Tafsir of Al-Humazah 104:2

Surah Al-Humazah (The Traducer)

Verse 2: {Who has gathered wealth and counted it.}

There are two issues concerning this verse:

Issue 1: The word {الذى} (who) is either a substitute (badal) for the preceding noun (referring to the one being described) or it is in the accusative case (nasb) indicating censure (dhamm).

Allah (Exalted is He) described him with this attribute because it serves as the cause and reason for his backbiting (hamz) and slander (lamz). This is due to his admiration for the wealth he has accumulated and his belief that superiority lies in that accumulation, leading him to look down upon others.

Issue 2: Hamzah, Al-Kisā’ī, and Ibn ‘Āmir recited {جمع} (gathered) with a shaddah (doubled consonant), while the rest recited it with a takhfīf (lightening/no shaddah).

The meaning in both readings is close. The difference is that {جمع} (with shaddah) implies that he gathered it from here and there, and that he did not gather it in one day, nor in two days, nor in a month, nor in two months. It is said: "So-and-so yajma‘u (gathers with shaddah) wealth," meaning he collects it from various sources. As for {جمع} (with takhfīf), it does not convey this specific implication.

Regarding the word {مالا} (wealth), the indefiniteness (tanqīr) here admits two interpretations:

1. Interpretation 1: That wealth is a name for everything in this world, as stated in the verse: {Wealth and sons are an adornment of the life of this world} (Al-Kahf: 46). Thus, a person's single portion of wealth, compared to all the wealth of the world, is insignificant. How, then, is it fitting for him to boast about this small amount?
2. Interpretation 2: That it refers to the magnitude (ta‘ẓīm) of the wealth, meaning wealth that has reached the utmost limits of wickedness and corruption. How, then, is it fitting for an intelligent person to boast about it?

As for the phrase {وعدده} (and counted it), there are several interpretations:

1. Interpretation 1: It is derived from ‘udda (store/provision). It is said: a‘dadtuhu li-kadha (I prepared it for such-and-such) or ‘addadtuhu (I stored it), meaning I kept it and made it a provision and storehouse for the calamities of time.
2. Interpretation 2: He counted it, meaning he enumerated it. The shaddah emphasizes the large number of items counted, just as it is said: "So-and-so enumerates the virtues of so-and-so." This is why Al-Suddī said: "He counted it, meaning he enumerated it, saying: 'This is for me, and this is for me.' His wealth distracts him during the day, and when night comes, he hides it."
3. Interpretation 3: He multiplied it. It is said: "In the family of so-and-so there is ‘adad," meaning a large number/multitude. The last two interpretations relate to the meaning of enumeration (‘adad), while the third relates to the meaning of provision (‘idda).

Some readers recited {وعدده} with takhfīf (lightening), which has two possible meanings:

1. Meaning 1: That he gathered the wealth and managed its count and enumeration.
2. Meaning 2: That he gathered his wealth and the number of his people/supporters who aid him, derived from the saying: "So-and-so possesses ‘adad and ‘idād (a large number of supporters)." When a man is like that, he is more inclined toward boasting.

Verse 3: {He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal.}