Surah At-Takaathur
ثُمَّ كَلَّا سَوْفَ تَعْلَمُونَ
“Then no! You are going to know.”
Translation: Saheeh International
Reflection — Ibn Kathir
The Result of Loving the World and Heedlessness of the Hereafter
Allah says that all are preoccupied by love of the world, its delights and its adornments, and this distracts you from seeking the Hereafter and desiring it. This delays you until death comes to you and you visit the graves, thus becoming its inhabitants. In Sahih Al-Bukhari, it is recorded in the Book of Ar-Riqaq (Narrations that soften the Heart) from Anas bin Malik, who reported that Ubayy bin Ka`b said, "We used to think that this was a part of the Qur'an until the Ayah was revealed which says;
أَلْهَـكُمُ التَّكَّاثُرُ
Reflection — Maarif ul Quran
حَتَّىٰ زُرْتُمُ الْمَقَابِرَVerse [ 2] (until you reach the graves.) Here the words 'reaching the graves' mean 'to die and be buried in the graves', as the following Prophetic Hadith bears testimony to this interpretation. Referring to verse [ 2] of this Surah, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: حَتّٰی یِأتیکُم الموت "until death overtakes you" [ Ibn Kathir, from by Ibn Abi Hatim ]. The verse thus implies that many people are engrossed in acquiring worldly goods and racing each other in wealth and children etc. and remain neglectful of the Hereafter till death comes upon them, and then they are seized by the divine punishment. Sayyidna ` Abdullah Ibn Shikhkhir ؓ reports that one day he visited the Holy Prophet ﷺ while the latter was reciting Surah At-Takathur and was saying:
یقُول ابن اٰدم مالی مالی و ھل لک من مالک الَّا ما اکلت فافنیت او لبست فابلیت اوتصدّقت فامضیت، وفی روایۃ لمسلم وما سویٰ ذلک فذاھب و تارکہ للناس
What does this verse bring up for you today?