الهمزة
Al-Humazah
The Traducer • makkah • 9 Verses
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وَيْلٌ لِّكُلِّ هُمَزَةٍ لُّمَزَةٍ
49:12; 68:12.
Important Words:
ھمزة (backbiter is derived from ھمز) which means he goaded or spurred him, he beat him; he broke it; he drove him; he reproached him or found fault with him; he spoke ill of him behind his back. They say ھمزته الیه الحاجة i.e. want drove him to it; ھمزة means, one who finds fault with others behind their backs much or habitually; one who backbites others; who defames men (Lane & Aqrab).
لمزة (slanderer) possesses all the meanings of ھمزة with this difference that whereas ھمزة means, one who finds fault with people behind their backs, لمزة means, who finds fault with them behind their backs or before their faces. لمزہ also means, he made a sign to him with the eye or the head and the lip with low speech (Lane & Aqrab).
Commentary:
The Surah is of general application but has been applied in particular to those evil-minded opponents of the Holy Prophet, who not being satisfied with persecuting him, defamed him and spread all sorts of lies and slanders about him. As against two basic good qualities, viz. goodness and patience, mentioned in the preceding Surah, two evil qualities which cut at the root of all social peace and harmony have been mentioned in this Surah. Backbiting and slander-mongering are the two main evils from which the so-called civilized society badly suffers today.
49:13; 68:12.
Humazah means, one who finds fault with others behind their backs and Lumazah is he who finds fault with them behind their backs or before their eyes (Aqrab). As against two basic good qualities—goodness and patience mentioned in the preceding Surah, two bad qualities which cut at the root of all social peace and harmony have been mentioned in this Surah. Backbiting and slander-mongering are the two main evils from which the so- called civilized society badly suffers today.
ٱلَّذِى جَمَعَ مَالًا وَعَدَّدَهُۥ
9:34; 89:21.
Important Words:
عدد (counts it over and over) is syn. with عدد (‘adada) and also has an intensive signification. عددہ means, he reckoned it time after time; he made it numerous; he made it a provision against the casualties of time. عددت المیت means, I enumerated the good qualities of the dead person (Lane & Aqrab).
مالا (wealth) means, great wealth; small wealth; worthless wealth which is great in the eyes of him who amasses it but small and worthless in the sight of God.
Commentary:
The verse constitutes a sad commentary on man’s passion for worldly riches. Worship of Mammon is the bane of the materialistic civilization of the day.
يَحْسَبُ أَنَّ مَالَهُۥٓ أَخْلَدَهُۥ
Commentary:
The verse signifies that the ill-fated miser goes on earning wealth by using all means and amasses and hoards it, taking pride in it and refraining from spending it in good causes, thinking that this will immortalize him, will rescue his name from oblivion and will render his prosperity abiding. He labours under a serious misconception. His hoarded wealth will prove his undoing and will be a constant source of heart-burning for him.
The ill-fated miser goes on earning wealth by all sorts of means, good or bad, and amassing and hoarding it, taking pride in it and refraining from spending it on good causes, thinking that this will immortalize him, will rescue his name from oblivion and will render his prosperity abiding. But he labours under a serious misconception.
كَلَّا ۖ لَيُنۢبَذَنَّ فِى ٱلْحُطَمَةِ
Commentary:
الحطمة (crushing punishment) is derived from حطم. They say حطمته السن i.e. old age broke him. حطمت الدابة (hatima) means, the beast became aged and emaciated and weak and broken with age. حطمة means, a vehement fire that breaks into pieces everything that is cast into it; it is also a name for Hell or Hellfire; a man who eats much, i.e. breaks everything in eating; an insatiable man (Lane & Aqrab).
There could be no greater humiliation or mental agony for a person than that he should see that the cause against which he had fought tooth and nail and which he had tried with might and main to crush, was progressing and prospering before his very eyes. It is this sense of burning anguish of the heart which the leaders of the Quraish felt when they saw the tender plant of Islam growing into a mighty tree before their very eyes.
وَمَآ أَدْرَىٰكَ مَا ٱلْحُطَمَةُ
The Arabs say, Hatamat-hus-Sinnu, i.e. old age broke him (Lane).
نَارُ ٱللَّهِ ٱلْمُوقَدَةُ
ٱلَّتِى تَطَّلِعُ عَلَى ٱلْأَفْـِٔدَةِ
Commentary:
There could be no greater humiliation or agony for a person than that he should see that the cause against which he had fought tooth and nail and which he had tried with might and main to crush, is progressing and prospering before his very eyes. It is this sense of burning and anguish of the heart which the leaders of the Quraish felt when they saw the tender plant of Islam growing into a big tree.
إِنَّهَا عَلَيْهِم مُّؤْصَدَةٌ
فِى عَمَدٍ مُّمَدَّدَةٍۭ
Commentary:
The verse may mean: (1) Disbelievers will be bound down to tall columns when the fire will burn them, i.e. they will be quite helpless and will find no escape or refuge from Divine punishment. (2) They will burn in a furnace of which the columns will be very tall. This again is a metaphor pointing to the severity of the punishment of Hell. The tall columns may also signify evil customs and usages of disbelievers. These bad customs and traditions will take the form of tall columns in the next life.
The "outstretched columns" are bad habits, evil customs and usages which would not let disbelievers conform their lives to beneficent standards and values.