وَكانَ لَهُ ثَمَرٌ فَقالَ لِصاحِبِهِ وَهُوَ يُحاوِرُهُ أَنا أَكثَرُ مِنكَ مالًا وَأَعَزُّ نَفَرًا
He had [abundant] fruits, so he said to his companion, as he conversed with him: ‘I have more wealth than you, and am stronger with respect to numbers.’
EXEGESIS
Thamar (fruits) is the plural of thamarah and refers to the produce of trees, although it can also be used in a general sense for any benefit that is derived from effort, very much like the English expression of ‘reaping the fruits of one’s labour’. Here its most obvious meaning is the fruits that the man had from what his garden produced.
The expression kāna lahu thamarun implies the trees were – at the juncture of time that this story relates – laden with fruits, as might be during the summer before harvest. Fruits is used in an indefinite sense, which implies such an abundance that amazed the onlookers.
Some have understood this expression in a more figurative sense, to mean he was in possession of gold, silver, and other wealth in addition to the gardens. It is said this is because any gathered wealth can be called thamar.
Yuḥāwiruhu (he conversed with him) comes from ḥawr meaning to go back and forth, like in the verse, And indeed he thought he would never return (yaḥūr) (84:14). Conversation is called muḥāwarah because it involves talking and replying back. The expression wa huwa yuḥāwiruhu in this verse implies a type of argumentative conversation, like a debate. So, a more accurate translation of the statement may be: he said to his companion, while he was debating him.
Aʿazzu nafaran (stronger with respect to numbers): ʿizzah means to overpower and overcome, to be mighty. Nafr means to go forth, which could here be either referring to the tribe and clan, or to servants, or children. They are called nafar because they go forth (yanfirūna) with a person where he goes.
EXPOSITION
He had [abundant] fruits, so he said to his companion, as he conversed with him: we read in the previous verses of how fertile and luscious the gardens were. Now the time of harvest had arrived and the rich man had [abundant] fruits for his workers to collect. It was at this busy time, while he was eagerly watching his employees collect the harvest and he was thinking of the wealth he would make from selling it, that the rich man proudly turned to his friend and engaged in debate with him. What the rich man said to his poor friend was steeped in hubris, as he sought to argue his own superiority. This is often the disdainful and boastful attitude of those who do not have faith in God or the hereafter.
It may be that the succinct Quranic style has omitted the beginning of their conversation. The tone of the dialogue of this and the following verses gives the impression that the conversation between the two men had started about a debate regarding faith in God and the blessings that it brings about. Perhaps the rich man had spoken of his business endeavours and that it had nothing to do with God, and the faithful man had reminded him to be grateful to God and ponder why He has put him in this world and to not neglect working for his hereafter. Or perhaps as the wealthy man knew the views of his long-time friend, he wished to use himself and his situation as an example to convince his believer friend to abandon his faith.
I have more wealth than you, and am stronger with respect to numbers: his first argument is to point to his wealth as evidence that it was not God who was guiding creation, determining a person’s sustenance, or taking any such interest in the affairs of people, for if He did then why would He not bestow such things to the man who was a believer? To him, the comparison between the two of them was proof that there was no higher power that was guiding outcomes.
The unfortunate reality is that those who possess wealth usually deem themselves to be the powerful ones, because they have people in their employ, willing to carry out their commands. However, this power is as empty and hollow as the wealth that enables it. This is explained in verses 43-44.
Such people do not realise the reality of material possessions. They do not understand that they are not in fact in possession of these things. God has allotted to them a fixed portion of the adornment of this world in order to test them with that. This type of person has forgotten God and is only fixated on the material causality, thinking they are the one who has caused this to come about, like Korah who claimed, I have indeed been given [all] this because of the knowledge that I have (28:78), not realising that it is God who has determined that outcome. This limited view on causality is a type of polytheism (shirk) and leads to the hubris which precipitates the fall of man. This is the ‘true account’ given by God and the reality that must be comprehended.
This type of hubris and pride is a timeless vice that we witness in the wealthy through all ages, who attribute their success to their own hard work, work-ethic, business acumen, foresight, and a host of other factors, forgetting the countless lessons around them of those who possessed similar qualities and yet never succeeded or lost all their gathered wealth in one failed venture or some calamity.
[1] Raghib, p. 176.
[2] Tabrisi, 6/723.
[3] Mizan, 13/309.
[4] Tibyan, 7/41; Tabari, 15/161.
[5] Raghib, p. 262.
[6] Tibyan, 7/42.
[7] Tabrisi, 6/723. Tabatabai prefers this to mean children and servants, because of what is said in verse 39, If you see that I have lesser wealth than you and children (Mizan, 13/309). The usage of the term ṣāḥibihi (his companion) might also be considered evidence that they were not brothers, although this is not definitive as the term can be used in a general sense as well.
[8] Mizan, 13/309-310.