In the Name of Allah, Most Kind, Most Merciful1 . Competing with each other in (worldly) increase diverts you,2. Until you reach the graves.3. No, but you will soon come to know!4. Again no, surely you will come to know!5. No, if you only knew now with sure knowledge,6. You will surely see the Hellfire,7. Then you will surely see it with the eye of certainty.8. Then, you will surely be asked that day about (life’s) pleasures.This surah was revealed in Makkah. It consists of eight verses. The surah is a warning to those who are occupied in this life only with the love for this world and its pleasures. They devote much of their time to making more and more money and collecting more and more material possessions. The afterlife does not cross their minds at all. This attitude is very common today. It diminishes all human societies in our technological age. The term ‘at-takaathur’ means ‘striving greedily for worldly increase’. It shows man’s obsessive passion for more and more comforts, more and more material goods, more and more power, without ever thinking about the hereafter.Allah the Almighty urges mankind to abandon the worship of this world. The worship of the worldly things blinds man to the realities of this life and the life to come. Such people are not prepared to stop and think about moral values taught by the Qur’an. The greed for more and more wealth makes people forget the real purpose of their lives. This surah is a warning to such people.On the Last Day, Allah will ask us about our gratefulness to Him for the favours He has blessed us with, such as health, safety, food and drink and sleep. He will ask us if we returned His favours by worshipping Him alone and being thankful to Him for His favours.Those who are engrossed in the things of this world do not get time to prepare themselves for the life after death. This life is very short. Their passion for the things of this world and vying for more and more worldly possessions diverts their attention from a matter even more important.ExercisesA. Fill in the blanks with suitable words.1 . Surat at-Takaathur was revealed in2. It consists of verses.3. The word ‘at-takaathur’ means striving hard for4. Allah urges mankind to abandon the worship of this5. The pleasures of the life of this world the attention of those who love them from the hereafter.B. Answer these questions.1 . What does this surah warn us against?2. What will we be questioned about on the Last Day?C. MemorisationLearn this surah by heart.Surat al-HumazahIn the Name of Allah, Most Kind, Most Merciful1 . Woe to every slanderer and mocker,2. Who collects wealth, greedily counting it;3. He thinks that his wealth will make him immortal;4. No, he will surely be thrown into the Crusher.5. And what can tell you what the Crusher is?6. It is the Fire of Allah, set ablaze.7. Rising up over the hearts;8. It will close in upon them;9. Stretching and in pillars.This surah was revealed early in Makkah. It consists of nine verses. It presents a vivid picture of a person who is so small-minded that his wealth blinds him to the truth and even to the common courtesies in human relations. The surah presents the picture of a very wealthy man who used to slander the Prophet ( ) and his companions, both to their faces and behind their backs. But the surah applies to such people at all times and places.Slandering is to make a spoken statement about someone, which damages his reputation, honour or dignity.Mocking is laughing at someone by copying him in an amusing but unkind way. It involves attacking him by gestures or expressions, sometimes by tongue and sometimes by the movements of the eyes, eyebrows, hands, lips or the head.Greed is another thing which is condemned in this surah. Somepeople become so occupied with wealth that they forget that they will die one day.Those who have these characteristics will be thrown into the Crusher, the Hellfire, which crushes anything that is thrown into it.This surah warns those people who waste their life, slandering and mocking good people, and those who have no other concern but to collect wealth and count it without having the slightest desire to spend it in ways pleasing to Almighty Allah. Those who do so think that their wealth will make them immortal. For such people, Allah has prepared a severe punishment in the Hereafter.ExercisesA. Complete these sentences.1 . Woe to every slanderer and2 . Who collects greedily3. He thinks that his wealth will make him4. No, he will surely be thrown into theB. Answer these questions.1.Where was Surat al-Humazah revealed?2.What are the three things this surah warns us against?3. What is slandering?4. What is mocking?C. MemorisationLearn this surah by heart.Surat QurayshIn the Name of Allah, Most Kind, Most Merciful1 . For the safety and security of the Quraysh;2. For their benefit, the caravans go out in the winter and summer.3. So let them worship the Lord of this House,4. Who has fed them against hunger and made them safe from fear.This surah was revealed in Makkah. It consists of four brief verses. It refers to the path of safety between the tribe of Quraysh and their neighbours, enabling them to take trading trips. Thus in winter they travelled to Yemen in the East where they bought spices and other things coming from India and beyond. These they took to Syria in the West during summer. They sold them and brought back other trading goods.Allah then directs them to be grateful to Him for His favours on them by worshipping Him alone. For He gave them safety from fear and fed them against hunger.ExercisesA. Answer these questions.1 . Where was Surat Quraysh revealed?2. What does ‘them’ in the verse “Let them worship the Lord of the House” refer to?3. Where did the trade caravans of the Quraysh go during winter? Why?4. Where did they go during summer?B. MemorisationLearn this surah by heart.Surat al-Maa’unIn the Name of Allah, Most Kind, Most Merciful1 . Have you seen the one who denies the Day of Judgement?2. That is the one who repulses the orphan,3. And does not encourage the feeding of the needy.4. So, woe to them who pray,5. But who are negligent in their prayers,6. Those who make a show (of their deeds),7. And refuse simple acts of kindness!The name of this surah is derived from the word ‘Maa’un’ occurring in the last verse. The term means all small things needed for one’s daily use such as a cooking pot, sugar, coffee, matchsticks, and a needle. It also means occasional acts of kindness consisting in helping out one’s fellow men when they need such things. In its broader sense, it means help in any difficulty or need. People who refuse to do even these small and simple things for others become hard-hearted and tight-fisted.How do some people become so hard-hearted? This surah answers this question. Blindness to the small acts of kindness is the result of the refusal to accept the moment of Reckoning!ExercisesA. Complete the following sentences.1. to the small acts of kindness is the result of the refusal to accept the moment of Reckoning.2. Have you seen the one who the Day of Judgement?3. That is the one who repulses theB. Answer these questions.1 . What does the word ‘Maa’un’ mean?2. How do some people become so hard-hearted? Answer in reference to Surat al-Maa’un.C. MemorisationLearn this surah by heart.
