وَمَا كَسَبَ
And whatever he gained. (111:2)
Although the first mā often negates, the second is commonly parsed as a relative pronoun, 'what he earned', or as maṣdariyya, 'his earning'. The phrase then coordinates with māluhu: both the property and the gains are said to be ineffective.
Treating both occurrences as automatically negative would alter the syntax. A key rhetorical and grammatical principle is that identical written forms can perform different functions in one short verse.
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Supplementary Practice 23: Comparative Rhetorical Study of Sūrat al-Masad and al-Ikhlāṣ
وَمَا كَسَبَ
And whatever he gained. (111:2)
Although the first mā often negates, the second is commonly parsed as a relative pronoun, 'what he earned', or as maṣdariyya, 'his earning'. The phrase then coordinates with māluhu: both the property and the gains are said to be ineffective.
Treating both occurrences as automatically negative would alter the syntax. A key rhetorical and grammatical principle is that identical written forms can perform different functions in one short verse.