Sura At-Takathur : Bragging about plenitude and what is wrong about it
Takathur is a short, Meccan sura that warns mankind about the perils of showing off and bragging about worldly possessions and the consequences of such actions if one pursuit them until it becomes a life-style.
Everyone in contemporary world, except a tiny fraction, would criticize “the system of capitalism” at every possible chance. In other words, everyone is part of 99%. However, all these members of “insert fancy word in lie of lost” generation would probably be oblivious to the fact that Holy Quran gave a short recipe 14 centuries ago to stand firm in such criticism of modern world against all forms of capitalism or any other cutt-throat manipulative and exploitative monetary system.
This short recipe is deciphered in the tafsir of Sura-At-Takathur: The human psyche of being passionate about what you own:
The mutual rivalry for piling up (the good things of this world) diverts you (from the more serious things),
Until ye visit the graves. ( At-Takathur 102/1-2)
Every man-made social system can only have one combustion: it is the very human factor that created that system in the first place. There is no capitalism if it wasn’t for human greed. There is no need for “intricate explanations” of science of economics only some experts can understand, if masses of humans didn’t enjoy indulging themselves for saving and bragging about their worldly possessions.
Humans do enjoy bragging about their possessions. Quran Tafsir history tells us that two Arabic tribes’ members wanted race about their wealth and power and started a verbal battle about it. In the end, they consumed all of their inventory in their list so they rushed to the graves to account their deceased members of their tribes.
They wanted brag about the plenitude of their wealth and tribal power, the visible inventory of the living world wasn’t enough.
So, the Holy Quran warns them: You visit the graves to count the dead whom once belonged to each of your tribe and you want to brag about them but you visited the graves while doing so. Don’t you see? All the bragging in the world about worldly possessions can not be adequate to solve the eternal and the core problem all human will face: We’re all going to die and the plentitude of your wealth and power in this world won’t save you on the judgement day.
Ye shall certainly see Hell-Fire!
Again, ye shall see it with certainty of sight!
Then, shall ye be questioned that Day about the joy (ye indulged in!). (At-Takathur 102/6-7-8)
There is no need to dwell into “system critique”, without touching deepest problem that every human faces throughout the course of their lives : Giving too much importance to worldly possessions, to such a degree that substitute as a remedy for our spiritual problems and mental demands and motivations.
Once bragging becomes a habit, bragging about plentitude becomes a life-style and the soul is already a slave to a system without being aware of it.
Holy Quran warns us that sooner or later, even if we brag about worldly possession or not, we’ll visit graves.
It is better to visit graves to “tafakkur” about life and death rather than to boost our ego about our ancestral beings’ antecedent achievements.
Or maybe it is better not to brag about anything in life at all.
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