Present to them an example of the two men. We gave one of them two grape gardens. We surrounded them with palm trees, and made vegetation between them.
Both these gardens produced their fruits, and did not fall short thereof. We caused a river to flow through them.
He had wealth. He said to his companion, conversing with him, ‘I have greater wealth than yours, and stronger supporters.’
He entered his garden while he was unjust to himself. He said, ‘I do not think that this will ever perish.’
‘And I do not think the Hour will occur, and even if I am brought back to my Lord, I will surely find a better resort than this.’
[Surah al-Kahf: 32-36]Tafsir
The Story of the Owner of the Two Gardens
The following ayat depict a haughty, arrogant soul that was deceived by the temptations of the worldly life. It is ungrateful for Allah’s blessings. They also portray a humble soul that was proud of its right and firm creed, and thankful to Allah’s blessings. The goal is to give lessons to whoever desires to learn.
Allah commanded Messenger Muhammad to tell the disbelievers the story of the owner of the two gardens as a lesson to learn from. It aims to correct misconceptions and show that the Hereafter is far more important. Enjoyment of the disbeliever in this life serves as a test for the believer.
The disbelievers were proud of their wealth and disdained the poor Muslims. Thus, Allah shows that having wealth should not make one proud of himself because the rich may become poor, and vice versa. Rather the thing that one should be proud of is worshipping Allah alone and obeying Him, which the poor believers did.
The story of the owner of the two gardens gives examples of transient pleasures and of eternal values. It provides clear examples of a soul that is proud of the worldly life enjoyments, and a soul that is proud of being obedient to Allah. Both examples exist among people. The owner of the two gardens is an example of a wealthy man, who is deceived by wealth, and became arrogant because of richness. Thus, he forgot the great power controlling destinies of people and life. He thought that this wealth would never perish, neither would his power and prestige. On the other hand, his believing fellow, who was proud of being obedient to Allah, saw that having blessings denote the existence of the Creator, Allah, the Giver of all blessings. These blessings necessitate thanking Allah, rather than denying His blessings and disbelieve.
Present to them an example of the two men. We gave one of them two grape gardens. We surrounded them with palm trees, and made vegetation between them. [32]
O Messenger! Relate to the disbelievers the example of the believers, who worship their Creator, Allah, all time, seeking His pleasure, and the example of the disbelievers, who are deceived by the enjoyments of the worldly life.
The two men may be imaginary subjects, or they may be real ones, which is the strongest opinion. It was said that they were two Israeli brothers, one a disbeliever and the other a believer.
We, Allah, gave one of the two men, the disbeliever, two grape gardens, and surrounded them with palm trees. We made vegetation between them. Thus, the two gardens had fruit and foodstuff.
Then, Allah mentions what shows the excellent nature of the two gardens.
Both these gardens produced their fruits, and did not fall short thereof. We caused a river to flow through them. [33]
Each of the two gardens produced fruits and other types of crops abundantly. They did not produce less in any year as is typical of most gardens – their yields differ from one year to another. Moreover, Allah caused a river to flow through them to provide them with the needed water easily.
The description of the two gardens gives the impression that they were beautiful, and produce plentiful yields.
Boasting and Showing off
The ayah mentions that the owner of the two gardens had wealth in addition to the two gardens.
He had wealth. He said to his companion, conversing with him, ‘I have greater wealth than yours, and stronger supporters.’ [34]
Boastfully, the owner of the two gardens said to his believing fellow, ‘I have greater wealth than yours and stronger supporters.’
This statement indicates his haughtiness and vanity. This is the condition of arrogant people. Wealth increases their insolence and corruption. Qatada, may Allah have mercy on him, said, ‘That is, by Allah, the wish of the arrogant-disobedient: abundant wealth and many supporters.’
He entered his garden while he was unjust to himself. He said, ‘I do not think that this will ever perish.’[35]
‘And I do not think the Hour will occur, and even if I am brought back to my Lord, I will surely find a better resort than this.’[36]
The owner of the two gardens persisted in his haughtiness and self-conceit.
He conceitedly entered his garden and said that his gardens would never perish. He said so out of disbelief, ungratefulness, and arrogance. Then he concluded his statement by stating that the Day of Judgment would not take place. After denying the annihilation of his gardens, he denied the occurrence of the Day of Judgment and what follows it. Then he emphasized his statement by an oath. He said, ‘By Allah, even if I am to be resurrected on the Day of Judgment, I would find something that is better than this garden.’
Reflecting on the condition of the owner of the two gardens, the following things are noted:
• He claimed that the criterion for superiority is wealth and having strong kinship and supporters.
• He built his life on self-conceit, arrogance, and haughtiness. He believed that life enjoyments would never perish.
• He denied the occurrence of the Day of Judgment.
• He thought that just as he was wealthy in the worldly life, he would be the same in the Hereafter.
He doubted that his gardens would perish because of the delusion that he would live a very long life, his avariciousness, his heedlessness, and being deceived by the fact that Allah gave him respite and did not punish him, and not thinking of what happened to those who behaved like him. Most wealthy Muslims, even if they do not utter their real belief, their practices reveal their actual worldview.
No comments:
Post a Comment