بِسۡمِ اللهِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِيۡمِ

1 Verse :

‘‘And do not walk on the earth arrogantly. Surely you can neither tear the earth apart, nor can you match the mountains in height.’’ (17:37)

1 Story :

Allah tells us in Surah al-Kahf about two gardeners — but the story is really about a mindset. Allah describes what He gave one of them:

“To one We gave two gardens of grapevines, which We surrounded with palm trees and placed ˹various˺ crops in between. Each garden yielded ˹all˺ its produce, never falling short. And We caused a river to flow between them.” (18:32-33)

Anyone looking at this would say, “This man is set.”

The Qur’an never tells us anything about the second man’s property. Why?
Because it’s insignificant. It doesn’t even matter.

One day, the rich gardener sees this other man. Allah tells us :

“So he boasted to a ˹poor˺ companion of his, while conversing with him, ‘I am greater than you in wealth and superior in manpower.’” (18:34)

Meaning: “I’m not just richer. I am more than you.” His sense of self-worth is tied to his assets. And then…he just walks away.

Allah then says : “And he entered his property, while wronging his soul” (18:35)
How do you enter your garden and wrong yourself?

Wronging yourself isn’t necessarily an action — it’s a state of mind.
You can be ẓālim (wronging yourself) without having done a single outward action. You can be ẓālim just in your thoughts.

He said within himself :

“I do not think this will ever perish,” (18:35)

He doesn’t say it out loud. He’s just standing there looking at the garden. Everything looks good. He convinces himself that this is a permanent state. And that is where the ẓulm begins — forgetting that everything comes from Allah. And that Allah alone is permanent.

Then comes the next delusion, one of the most frightening manifestations of materialism:

‘‘nor do I think the Hour will ˹ever˺ come. And if in fact I am returned to my Lord, I will definitely get a far better outcome than ˹all˺ this.” (18:36)

Meaning : “Allah must really love me, because look how much He gives me.”

If you think worldly success means divine approval, then you are on a dangerous path.

Yes, Allah gives blessings, and yes, believers should thank Him — but material gain is not an automatic sign of divine approval.

And the opposite also becomes true. If things go wrong, people with this mindset become angry at Allah: “Why is Allah cursing me?” Their entire lens of gain and loss becomes purely material.

This guy has become so comfortable in dunya, everything looks so good that Judgment Day? ‘‘I don’t think it’s anywhere near.’’

‘‘Even if — fine, let’s assume Judgment Day does exist.
If Allah has given me all this here, why wouldn’t He give me something better there? Clearly Allah likes me’’

He assumes Allah’s generosity in this world guarantees His generosity in the next.

This is delusion.

Later — maybe the next day — he meets his other believing companion again who responded to the insults now :

“His ˹believing˺ companion replied, while conversing with him, ‘Do you disbelieve in the One Who created you from dust, then ˹developed you˺ from a sperm-drop, then formed you into a man?’” (18:37)

Meaning : ‘‘Did you forget where you came from? You think you’re better? You forgot you’re dust. Is your dust more expensive than mine? Is your origin superior to mine?”

He reminds him that he was once a filthy drop of fluid — something people wash off their clothes. Then Allah shaped him into a human being. And now he’s proud?
Now he thinks his possessions define him? He thinks wealth makes him inherently more valuable? He’s humbling him before Allah.

Then he adds:

“But as for me: He is Allah, my Lord, and I will never associate anyone with my Lord ˹in worship˺.” (18:38)

But wait…this arrogant man never said he worship idols. So why accuse him of kufr in one āyah and shirk in the next?

Because in this context: his Kufr = being ungrateful, denying his origin, and refusing to acknowledge Allah’s favors.

His shirk = self-worship. He has placed himself at the center of his universe. His success revolves around himself. His sense of worth comes from himself.

“If only you had said, upon entering your property, ‘This is what Allah has willed! There is no power except with Allah!’ Even though you see me inferior to you in wealth and offspring.” (18:39)

The arrogant gardener should have acknowledged that none of this is ultimately a product of his labor or intelligence alone. Yes, you need hard work and strategy but success—material or immaterial—is always a combination of two things: Human effort and Divine will.

But instead he thought it all reflected his own greatness.

Then the believer says:

“Perhaps my Lord will grant me ˹something˺ better than your garden, and send down upon your garden a thunderbolt from the sky, turning it into a barren waste. Or its water may sink ˹into the earth˺, and then you will never be able to seek it out.” (18:40-41)

And then after some time, Allah tells us :

‘‘And so all his produce was ruined, so he started to wring his hands for all he had spent on it, while it had collapsed on its trellises. He cried, “Alas! I wish I had never associated anyone with my Lord!

And he had no manpower to help him against Allah, nor could he help himself. At this time, support comes ˹only˺ from Allah—the True ˹Lord˺. He is best in reward and best in outcome.’’ (18:42-44)

1 Lesson :

The man in the story fell into a common spiritual trap: equating material success with divine approval. He assumed that fortune meant Allah favored him more. This mindset leads to arrogance, self-delusion, and a dangerous distance from humility before the Lord of the worlds.

We need to acknowledge that whatever we have is only because Allah willed it for us. Our hard work is only one factor—its acceptance, expansion, and results depend solely on the will of Allah.

Whatever rises can fall, and whatever we own today may be gone tomorrow. Only Allah is permanent. The gardens in this story flourished one moment and vanished the next—showing that worldly foundations are fragile, and the true measure of success lies not in possessions but in the state of one’s heart, deeds, and standing before Allah on the Day of Judgment.

1 Question for you :

“Which blessings in my life made me unconsciously look down on others — as if my efforts made me inherently better — when every ability, opportunity, and outcome was nothing but a gift from Allah that I should have humbled myself for and been grateful?”

Dhikr of the week :

Whenever you enter your garden, don’t forget to say:

مَا شَاءَ اللّٰهُ لَا قُوَّةَ إِلَّا بِاللّٰهِ

Mā shā’a Allāhu, lā quwwata illā billāh

“This is what Allah has willed. There is no power except with Allah.”

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Until next Thursday/Friday, in shā’ Allāh

— Aaira

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P.S. Sometimes while editing I tell myself, “Aaira, this is way too long—no one is going to read all of this.” But hopefully there are a few beautiful nerds out there who actually stay till the end.