Topic: Avails Naught

3:117; 58:18; 92:12; 111:3.

Important Words:

لن تغنی (shall not avail) is derived from غنی i.e. he became free from want; or he was in a state of competence or sufficiency; or he became rich. اغناہ means, he made him free from want; or put him in a state of sufficiency or competence; or he made him rich. ما یغنی عنك ھذا means, this shall not suffice or satisfy thee; or shall not stand thee in good stead; or shall not avail or profit thee (Taj).

Commentary:

As these verses have particular reference to Christians, the word "disbelievers" occurring in this verse may apply to them. Thus the verse contains a great prophecy; for though at the time of its revelation Christians were not strong or numerous, yet the time was to come when they were destined to be so. Indeed, they became the wealthiest people in the whole world and their progeny has spread over entire continents. But that cannot protect them from God’s punishment. Their very wealth and number have become the cause of their destruction and, as predicted in the verse, they are now being punished with fire in the form of shots, shells and incendiary bombs. The verse may also refer to the Day of Judgement, spoken of in the preceding verse, when nothing shall avail the Christian nations against the punishment of God.

The verse may also apply to the infidels of Mecca, all of whose efforts against the Holy Prophet came to naught, whose wealth fell into Muslim hands and whose children joined the fold of Islam in large numbers. In this case "fire" would mean either the fire of Hell or the fire of war which they themselves had kindled against Islam but which finally proved their own ruin.

18:47; 57:21.

3:186; 9:38; 10:71.

Important Words:

الشھوات (desired things) is the plural of شھوة being derived from شھا. They say شھاہ i.e. he desired it; he desired it eagerly and intensely; he longed for it. شھوة means: (1) desire, or intense desire or longing for a thing; (2) the thing desired, or the object of desire. Sometimes the word is used in a bad sense indicating a low desire or gratification of venereal lust (Aqrab & Lane).

القناطیر (heaps) & مقنطرة (stored-up) are both derived from قنطر. They say قنطر الرجل i.e. the man possessed, or came into possession of, great wealth. قنطر الشیء means, he tied up the thing, or he vaulted it. قناطیر is the plural of قنطار meaning, heaped-up wealth. It also signifies a measure varying in weight and value at different times and in different countries. مقنطرة when added to قناطیر intensifies the meaning, pointing to the greatness of heaped-up wealth. It also means, collected together or stored-up, giving also the sense of completeness and perfection (Aqrab & Lane).

Commentary:

The verse enumerates some of the things of this world which engross man’s attention and often turn him away from God. These are particularly the things to the acquisition of which men, more specially in Christian countries, have applied their time and energy. As already pointed out, it is the Christians that are chiefly addressed in this Surah. Islam does not prohibit the use, or even the seeking, of the good things of this world; but it certainly condemns the action of those who become engrossed in them and make them the very object of their life. Elsewhere the Quran refers to the Christian people as "those whose efforts are all lost in the life of this world" (18:105).

As to the question, who is the "beautifier" referred to in the clause, beautified for men, it may be noted that though the natural beauty in all things comes from God, yet here the "beautifier" is Satan, for in the present verse the question is not of "simple beauty" but of "engrossing beauty", not simply of the desired things of the world but of the abnormal love for them; and it is certainly Satan who endows the things of this world with engrossing beauty and creates in the hearts of men special love for them. God is only the Beautifier of good deeds and good things, and the Creator, in the heart of man, of dislike for evil ones (49:8, also 16:64).

6:124; 17:17.

Commentary:

The Prophets of God come to raise depressed and suppressed humanity to their rightful place in society and to restore to them the rights which are denied to them by the vested interests. That is why in all ages it is the rich, the wealthy, the men of power and influence—the vested interests—who range themselves against the new Divine Message. They feel that under its influence the oppressed and the exploited people will come to realize their true position and, therefore, will refuse to be exploited any more. Hence they fight their Prophet tooth and nail and put all sorts of obstacles and impediments in his way.

Commentary:

All opposition to truth on the part of disbelievers springs from pride and arrogance, based on their wealth and power, their prestige, position and numbers.

13:27; 29: 63; 39:53; 42:13.

