102. At-Takathur بِسْمِ اللّٰهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِیْمِ اَلْهٰىكُمُ Diverts you التَّكَاثُرُۙ the competition to increase حَتّٰی Until زُرْتُمُ you visit الْمَقَابِرَؕ the graves كَلَّا Nay! سَوْفَ Soon تَعْلَمُوْنَۙ you will know ثُمَّ Then كَلَّا nay! سَوْفَ Soon تَعْلَمُوْنَؕ you will know كَلَّا Nay! لَوْ If تَعْلَمُوْنَ you know عِلْمَ (with) a knowledge الْیَقِیْنِؕ (of) certainty لَتَرَوُنَّ Surely you will see الْجَحِیْمَۙ the Hellfire ثُمَّ Then لَتَرَوُنَّهَا surely you will see it عَیْنَ (with the) eye الْیَقِیْۙنِ (of) certainty ثُمَّ Then لَتُسْـَٔلُنَّ surely you will be asked یَوْمَىِٕذٍ that Day عَنِ about النَّعِیْمِ۠ the pleasures
(102:1) The craving for ever-greater worldly gains and to excel others in that regard keeps you occupied1
(102:2) until you reach your graves.2
(102:3) Nay, you will soon come to know;3
(102:4) nay, again, you shall soon come to know.
(102:5) Nay, would that you knew with certainty of knowledge (what your attitude will lead to, you would never have acted the way you do).
(102:6) You will surely end up seeing Hell;
(102:7) again, you shall most certainly end up seeing it with absolute certainty.
(102:8) Then, on that Day, you will be called to account for all the bounties you enjoyed.4
1. The wordings of the verse alhakum al-takathur have a broad range of meanings.
Alhakum, a derivative of lahw signifies neglect. In Arabic idiom it is employed for one’s such occupation with something as blinds him to the important things in life. Alhakum, therefore, stands for such craving as occupies one fully, rendering one negligent.
Takathur refers to multiplicity. or multitude. In this verse it is open to the following three meanings: (i) One’s striving for more and more gains. (ii) Competitiveness in amassing more and more gains. (iii) Boasting before others about one’s greater riches.
In sum, the craving for ever-greater worldly gains has occupied people so much that they neglect important things. Since the addressees and the things disregarded by them are elliptic, the verse assumes a broader meaning. Takathur is not used in a narrow, specific sense. Rather, it stands for striving for worldly gains, luxuries, pleasures and power and glory, for competing with others in this pursuit and for taking pride in it by way of boasting about it before others. Likewise, alhakum applies to both individuals and communities of all time and place. Both betray this tendency of acquisitiveness, of outpacing others and of vaunting gains. It is emphasized that this craving has blinded people to important things. For example, they disregard God, the Hereafter, moral code, and their obligations towards their fellow human beings. They are concerned only with raising their own standard of living, without any regard for their moral decline. They seek only to increase their riches, without bothering about the means for so acquiring. They are given to the pleasures of flesh and luxury, without thinking about their ultimate end. They are keen only on amassing more and more power, armies, weapons and resources while outstripping others, without any concern for justice in the world. They do not realize that these pursuits will cause injustice and destroy mankind. In sum takathur has numerous forms which engage both individuals and nations. As a result, they do not care about anything other than worldly gains and pleasures.
2. These pursuits occupy man until his last breath.
3. Man suffers from the delusion that his riches and his excelling others in getting these worldly gains constitute success. This does not, however, represent any success, whatsoever, for soon he will realize its evil consequences. It will then dawn upon him how he wasted his life. The word ‘soon’ here may refer to the Hereafter. For, in Allah’s estimation, this period of the existence of the world for thousands of years may be only a tiny unit of time. Or ‘soon’ - may refer to man’s death, which is not a distant, remote possibility.
Soon after his death he will learn whether the occupations in which he engaged himself throughout life were a means of happiness and success or of misfortune and failure.
4. The use of the word ‘again’ does not imply that they will be interrogated after being consigned to Hell. Rather, it is employed to emphasize that they will be called to account for all the bounties they enjoyed. This will be part of their interrogation on the Day of Judgement. Several Ahddith cite the Prophet's statement that everyone, be he a believer or unbeliever, will be answerable for the divine bounties granted to him. Those who thanked Allah for these favors will be successful in divine reckoning. By contrast, those who abused these, in word and deed, and betrayed ungratefulness, will face punishment.
Jabir ibn ‘Abd Allah relates: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) called on us and we offered him fresh dates and cold water. He remarked: ‘These are the bounties regarding which you will be called to account,” (Ahmad, Nasa’i, Musnad, Vol. V, p. 81, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Marduwayh, ‘Abd ibn Humayd and Bayhaqi).
Abu Hurayrah reports: “The Prophet (peace be upon him) directed Abu Bakr and ‘Umar to accompany him to the house of Abi al-Haytham ibn al-Tayhan al-Ansari. They went to his oasis. The Prophet (peace be upon him) asked him as to why he did not pluck dates for them. He replied that he wanted them to select for themselves the best dates and to eat those. They took dates and cold water. Then the Prophet (peace be upon him) remarked: “By Him Who holds my life in His hands, these are the bounties regarding which you will be called to account on the Day of Judgement - this cool shade, these fresh dates and this cold water,” (Muslim, Kitab al-Ashribah). The same incident is related in its variant versions by Muslim, Ibn Majah, Abu Dawud, Tirmidhi, Nasa‘i, Ibn Jarir and Abi Ya‘la on the authority of Abu Hurayrah. In some versions, Abu al-Haytham’s name is mentioned while in others somebody from the Ansar only is mentioned. Ibn Abi Hatim and Imam Ahmad have presented its detailed versions on the authority of ‘Umar and Abu ‘Usayb respectively. The latter was the Prophet's freed slave. Ibn Hibban and Ibn Marduwayh have cited a report by ‘Abd Allah ibn ‘Abbas about a similar incident with Aba Ayyub Ansari as the Prophet's host.
It is evident from the above Ahadith that both the believers and unbelievers will be called to account. As to divine bounties, these are numerous, including many of which man has no perception. The Qur’an proclaims: “Were you to count the favors of Allah, you shall never be able to encompass them,” (Ibrahim 14: 34). Some of these have been directly conferred upon man and many are earned by man. He will be answerable, in particular, for the latter — how he acquired these and how he utilized them. Likewise, he will be called to account for the divine favors bestowed upon him directly. He will be asked whether he had acknowledged Allah’s "grace as the source of all these favors and whether he had thanked Him in word and deed for these or did he imagine that he had got these by chance? Or, did he attribute these to more than one God? Or did he believe that others had a role in their bestowal and had accordingly worshipped and thanked them, though these were divine favors?