Tafseer of The Dawn · Al-Fajr · 89:20
And you love wealth with immense love.
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.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا (And you love wealth with a great, overwhelming love) (89:20).
The Exalted, whose praise is mentioned, means by His words ( وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا ): and you love amassing and possessing wealth, O people, with a great, intense love. This is derived from their expression: "the water has become jamm in the basin," that is to say: it has piled up and gathered. From this too is the verse of Zuhayr ibn Abī Sulmā:
"When they came to the water, with its clear-blue, abundant pools, they laid down the poles of the settled camp-dweller who had pitched his tent."
In accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes (ahl al-taʾwīl) have also expressed themselves.
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words ( وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا ), he says: intense.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās: ( وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا ): they love the abundance of wealth.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His words ( حُبًّا جَمًّا ), he said: al-jamm means: the much.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا ): that is to say, an intense love.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, he said: I heard Abū Muʿādh say: ʿUbayd related to us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk say concerning His words ( حُبًّا جَمًّا ): they love the abundance of wealth.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His words ( وَتُحِبُّونَ الْمَالَ حُبًّا جَمًّا ), he said: al-jamm means: the intense.
