Tafseer of Competition · At-Takaathur · 102:5
No! If you only knew with knowledge of certainty...
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
His statement: كَلا لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ — "Nay! If only you knew with a knowledge of certainty."
The Exalted — glorified be His remembrance — says: It is not as it should be that you act thus, namely that vying for increase distracts you, O people. If you, O people, knew with a complete and certain knowledge that Allah will resurrect you on the Day of Resurrection after your death, out of your graves, then vying for increase would not have distracted you from obedience to Allah, your Lord, and you would have hastened to His worship, the observance of His commands and prohibitions, and the rejection of the worldly life, out of fear for your souls of His punishment.
In accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes of the Qurʾān also spoke.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to me, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning كَلا لَوْ تَعْلَمُونَ عِلْمَ الْيَقِينِ : "We were told that the knowledge of certainty means: that one knows that Allah will resurrect him after death."
