At-Takathur

See ayat 8 for tafseer.

See ayat 8 for tafseer.

See ayat 8 for tafseer.

See ayat 8 for tafseer.

See ayat 8 for tafseer.

See ayat 8 for tafseer.

See ayat 8 for tafseer.

As previously noted, some exegetes hold the view that this sūrah was revealed concerning tribes that used to boast against one another, taking pride in their numbers, the multitude of their members, or the abundance of their wealth. This rivalry reached such an extent that they would even go to graveyards in order to increase their apparent numbers by counting the graves of their deceased, with each tribe enumerating its own burials. Some commentators have specified that this applies to two clans of Quraysh in Mecca; others have related it to the Anṣār of the Prophet in Medina; while still others have associated it with the Jews boasting over other people. Although these identifications may correspond to particular instances, what is certain is that the occasion of revelation, whatever it may be, does not in any way restrict the general meaning of the verse.

In these verses, the discourse first adopts a tone of reproach and declares: “Rivalry in boasting has distracted you” (أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ). “Until you visited the graves” (حَتَّى زُرْتُمُ الْمَقَابِرَ). One possible interpretation offered is that rivalry in boasting and competition for superiority so thoroughly occupied them that it continued unabated until the very moment of entering the graves. However, the first interpretation—namely, that they went to the cemeteries in order to count graves and boast—is more consistent with the expression زُرْتُمُ الْمَقَابِرَ, with the reported occasions of revelation, and with the well‑known sermon in Nahj al‑Balāghah, to which reference will be made. The word أَلْهَاكُم derives from لَهْو, meaning to be occupied with trivial matters in a way that causes heedlessness. As stated by al‑Rāghib in al‑Mufradāt, لَهْو refers to anything that preoccupies a person and diverts them from their ultimate aims. The term التَّكَاثُر comes from كَثْرَة, and denotes boasting, rivalry, and mutual pride in superiority and abundance. The verb زُرْتُم stems from زِيَارَة and زَوْر, originally meaning the upper part of the chest, and later came to signify visiting or meeting face‑to‑face. The term مَقَابِر is the plural of مَقْبَرَة, meaning burial sites. Here, visiting the graves either serves as a metaphor for death or, according to the more widespread interpretation, refers to going to cemeteries for enumeration and boasting. As noted above, the second meaning appears more accurate, one of its strongest corroborations being a statement of Amīr al‑Muʾminīn ʿAlī عليه السلام found in Nahj al‑Balāghah, where, following these verses, he states—paraphrased in meaning—that how astonishingly distant and heedless their objective is, how thoughtless their visitation, and how shameful their boasting. They take pride in decayed remains, in bodies long reduced to dust, counting the dead as a source of glory, whereas those remains are far more deserving of being lessons than objects of pride. This sermon is so powerful and penetrating that Ibn Abī al‑Ḥadīd al‑Muʿtazilī says that he read it repeatedly over decades, and each time it produced anew fear, awakening, and trembling within his heart, leaving a profound impact on his soul—an influence he found unequaled in any other sermon or discourse. The following verse then issues a stern warning: “No indeed, you will soon come to know” (كَلَّا سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ). Then, by way of emphasis, it adds: “Again, no indeed, you will soon come to know” (ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ). Some exegetes regard this as mere repetition for emphasis, foretelling severe punishment. Others have interpreted the first as referring to the punishment of the grave and the intermediate state (barzakh), and the second as referring to the punishment of the Day of Resurrection. A narration from Amīr al‑Muʾminīn ʿAlī عليه السلام reports that people were uncertain about the punishment of the grave until the revelation of أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ, with كَلَّا سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ referring to the punishment in the grave, and ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ referring to the punishment after resurrection. The discourse continues: “No indeed, if you knew with the knowledge of certainty” (كَلَّا لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ). That is, if you truly possessed certainty regarding the Hereafter, you would not engage in such futile boasting. It then intensifies the warning: “You will surely see the Blaze” (لَتَرَوُنَّ الْجَحِيمَ). “Then you will surely see it with the eye of certainty” (ثُمَّ لَتَرَوُنَّهَا عَيْنَ الْيَقِينِ). “Then on that Day you will surely be questioned about the blessings” (ثُمَّ لَتُسْأَلُنَّ يَوْمَئِذٍ عَنِ النَّعِيمِ). On that Day, you will be required to account for how you utilized the divine blessings granted to you—whether you used them in obedience to God, in disobedience, or squandered them without fulfilling their due responsibility.

