Hellfire

Note: This is post #17 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma (click the link to see all posts in this series).

Allah says, in Surah At-Takaathur:

أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ

حَتَّى زُرْتُمُ الْمَقَابِرَ

Translation: Competition in [worldly] increase diverts you, until you visit the graveyards. [Surah At-Takaathur, verses 1-2]

Subhanallah, even though these verses were revealed over 1400 years ago, we still see the exact same situation today. Al-Haakum means, it makes you compete with each other. At-Takaathur is rivalry, competition, in accumulating material things; thinking that life is about toys, and the one with the most (or most expensive) toys wins.

What is Takaathur?

Note: This is post #9 in our series on Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma.

Surah Al-‘Ala is one recited quite often; the Messenger of Allah (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) used to recite it in Witr, and in Jumu’ah, and in ‘Eid; and on days when Jumuah and ‘Eid coincide, people would hear it in ‘Eid, then again a few hours later in Jumu’ah. This indicates the great importance of Surah Al-‘Ala.

One thing you probably didn’t know about this surah–when we say “Subhanna rabbiy al-‘alaa” in sujood, that comes from this verse–because the Prophet (salallahu alayhi wa sallam) commanded us to do so. This is where it comes from!

Let’s dive into some of the tafseer.