Note: This is our 4th post in our series of Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma.
Allah says, in ayahs 6-7 of Surah Iqraa:
كَلَّا إِنَّ الْإِنسَانَ لَيَطْغَى
أَن رَّآهُ اسْتَغْنَى
Translation: No! [But] indeed, man transgresses. Because he sees himself self-sufficient. [Surah Iqraa, verses 6-7]
Kalla is a very stern, emphatic warning. If your kid is being bad, you say “laa, laa;” and then they grab something hot off the stove and you say “KALLA!” It’s a very strong negation; the thing it negates is either understood, or mentioned in the previous ayah.
Abu Jahl said, “Ask your Lord to make the mountains gold; then we will be self-sufficient, we won’t need to work, and we won’t make any more idols.” (Recall, Mecca made heavy trade in idol worship.)
And this is what Allah is saying–KALLA! This is wrong! Why? Inna al-insaana yatghaa, in raahu istaghnaa. Humans transgress, do tughyaan if they see themselves as self-sufficient. This is something you can take as a life-long gem: Humans do tughyaan if they see themselves as self-sufficient (from Allah).
And to demonstrate yatghaa, or tughyaan, imagine you have a cup of water. It fills, fills fills up to the top, then fills some more and overflows. That’s tughyaan. Going beyond the bounds.
And the key here is that they see themselves as in no need of Allah. That’s what makes them (do) yatghaa.
You can imagine in our lives, this happens! There might be a brother making du’a to get a job, or to get married, crying in his du’a and praying Qiyaam Al-Layl; and then he gets that thing he desires.
And it makes him more arrogant and transgressive. He stops coming to the masjid and praying, because he sees himself as in no need of Allah.
And the mushrikeen would make statements like this–”My wealth or my gang (naadiyah) will avail me,” or even things as crazy as “I’ll bribe the angels of Hellfire to get out.” Because they see themselves as self-sufficient.
Wallahu ta’ala ‘alam.
Action Items:
- Reflect. Think of one thing you really made effort for (du’a, Qiyam, etc.) and got. How did you feel? Did it bring you closer to Allah or farther? (Post it in the comments, if you’re feeling brave.)
- Repent. Make tawbah for anything you asked for, got, and then got into tughyaan for. Start thanking Allah, and asking Allah for help in that thing.
References:
- Touched by an Angel: Tafseer of Juz ‘Amma. By Muhammad Alshareef. 2009.
I remember there were a couple of goals I really wanted to achieve … and I did. But I never made even two rakaat of shukur (thankfulness) for that, or donated any sadaqah. Insha’Allah that’s a good habit to start and keep, it ties everything back to Allah and reminds you that HE gave it to you, and He can take it back whenever He wishes.
i feel myself drowned in mercy of Allah. I have everything Alhamdulillah -husband whom i desired, two perfect kids, health, good living. but i feel bad as i can’t spend much time in prayers for my very young kids and household works. and also i don’t know how to say my gratitude to Allah that will satisfy my soul cos whatever i do seems very insignificant compared to His mercy.
@ammate rabbani, if you feel you cannot pray salaah, then you can always increase in other deeds. From Imam Nawawi’s 40 hadith, we know that thankfulness to Allah needs to be in actions! So you can donate, do something good to help your Muslim brothers and sisters, etc.
Alhamdulillah Allah has given me the mercy to taste the sweetness of doing good deeds eg doing zikir or reciting Al Quran, but my nafs sometimes make me feel that I’ve done enough, how to overcome this feeling?