Al-Kahf · Makki · ayah 46 of 110

Al-Kahf 18:46

ٱلْمَالُ وَٱلْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَٱلْبَـٰقِيَـٰتُ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتُ خَيْرٌ عِندَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلًا

“Wealth and children are [but] adornment of the worldly life. But the enduring good deeds are better to your Lord[792] for reward and better for [one's] hope.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Wealth and children are called adornment, in a word whose picture is the earth decked in new grass after rain, for one season.

A reflection

Adornment is a time-stamp, not an insult

The usual reading of this verse is a rebuke. Wealth and children are mere decoration, so be ashamed of caring about them.

Look at the word. The lexicons give it as beauty, and making a thing beautiful, the opposite of disfigurement. Ornament, finery, what decorates. And their standing example of the verb is the earth decking itself with green after rain.

Which is the image of the verse immediately before this one.

So the two verses are joined at the root. The previous one showed water, green, withering, wind. This one says: wealth and children are that. Not worthless. Seasonal.

Nothing in the sentence calls them bad. They are in the category of beauty, which is a real category, and the verse does not take them out of it.

One commentary passes on a line from a Companion which settles the tone. Wealth and children are the harvest of this world, and righteous deeds are the harvest of the Hereafter. And Allah may gather both of them together for some people.

Both. For some people. That is not a renunciation.

There is a man who keeps two account books in the same hand on the same shelf. One for the farm, one for a fund he administers for other people. He is meticulous in both, he does not confuse them, and he would tell you without hesitation which one he will be asked about.

The verse is not telling you to burn the first book. It is telling you which of the two is written in something that lasts. The word for adornment has already told you how long the other one is good for.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.