Surah Al-Kahf 18:34
سُورَةُ الكَهۡفِ · Meccan · Verse 34 of 110
وَكَانَ لَهُۥ ثَمَرٌۭ فَقَالَ لِصَٰحِبِهِۦ وَهُوَ يُحَاوِرُهُۥٓ أَنَا۠ أَكْثَرُ مِنكَ مَالًۭا وَأَعَزُّ نَفَرًۭا
Translation
and so he had abundant fruit. One day, while talking to his friend, he said, ‘I have more wealth and a larger following than you.’
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'And he had fruit, so he said to his companion, while conversing with him: I am greater than you in wealth and mightier in men.' al-Saadi and Ibn Kathir note the turn, the blessing immediately became a boast, a claim of superiority over a fellow believer measured in wealth and manpower. Ask yourself: the moment abundance becomes a comparison, 'I have more than you', 'I am mightier', it has curdled from gift into pride. Notice how naturally the good thing slid into a ranking against someone else. I do this constantly: the promotion, the house, the family becomes not a mercy to thank God for but evidence of my standing over others. The instant I start measuring my blessings against another person's, I have stopped receiving them from God and started wielding them against His creation. Where has a gift in my life quietly become a boast?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ashur.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Kahf 18:34 is discussed in 17 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
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