From the foregoing verses it becomes clear that the underlying cause of boasting and mutual rivalry is essentially one and the same: ignorance regarding divine reward and punishment, and the absence of true faith in the Hereafter. In addition, a lack of awareness of human weakness—from the beginning of creation to its end—is itself one of the factors that gives rise to arrogance and boastfulness. For this reason, the Noble Qur’an repeatedly recounts the fate of past nations in various verses, showing how peoples endowed with immense power and abundant resources were nevertheless destroyed by the most ordinary means. They were annihilated by wind, lightning, earthquakes, torrential rain—in short, by water, air, and earth—and at times even by سِجِّيل (pebbles) and small birds. In such circumstances, what justification can there be for pride and self‑exaltation? Another factor behind boastfulness is a sense of inner weakness and worthlessness born of failure and defeat. Some individuals take refuge in boasting and rivalry in order to conceal their inner sense of inadequacy. Hence, a narration from Imam Jaʿfar al‑Ṣādiq (peace be upon him) states: “ما من رجل تكبّر أو تجبّر إلا لذلّة وجدها في نفسه”—no one displays arrogance or tyrannical pride except due to a humiliation he perceives within himself. When a person truly feels that he has attained genuine perfection, he sees no need for boastfulness. In another narration, Imam Muḥammad al‑Bāqir (peace be upon him) stated: “ثلاثة من عمل الجاهلية: الفخر بالأنساب، والطعن في الأحساب، والاستسقاء بالأنواء”—three practices originate from the pre‑Islamic age of ignorance: boasting of lineage, disparaging people’s families, and seeking rain through stars. Likewise, Amīr al‑Muʾminīn ʿAlī (peace be upon him) is reported to have said: “أهلك الناس اثنان: خوف الفقر، وطلب الفخر”—two things have destroyed people: fear of poverty, which drives them to amass wealth by any means, and the pursuit of boasting. Indeed, greed, miserliness, worldliness, destructive rivalries, and many social corruptions arise primarily from unfounded fear of poverty and from rivalry and boastfulness among individuals, tribes, and nations. For this reason, the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny is reported to have said: “ما أخشى عليكم الفقر، ولكن أخشى عليكم التكاثر”—I do not fear poverty for you; I fear rivalry in accumulation and boasting. As previously noted, التكاثر originally denotes boasting, though it is sometimes used to mean excessive accumulation of wealth. Thus, in one narration the Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny states: “التكاثر في الأموال، جمعها من غير حقها، ومنعها من حقها، وشدّها في الأوعية”—rivalry is to amass wealth unlawfully, withhold its due rights, and hoard it in chests and storehouses. We conclude this extensive discussion with a profound Prophetic statement explaining أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ: “يقول ابن آدم مالي مالي، وما لك من مالك إلا ما أكلت فأفنيت، أو لبست فأبليت، أو تصدقت فأمضيت”—the human being says, “My wealth, my wealth,” whereas your wealth is only that which you consume, that which you wear and wear out, or that which you give in charity and thus send forth. This is a striking reminder that from all the wealth people amass—often without reflection on its lawfulness—their true share is limited to what they consume or expend in God’s path. How small and insignificant that portion is, and how much better it would be if one increased what is devoted to the sake of God.

Certainty (yaqīn) stands in opposition to doubt (shakk), just as knowledge stands in opposition to ignorance. It denotes clarity and firmness, and on the basis of narrations it represents the highest stage of faith. Imam Muḥammad al‑Bāqir عليه السلام stated: “Faith is one degree above Islam, piety is one degree above faith, and certainty is one degree above piety.” He then added: “ولم يُقْسَمْ بين الناس شيء أقلّ من اليقين”—nothing has been distributed among people in a smaller measure than certainty. When asked about the nature of certainty, the Imam replied: “التوكل على الله، والتسليم لله، والرضا بقضاء الله، والتفويض إلى الله”—certainty consists of trust in God, submission to God, contentment with God’s decree, and entrusting one’s affairs entirely to God. The superiority of the station of certainty over those of Islam, faith, and piety is emphasized in numerous other narrations. In another report, Imam Jaʿfar al‑Ṣādiq عليه السلام said: “Among the signs of the soundness of a Muslim man’s certainty is that he does not seek the pleasure of people by displeasing God, nor does he blame people for what God has not granted him.” He then explained: God, in His justice and equity, has placed comfort and repose in certainty and contentment, while He has placed anxiety and sorrow in doubt and dissatisfaction. These descriptions clearly show that when a person attains the station of certainty, a distinctive tranquility permeates his entire being. Nevertheless, certainty itself has multiple degrees, as indicated by the above verses and by the verse إِنَّ هَٰذَا لَهُوَ حَقُّ الْيَقِينِ in Sūrat al‑Wāqiʿah. These degrees are three: 1. ʿIlm al‑yaqīn (knowledge of certainty): This is attained when one believes in something through reasoning and evidence, like believing in fire upon seeing smoke. 2. ʿAyn al‑yaqīn (certainty of vision): This stage is reached when one directly observes the reality, such as seeing the fire itself. 3. Ḥaqq al‑yaqīn (truth of certainty): This is the highest degree, like entering the fire and experiencing its heat and burning. Naṣīr al‑Dīn al‑Ṭūsī explains that certainty is a firm and unshakable belief composed of two elements: knowledge of the object itself, and knowledge that its opposite is impossible. He also affirms the three stages of certainty: ʿilm al‑yaqīn, ʿayn al‑yaqīn, and ḥaqq al‑yaqīn. In reality, the first level is common, the second is characteristic of the pious, and the third is reserved for the elect and the spiritually close to God. This hierarchy is reflected in a narration in which Companions said to the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny: “We have heard that some of the companions of Jesus walked on water.” The Prophet PBUH & His Pure Progeny replied: “لو كان يقينه أشدّ من ذلك لمشى على الهواء”—if his certainty had been firmer than that, he would have walked on air. After citing this narration, ʿAllāmah Ṭabāṭabāʾī explains that all extraordinary phenomena revolve around certainty in God and the negation of independent causal power in the created world. To the extent that a person’s belief in God’s absolute power increases, the realities of the world submit to him accordingly. This, he concludes, is the secret behind the relationship between certainty and extraordinary acts within the order of creation.

