ﱁ ﱂ ﱃ ﱄ ﱅ ﱆ ﱇ ﱈ ﱉ ﱊ ﱋ ﱌ ﱍ ﱎ ﱏ ﱐ ﱑ ﱒ
So let not their wealth or their children impress you. Allah only intends to punish them through them in worldly life and that their souls should depart [at death] while they are disbelievers.
Tafsir
Verse range: 9:55
"So let not their wealth impress you..."
"Impressing" (al-i‘jāb) by a thing means to be pleased with it, with the pleasure of one who is satisfied and amazed by its beauty. The meaning is:
Do not deem it good, and do not be tempted by the adornments of the world they have been given, just as He (the Almighty) says: "Do not extend your eyes..." (Ta-Ha: 131).
For Allah (the Almighty) only gave them what He gave them to be a source of torment. This is because He exposed it to be taken as spoils and captured, tested them through it with calamities and disasters, and burdened them with spending it in the paths of righteousness while they are averse to it, against their will. Furthermore, He made them taste various types of hardships and burdens in gathering and acquiring it, and in raising their children.
If you ask: If it is correct to link the torment to the will of Allah (the Almighty), then what is the significance of their souls departing while they are "disbelievers"?
I say: The intent is "luring" (istidrāj) through blessings, as in His saying: "We only grant them respite so that they may increase in sin" (Al ‘Imran: 178). It is as if it were said: "And He wills to continue His blessing upon them until they die while they are disbelievers, distracted by enjoyment from considering the final outcome."
"And they swear by Allah that they are indeed of you, while they are not of you; but they are a people who are afraid. If they could find a refuge, or caves, or a place to enter, they would turn to it while they are rushing headlong."
