world have been concealed from our eyes can be obtained from the Qur'an, and from the testimonies of the human instinct and the cosmic order, yet 'ainu'l yaqin or the certainty obtained by actually beholding a reality can only be possible in the Hereafter because this type of knowledge solely relates to the observation of the concealed realities. On these grounds, I consider as baseless, the claim of some people that 'ainu'l yaqincan be obtained in this world as well. Only 'ilmu'l yaqinabout a reality on the basis of external evidences can be obtained in this world, and which, of course, one day will be observed directly.

The last verse thummah latusalunna yawmaizin 'anin naim also has a subordinate relation with the verse law ta'almuna 'ilmal yaqin (The correct translation reads thus: 'If you knew that on that day you would be questioned about every favour and blessing'). By this 'questioning', is actually meant that they would be punished for misusing these blessings, and for being ungrateful to the Almighty.

The word na'im encompasses all the skills and capabilities, as well as all means and resources God has blessed us with. All these privileges and favours necessitate that we should be grateful to God, and expend them in the way He has prescribed for us and within the limits set by Him. If these blessings are wasted or misused, then this negligence must necessarily be punished by the wrath of God. A person's eyes, ears, heart, brain, and indeed all his organs and limbs are a blessing of God. Similarly, all the latent and apparent skills and abilities that he has been blessed with, as well as all his means and resources are a gift of God. It is the natural right of these blessings that God should be thanked for this bestowal, and that they should be used within the limits prescribed by Him. At the same time, one must not become so possessed with them that he actually starts worshipping them, forgetting the real Creator. Those who commit such excesses will be severely dealt with on the Day of Judgement.

Since in this surah, the evils of the acquisition of wealth are highlighted, wealth, which is one of the connotations of the word na'im is specially discussed here. Every person will be held accountable for the manner in which he had acquired his wealth, and the ways in which he had spent it. Those who had spent it against the liking of the Almighty, and did not care to acquire it by legitimate means, worshipping it by spending all their lives accumulating it will be confronted by the fate mentioned in Surah Humaza:

Perdition for every (evil) gesticulator, faultfinder who amassed wealth, and greedily hoarded it thinking that his wealth will render him immortal. By no means! he will be flung into that which smashes to pieces. And what do you imagine what that which smashes to pieces is? A fire kindled by God, which will rise up to their hearts. They will be enshrouded in it, fastened to columns very high.

At the end, the overall apodosis of the particle law is omitted, as has been indicated before. There are many places in the Qur'an where this style is adopted because the omission is so obvious that it needs no words for its expression. This style very effectively conveys the intended meaning, which is in fact very comprehensive and whose expression might otherwise be against the norms of brevity, a distinctive feature of the Qur'an.

In this case, the omitted part which is left to the imagination of the reader, is actually a final warning for these people. It is a means of urging them to calmly review all their hitherto policies. It cautions them to seriously analyze their attitude about some undeniable and inescapable realities of life. It exhorts them to deeply contemplate over the pattern of their lives and assess how far from reality they had always remained; how incorrect and unrealistic was their attitude about it. If they had earnestly thought about them, they would not have wasted their lives in oblivion. But then, all is not lost. They are being offered a final chance to mend their ways, and change their life styles. They should now confine all their efforts and undertakings to earn the eternal happiness of the Hereafter, instead of wasting them in material pursuits.

This whole meaning is being suggested by this omission -- a perfect example of how effectively the Qur'an uses brevity to conceal profound meanings in a minimum number of words.

(Translated from "Tadabbur-i-Qur'an" by Shehzad Saleem)

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Hadiths

A tradition from the holy Prophet (S) says:

"I do not fear you for poverty, but I fear you because of lying."

All it was said before, the term 'Takathur' originally means 'vying', but, it is sometimes applied to the 'act of multiplying' especially in piling up wealth.

We conclude this subject with a meaningful tradition from the Prophet (S) who commenting on the verse

"Engageth you (your) vying in exuberance"

said:

"Man says 'My wealth, my wealth' but you have not from your wealth save the food you eat, what you wear, and what you spend in the way of Allah."

This is, of course, a delicate, interesting point that everyone's share from the total wealth he gathers and sometimes does not pay the least attention to whether it is lawful or unlawful, is only the very small portion that he eats, drinks, wears, and spends in the way of Allah; and knows that what he uses, himself, is little, then, it is better to increase his share by spending a part of it in the way of Allah; and the more the better.

'Certitude' (yaqin)

is the opposite case to 'doubt' as 'knowledge' contrasts with 'ignorance', and means 'the clarity and positiveness of something'. According to what is understood from the Islamic narrations and traditions, one of the strongest features of Faith is called 'yaqin'.

Imam Baqir (as) said:

"Faith is one degree higher than IsIam, and 'Taqwa' virtue, is one degree higher than Faith, and yaqin', certitude, is one degree higher than 'taqwa'.

Then, he added:

"Nothing is divided less among people than certitude (yaqin)".

Then, he (as) was asked what 'yaqin' meant and he replied:

"(It is) trust in Allah, obedience to Allah, well-pleasing with the Will of Allah, and leaving all of (one's) affairs to Allah".

This highness of the position of 'yaqin', certitude, to the positions of virtue, Faith, and Islam is somewhat like that which is mentioned and emphasized in other Islamic narrations, too.

From these statements and other evidences we clearly realize that when a person obtains the position of 'certitude' (yaqin) a special calmness and quietness fills his heart and his soul, completely.

In any event, certitude (yaqin) has degrees which are referred to in the verses of the Surah under discussion and in Surah Waqi'ah, No. 56, verse 95:

"Verily, this is the very truth and certainty".

Certainty of knowledge (yaqin) has been described as having three stages:

1. Certitude of knowledge or certainty of mind ('Ilm-ul-yaqin) which is the Faith that a person obtains by various means such as the one who sees smoke and believes there is fire there.

2 Certainty of Sight ('Iym-ul-yaqin) which is what one sees with one's eyes; for instance, one sees the fire, himself.

3. The absolute truth of assured certainty (Haqq-ul-yaqin) which means the 'realization' or the 'knowledge proper' and is the personal experience as when the one who arrives in the fire oneself and feels the heat of it and takes the attributes of fire into his entity. This very state is the highest degree of 'yaqin'.

In fact, the first stage is general; the second stage is for pious people; and the third stage is for those who are in some way chosen above others.

A tradition from the Holy Prophet (S) denotes that some people asked him about a matter that they had heard about some of the companions of Prophet Jesus (as) who used to walk on water, and he (S) said:

"If their certitude was in a highest position they could walk in the air."

The late 'Alamah Tabatabai, after mentioning this tradition, adds that everything pivots on the certitude to Allah, the Glorified, and to know no other means of the effects of this world, but Allah. Therefore, the more the Faith and certainty, in a person, is the absolute power of Allah, the more objects, in this world, will be obedient to him.

And this is the secret of the relation of certitude (yaqin) and the 'extraordinary interference' in the world of creation.

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