Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (Who gathered wealth and counted it)
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Exegesis of His saying, the Exalted: (Who gathered wealth and counted it)
Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Humazah: 2] This is also among His ugly descriptions. He is a gatherer and a withholder; he gathers wealth and prevents giving, so he is stingy and does not give. He gathers wealth and counts it. (And counted it) It was said that the meaning of counting is: tallying,Meaning: because of his passion for wealth. Every time he goes to the box and counts, he counts the coins in the morning, and at the end of the day he counts them, and he knows that he has not taken anything from them, nor added anything to them, but because of the intensity of his passion for wealth, he keeps going back to it and counting it. For this reason, it came in the form of exaggeration (counted it) meaning: he counted it excessively due to the intensity of his passion and love for it. He fears that it may have decreased, or he wants to be reassured beyond what came before, so he is always counting the wealth.
And it was said: The meaning of (counted it) is: he made it a provision for him,Meaning: saving it for the emergencies of time. And although the wording allows for this, it is far-fetched; because preparing wealth for the emergencies of time, while fulfilling the obligatory duties of paying the zakah and rights due therein, is not blameworthy. Rather, what is blameworthy is that the greatest concern of a person is wealth, that he keeps going back to it and counting it, looking to see if it has increased or decreased. So the statement that the intended meaning of (counted it) is: he counted it for the future, is a weak statement.
Allah the Exalted said:
Who collects wealth and [continuously] counts it.
الَّذِي جَمَعَ مَالاً وَعَدَّدَهُAnd it was said: The meaning of (counted it) is: he made it a provision for him,Meaning: saving it for the emergencies of time. And although the wording allows for this, it is far-fetched; because preparing wealth for the emergencies of time, while fulfilling the obligatory duties of paying the zakah and rights due therein, is not blameworthy. Rather, what is blameworthy is that the greatest concern of a person is wealth, that he keeps going back to it and counting it, looking to see if it has increased or decreased. So the statement that the intended meaning of (counted it) is: he counted it for the future, is a weak statement.