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Shiavault - a Vault of Shia Islamic Books Beams of Illumination From the Divine Revelation (juz' 'amma - the Last Section of the Qur'an) Sura 1 :surat Al Humazah the Slanderer In the Name of Allah, the Beneficent, the Most Merciful These particular ayats were addressed specifically to the people, several names of whom have been suggested, who were against the Prophet, salla-llahu `alayhi wa alihi wa sallam.

They were all people of great wealth and supposed strength who constantly bragged about their might and wealth and mocked the Muslims. 1 Woe to every slanderer and backbiter! Wayl means "affliction, distress," and is translated as the exclamation, "Woe!" It evokes one of the rivers of the Fire. "Woe to every slanderer or defamer! " In human nature there exists the ten­dency to seek reassurance, and therefore we seek only those compan­ions who reinforce the validity of our actions.

Humazah means "a slanderer," or "back-biter." In the Arabic language the hamzah is a glottal stop, and the hamazat ash-shayatin are the evil suggestions of the devil, the subtle whispers that we find within us.

Lumazah means "a fault-finder," and comes from the verb lamaza, which means "to give someone a wink, to speak ill of someone, criticize, censure, backbite, defame." The person who defames reveals his own weakness and announces his insecurity in the same way that the haughtiness of a man declares his deep uncer­tainty about himself.

If he was totally certain that he was on the right path, if he acknowledged his dependence on Allah and realized that everyone would come to know the truth fully and absolutely, he would not give in to these subtle enticements to slander others. The truth of it is that his slander and arrogance reveal his sickness and dis­ease, hence the warning of woe to him, the warning that he will be destroyed.

2 Who amasses wealth and counts it (as a pro­vision); This ayah refers to those who collect wealth and take refuge and reinforcement in constantly counting it. Persistently accumulating and looking at what one has is another form of looking for security. The men of Allah say, "He who loves wealth is a hypocrite, and he who keeps wealth is ignorant." The proof of nifaq (hypocrisy) and jahl (ignorance) is in the collection and retention of mal (wealth).

3 He thinks that his wealth will make him im­mortal.