فَلَا تُعْجِبْكَ أَمْوَٰلُهُمْ وَلَآ أَوْلَـٰدُهُمْ ۚ إِنَّمَا يُرِيدُ ٱللَّهُ لِيُعَذِّبَهُم بِهَا فِى ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا وَتَزْهَقَ أَنفُسُهُمْ وَهُمْ كَـٰفِرُونَ 55
Translations
So let not their wealth or their children impress you. Allāh only intends to punish them through them in worldly life and that their souls should depart [at death] while they are disbelievers.
Transliteration
Fa-lā tu'jibka amwāluhum wa-lā awlāduhum. Innamā yurīdu Allāhu li-yu'ażżibahum bihā fī al-ḥayāti ad-dunyā wa-tazhaqu anfusuhum wa-hum kāfirūn.
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah instructs the Prophet (ﷺ) not to be impressed by the wealth and children of those who reject Allah's message, as these material blessings are actually a means of divine punishment in this life. According to Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi, Allah allows the disbelievers to accumulate wealth and offspring, yet these blessings become a source of torment and preoccupation that distances them further from faith, ultimately leading to their death while they remain in disbelief. The ayah emphasizes that worldly abundance without faith is meaningless and becomes an instrument of Allah's judgment.
Revelation Context
This ayah is part of Surah At-Tawbah (Chapter 9), which was revealed in the 9th year of Hijrah and addresses hypocrites and disbelievers in Medina. The surah's broader context concerns those who were wealthy yet refused to support the Islamic state and the Prophet's mission, serving as a comfort to believers not to envy the material prosperity of those who reject Allah's guidance.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The best of you are those of the best character' (Jāmi' At-Tirmidhī), emphasizing that true excellence is not measured by wealth. Additionally, the hadith 'Wealth and children are adornments of life, but the everlasting good deeds are better' (Surah Al-Kahf 46) relates thematically to the transient nature of material possessions.
Themes
Key Lesson
Believers should not covet the material wealth of those who reject Allah, recognizing that abundance without faith becomes a source of torment rather than blessing. True success lies in spiritual conviction and righteous deeds, not in the accumulation of wealth and offspring.
Related Ayahs
قُل لَّن يُصِيبَنَآ إِلَّا مَا كَتَبَ ٱللَّهُ لَنَا هُوَ مَوْلَىٰنَا ۚ وَعَلَى ٱللَّهِ فَلْيَتَوَكَّلِ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ
Say, "Never will we be struck except by what Allāh has decreed for us; He is our protector." And upon Allāh let the believers rely.
وَمَا كَانَ ٱسْتِغْفَارُ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ لِأَبِيهِ إِلَّا عَن مَّوْعِدَةٍ وَعَدَهَآ إِيَّاهُ فَلَمَّا تَبَيَّنَ لَهُۥٓ أَنَّهُۥ عَدُوٌّ لِّلَّهِ تَبَرَّأَ مِنْهُ ۚ إِنَّ إِبْرَٰهِيمَ لَأَوَّٰهٌ حَلِيمٌ
And the request of forgiveness of Abraham for his father was only because of a promise he had made to him. But when it became apparent to him [i.e., Abraham] that he [i.e., the father] was an enemy to Allāh, he disassociated himself from him. Indeed was Abraham compassionate and patient.
إِنَّمَا يَعْمُرُ مَسَـٰجِدَ ٱللَّهِ مَنْ ءَامَنَ بِٱللَّهِ وَٱلْيَوْمِ ٱلْـَٔاخِرِ وَأَقَامَ ٱلصَّلَوٰةَ وَءَاتَى ٱلزَّكَوٰةَ وَلَمْ يَخْشَ إِلَّا ٱللَّهَ ۖ فَعَسَىٰٓ أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ أَن يَكُونُوا۟ مِنَ ٱلْمُهْتَدِينَ
The mosques of Allāh are only to be maintained by those who believe in Allāh and the Last Day and establish prayer and give zakāh and do not fear except Allāh, for it is expected that those will be of the [rightly] guided.
لَقَدْ نَصَرَكُمُ ٱللَّهُ فِى مَوَاطِنَ كَثِيرَةٍ ۙ وَيَوْمَ حُنَيْنٍ ۙ إِذْ أَعْجَبَتْكُمْ كَثْرَتُكُمْ فَلَمْ تُغْنِ عَنكُمْ شَيْـًٔا وَضَاقَتْ عَلَيْكُمُ ٱلْأَرْضُ بِمَا رَحُبَتْ ثُمَّ وَلَّيْتُم مُّدْبِرِينَ
Allāh has already given you victory in many regions and [even] on the day of Ḥunayn, when your great number pleased you, but it did not avail you at all, and the earth was confining for you with [i.e., in spite of] its vastness; then you turned back, fleeing.