CHAPTER 102: AT-TAKATHUR (THE RIVALRY)

It was revealed in the Mecca period. It consists of eight verses. It takes its name from the same word in the first verse. Takathur means "multiplicity and boasting of abundance." (H. T. FEYIZLI 1/600)

In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

102/1-8 THE ILLUSION OF MULTIPLICITY DIVERTED YOU SO MUCH THAT

Translation

1- 2- [O disbelievers!] Boasting of multiplicity [in wealth, property, and children] diverted you. [It diverted you so much that] until you visited the graveyards [to count the dead].

3- 5- [O disbelievers!] Beware! Soon you will know [its evil]. 4- Again, beware; you will know [its evil in the hereafter]. 5- No! If you only knew with certain knowledge [the truth, you would not have done this or boasted of worldly things].

6- 8- [O disbelievers!] By Allah, you shall surely see the blazing Fire. 7- Then, you shall surely see it with the eye of certainty [with your own eyes]. 8- Then, on 그 Day, you shall surely be asked about the blessings [given to you].

Commentary

(1) ‘(Wealth, children, property) Boasting of multiplicity diverted you.’

"Takathur" has three meanings: (a) A person striving to obtain many things. (b) People competing with each other to obtain abundance and struggling to surpass one another. (c) People acting arrogantly toward each other because of multiplicity and abundance. (O. CELIK, 5/576, 577)

On the condition that it is in accordance with the pleasure of Allah, "takathur" in the first sense is not forbidden. It is understood that those in the second and third senses are forbidden. When we evaluate these, the "blamed takathur" in the verse is to enter into a race of constantly increasing things that can be boasted of—such as children, wealth, property, and so on—with purely worldly thoughts and excessive passion; to lose oneself in the greed of earning more without considering the religious and otherworldly responsibility of these, and without making a distinction between halal and haram; and to boast against others with this. (O. CELIK, 5/577)

The word "makabir" in the second verse is the plural of maqbarah, meaning "grave." Commentators have given three types of meanings to the sentence meaning "In the end, you visited the graves": (a) In a metaphorical sense: "In the end, you died and entered the graves; this passion and race continued until death." (b) Again, in a metaphorical sense: "You boasted of the dead in the graves." (c) In a literal sense: "You personally went to the graves and boasted of the dead." According to what is told in the commentaries, the Jahiliyyah Arabs considered the multiplicity of wealth, children, relatives, and servants a cause for pride and honor; in fact, while boasting about this, they were not content with those living, and to prove the superiority of their tribes with their ancestors as well, they would go to the graves, point out the graves of their deceased relatives, and boast even of their multiplicity. (QUR’AN WAY 5/679)

(3) ‘It is not like that’

Beware, do not be diverted by boasting and pride in multiplicity until you reach the visit of the graves; it does not befit those who have intellect to forget the very important duty in a world that ends in the grave and to be entertained and diverted by empty, fleeting things and to be proud of the multiplicity of wealth; it is not as you think it is, ‘you will know in the future.’ When you see the result, you will understand how great a state of heedlessness you were in and how bad its end is. (ELMALILI, 9/410)

(4) ‘Again, beware; you will know.’

Nasafi says here: "You will know in the grave." Regarding these two verses, Hasan al-Basri says: "This is threat upon threat." (S. HAWWA 16/352)

By the evidence of verses 1, 2, 6, and 7, the things the disbelievers will know are death, the grave, and the life of the hereafter. With the word "kalla" (no/nay) meaning "no," which occurs three times, the beliefs of the pagans that the dead will not be resurrected and that there is no hereafter, and their boasting with the multiplicity of wealth and children, are rejected. (I. KARAGOZ,8/614)

We can understand the first "soon they will know" sentence as "they will know the pain of death." Because the angels of death take the souls of the disbelievers by giving pain (cf. 8/50). We can understand the second "soon they will know" sentence as "you will know the distress of your denial in the grave." Because for the disbelievers, there is punishment in the grave (Bukhari, Jana'iz 80). (I. KARAGOZ,8/614)