Commentary:

The verse seems to hold out a promise to those who are looked down upon and are oppressed and exploited, that by accepting the new Message, they will become rich and powerful. In God’s possession lie the treasures of the heavens and earth, and He has decreed that the poor and the downtrodden will now inherit the earth because they have accepted the Divine Message.

3:58; 6:49; 18:89; 19:61.

25:76.

Commentary:

The verse seeks to remove the assumption by disbelievers of fancied and false superiority based on wealth, power and position, referred to in v. 36 and means to say that these things are not the means of achieving nearness to God. On the contrary, they tend to keep man away from Him. It is right belief and good actions which are his real wealth and which can bring him salvation and God’s pleasure.

3:11; 92:12; 111:3.

3:11; 58:18; 111:3.

Commentary:

The expression "When he perishes" signifies, that when Divine decree regarding his destruction comes into operation, nothing can avail him to avert or escape Divine punishment.

24:38; 48:12; 62:10.

Important Words:

التکاثر (mutual rivalry in worldly increase) is derived from کثر i.e. it was or became much, abundant, copious, great in number; it multiplied; it accumulated. تکاثروا means, they contended, one with another, for superiority in numbers. التکاثرmeans, contending with one another for superiority in numbers or property, children and men. تکاثرت أمواله means, his riches multiplied by degrees (Lane).

Commentary:

Acquisitiveness and man’s inordinate desire to outstrip others in wealth, position and prestige lies at the root of all human troubles and the neglect of the higher values of life. It is man’s great misfortune that his passion for acquiring worldly things knows no limit and leaves him no time to think of God or the Hereafter. He remains entirely engrossed in these things till death comes upon him.

Against general practice, the verb الھا has not been followed by the preposition عن in this verse. This enlarges the meaning of the verb, covering, as it does, all the things that are calculated to divert man’s attention from God and not from any particular thing or object.

Commentary:

Man remains engrossed in acquiring worldly goods till death comes upon him and then he finds that he had wasted all his precious life. The verse also signifies that competition for superiority in wealth, position and numbers has led to the undoing of individuals and even of nations. Moral rather than physical death is meant here, because physical death comes uninvited, but man himself brings about his moral death. So it is not unqualified rivalry and vying with one another that is condemned here. On the contrary, believers have been exhorted in the Quran to endeavour to outstrip one another in doing good (2:149 & 35:32). It is the blind craze for worldly things, to the detriment of higher values, to which exception has been taken in this verse.

Commentary:

Repetition of the verse is intended to add emphasis to and render more effective the warning contained in the Surah. Or the Surah may refer to the Nemesis that will come in the wake of blind engrossment in the acquisition of worldly things in this life and in the Hereafter.

Commentary:

The verse administers a severe rebuke to disbelievers. It seems to say to them: "Why can’t you understand the simple thing, that the wages of sin is death and that no spiritual life is left in you. Had you used common sense and what little amount of knowledge you possess, you would have seen a veritable Hell yawning before your eyes in this very life, i.e. you would have realized that your engrossment in the pursuit of pomp, circumstance and the material advantages of this temporary existence will cause your total ruin. But you give no thought to these stark realities of life. You do not believe that such a thing will ever happen, but the time is fast approaching when you will see Divine punishment overtaking you in the form of diverse calamities."

It may be stated here that there are three stages of certainty, viz. علم الیقین i.e." certainty by inference, عین الیقین i.e. "certainty by sight" and حق الیقین i.e. "certainty by realization." In the first stage a thing itself is not visible but from its visible effects a man can conclude that it exists. In the second stage not only the effects of a thing but the thing itself is visible, though its nature is not completely comprehended. In the third stage which is the stage of perfect realization or personal experience a man both through observation of the effects of a thing on others and through realization of its effect on himself, can have as complete an understanding of the nature of a thing as it is possible for him to have. These are also the stages of human knowledge with regard to Hell. A man can, by inference, attain certainty about the existence of Hell in this very life but it is after death that he will see it with his own eyes, though it is on the Day of Resurrection that a sinful man will have full realization of it by personally experiencing it.

Commentary:

When disbelievers will be brought face to face to Hell, they will be told that God had bestowed upon them all kinds of favours, especially His greatest favour—the Holy Prophet—but they rejected and opposed him.