you have eaten and used up, worn and worn out, or given in charity and thereby sent ahead.” (1) Anything else you will leave to others. This is the truth concerning the wealth in our possession: either we consume it and it is used up; wear it and it wears out; give it in charity and thereby send it ahead, so that it awaits us on the Day of Resurrection; or leave it to others. The wealth in our possession cannot fall outside these four possibilities.

“No indeed! You will come to know”—that is, you will come to know the outcome of your rivalry for increase, which distracted you from the Hereafter. “Again, no indeed! You will come to know.” This clause reinforces the rebuke a second time.

He then said: “No indeed! If only you knew with certain knowledge.” That is: truly, if you possessed certain knowledge, you would know that you are astray. But you do not possess certain knowledge, for you are heedless and preoccupied with this world. Had you possessed certain knowledge, you would have known that you were astray and in grave error.

Then Allah Most High said:

“You will surely see Hellfire. Then you will surely see it with the eye of certainty.”

The clause “You will surely see” is independent; it is not the response to the conditional “if.” The reciter must therefore pause after the words, “No indeed! If only you knew with certain knowledge.” We often hear imams leading the prayer join the passages and recite, “No indeed! If only you knew with certain knowledge, you would surely see Hellfire.” They do so either out of heedlessness and forgetfulness, or because they have not reflected properly upon the verse. Had they reflected upon it properly, they would have realized that joining the passages corrupts the meaning. For if one says, “No indeed! If only you knew with certain knowledge, you would surely see Hellfire,” seeing Hellfire becomes conditional upon their possessing knowledge, which is incorrect.

We must therefore be alert to this and draw attention to it. Anyone who hears someone recite, “No indeed! If only you knew with certain knowledge, you would surely see Hellfire,” should correct him and say, “My brother, joining the passages in this way suggests a corrupt meaning. Do not join them; pause instead. First, because it is the end of a verse, and it is prescribed to pause at the end of every verse. Second, because joining them—”