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
يَحْلِفُونَ بِٱللَّهِ مَا قَالُوا۟ وَلَقَدْ قَالُوا۟ كَلِمَةَ ٱلْكُفْرِ وَكَفَرُوا۟ بَعْدَ إِسْلَـٰمِهِمْ وَهَمُّوا۟ بِمَا لَمْ يَنَالُوا۟ ۚ وَمَا نَقَمُوٓا۟ إِلَّآ أَنْ أَغْنَىٰهُمُ ٱللَّهُ وَرَسُولُهُۥ مِن فَضْلِهِۦ ۚ فَإِن يَتُوبُوا۟ يَكُ خَيْرًا لَّهُمْ ۖ وَإِن يَتَوَلَّوْا۟ يُعَذِّبْهُمُ ٱللَّهُ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ ۚ وَمَا لَهُمْ فِى ٱلْأَرْضِ مِن وَلِىٍّ وَلَا نَصِيرٍ
They swear by Allāh that they did not say [anything against the Prophet (ﷺ)] while they had said the word of disbelief and disbelieved after their [pretense of] Islām and planned that which they were not to attain. And they were not resentful except [for the fact] that Allāh and His Messenger had enriched them of His bounty. So if they repent, it is better for them; but if they turn away, Allāh will punish them with a painful punishment in this world and the Hereafter. And there will not be for them on earth any protector or helper.
عَفَا ٱللَّهُ عَنكَ لِمَ أَذِنتَ لَهُمْ حَتَّىٰ يَتَبَيَّنَ لَكَ ٱلَّذِينَ صَدَقُوا۟ وَتَعْلَمَ ٱلْكَـٰذِبِينَ
Allāh has pardoned you, [O Muḥammad, but] why did you give them permission [to remain behind]? [You should not have] until it was evident to you who were truthful and you knew [who were] the liars.
ٱسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ أَوْ لَا تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ إِن تَسْتَغْفِرْ لَهُمْ سَبْعِينَ مَرَّةً فَلَن يَغْفِرَ ٱللَّهُ لَهُمْ ۚ ذَٰلِكَ بِأَنَّهُمْ كَفَرُوا۟ بِٱللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِۦ ۗ وَٱللَّهُ لَا يَهْدِى ٱلْقَوْمَ ٱلْفَـٰسِقِينَ
Ask forgiveness for them, [O Muḥammad], or do not ask forgiveness for them. If you should ask forgiveness for them seventy times - never will Allāh forgive them. That is because they disbelieved in Allāh and His Messenger, and Allāh does not guide the defiantly disobedient people.
لَوْ يَجِدُونَ مَلْجَـًٔا أَوْ مَغَـٰرَٰتٍ أَوْ مُدَّخَلًا لَّوَلَّوْا۟ إِلَيْهِ وَهُمْ يَجْمَحُونَ
If they could find a refuge or some caves or any place to enter [and hide], they would turn to it while they run heedlessly.