Hadith: "The servant says, 'My wealth, my wealth!' However, he has only three things from his wealth: 'That which he ate and consumed, or that which he wore and wore out, or that which he gave as charity and sent forward. Things other than these will go away and he will leave them to other people.'" (From Tirmidhi, Tafsir al-Qur'an 8; Muslim; S. HAWWA, 16/354)

Hadith: "Three things follow the deceased. Two of them return, one remains with him. His family, his wealth, and his deeds follow the deceased. His family and wealth return from the graveside; his deeds remain with the deceased." (From Bukhari, Riqaq 42; Muslim, Tirmidhi, Nasa'i; S. HAWWA, 16/354)

(5) ‘Do not be like that. If you only knew with certain knowledge (the truth, you would not have done this or boasted of worldly things).’

These behaviors are a result of not recognizing Allah and not believing in the hereafter. If a person knew with "yaqini; certain knowledge" that what they did was wrong and that its accounting in the hereafter would be difficult, they would never dare such mistakes. They would abandon them immediately. Ilmu'l-yaqin means knowledge expressed by rational and transmitted evidences that are certainly true; knowledge that fits the truth exactly and contains not the slightest doubt. Such knowledge about Allah, the hereafter, the accounting, paradise, and hell will certainly distance a person from all wrong states and movements and direct them toward a beautiful life of servitude within the framework of Islam. (O. CELIK, 5/577, 578)

(6, 7) ‘By Allah, you shall surely see the blazing Fire." "Then, you shall surely see it with the eye of certainty.’

Hell is real. Even now it continues to burn blazingly, waiting for the time when the criminals will be thrown into it. When people are resurrected on the Day of Judgment, they will certainly see Hell (cf. Maryam 19/71). This means this seeing is the seeing that occurs during the process of arriving next to Hell. Then those who deserve it will be thrown into it and see it as "aynu'l-yaqin," that is, clearly with their eyes. "Aynu'l-yaqin" means knowledge obtained by seeing with the eye and whose truth is manifest. (O. CELIK, 5/578)

(8) ‘Then, on that Day, you shall surely be asked about the blessings.’

In this verse, Allah the Almighty did not go into specification/narrowing of meaning but used a general expression. Accordingly, man will be called to account for all the blessings bestowed upon him. In this case, it is not correct to specify the expression in question and make a distinction such as "Allah will ask for an account of such-and-such blessings and will not ask for an account of others." (From Tabari; M. DEMIRCI, 3/624)

Everything that people eat, drink, wear, and use—their health, seeing, hearing, speaking, intellect, wealth, property, rank, position—briefly everything they benefit from is a blessing. People will be questioned about whether they gave the due of the material and spiritual blessings they possessed, whether they thanked for the blessings, whether they let the poor and the needy benefit from their blessings, whether they wasted the blessings, and from where they earned their property and wealth. (Muslim, Ashriba 140; Tirmidhi, Jihad 27; I. KARAGOZ,8/616)

From where you obtained those blessings and where you spent them will certainly be asked of you: did you earn by obeying the command, did you spend in places suitable for the command? Did you obtain by rebelling against Allah and did you spend by rebelling against Allah? Did you earn from the halal and spend on halal ways? Did you earn from the haram and spend on haram places? Did you give thanks for the blessing? Did you pay the debt of zakat loaded onto the wealth? Did you also give to others? Did you prefer the needy to yourselves by giving to them, did you help them? You will be questioned about the things you boasted and bragged about with their multiplicity. This is a responsibility you took lightly because of the play, entertainment, and deviation you plunged into. (S. KUTUB, 10/550)

Hadith: "No servant can move from his place on the Day of Judgment until he is asked about where he consumed his life, what deeds he did with his knowledge, from where he earned his wealth and where he spent it, and where he wore out his body." (From Tirmidhi, Qiyamah 1; O. CELIK 5/579)