مَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ
His wealth and what he gained did not avail him. (111:2)
The first mā is commonly parsed as negative mā: aghnā is a perfect verb, māluhu its delayed subject, and ʿanhu depends on the verb. Another recognized analysis treats mā as interrogative with a rhetorically negative force. Either way the central claim denies wealth’s power to save.
The issue is not whether the person owned resources, but whether they were of any use in averting the stated outcome. This focus supplies the force of the negative predication.