The phrase لَتَرَوُنَّ الْجَحِيمَ admits of two interpretations. The first is that it refers to the vision of Hell in the Hereafter, either as something specific to the disbelievers, or as something general for all jinn and humankind, since according to certain Qur’anic verses everyone will pass by Hell. The second interpretation is that it refers to inner, spiritual witnessing in this worldly life. According to this view, the sentence functions as the apodosis of a conditional clause, meaning: “If you possessed عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ, you would perceive Hell even in this world with the eye of the heart.” This understanding is supported by the belief that Paradise and Hell already exist as created realities and possess external existence. However, as has been previously noted, the first interpretation is more consistent with the subsequent verses, which explicitly speak about the events of the Day of Resurrection. On this basis, the statement should be regarded as categorical and unconditional, rather than conditional.

In the final verse of this sūrah it is stated that, on the Day of Resurrection, you will certainly be questioned about the blessings. Some have said that the blessing referred to here is security and peace of mind, while others have understood it to mean health and safety, and still others have considered the verse to encompass all blessings without exception. In a narration from Amīr al‑Muʾminīn ʿAlī عليه السلام, it is reported that he said: “النَّعِيمُ الرُّطَبُ وَالْمَاءُ الْبَارِدُ”, that is, the blessing (al‑naʿīm) consists of fresh dates and cool water. However, another narration relates that Abū Ḥanīfa asked Imam Jaʿfar al‑Ṣādiq عليه السلام about the interpretation of this verse. The Imam responded by turning the question back to him and asked what he himself understood by al‑naʿīm. Abū Ḥanīfa replied: food, nourishment, and cool water. The Imam then said: If God were to make you stand before Him on the Day of Resurrection in order to question you about every morsel you ate and every sip you drank, you would be detained for a very long time. Abū Ḥanīfa then asked: Then what is al‑naʿīm? The Imam replied: It is we, the Ahl al‑Bayt, through whom God has bestowed His favor upon His servants. Through us He brought harmony among them after division, joined their hearts together, made them brethren after enmity, and guided them to Islam. The Imam then said: Yes, al‑naʿīm is the Messenger of God PBUH & His Pure Progeny and his Ahl al‑Bayt. (Reported in Majmaʿ al‑Bayān, vol. 10, p. 535) The apparent divergence between these narrations can be reconciled by understanding that the verse includes all divine gifts, whether spiritual—such as religion, faith, Islam, the Qur’an, and wilāyah—or material, whether individual or social blessings. However, the more significant the blessing, such as faith and wilayah, the more intense and exacting the questioning concerning it will be—namely, whether its right was fully discharged or not. The narrations that appear to negate material blessings as the referent of the verse are intended to caution against focusing on lesser manifestations while neglecting the more important ones. In reality, they serve as a warning regarding the hierarchy of divine favors and the severity of accountability associated with them. How could it be otherwise, when these blessings constitute immense forms of capital entrusted to humankind? Each of them must be carefully appreciated, thanked for, and spent in its proper context and purpose. O God, continuously bestow upon us Your countless blessings, especially the blessing of faith and wilayah. Our Lord, grant us the ability to fulfill the due rights of these blessings. O God, increase us in these great favors and never allow them to be taken away from us. Āmīn, O Lord of all the worlds.