Surah Al-Ankaboot (29) — Ayah 64

(Ayah 64) ➊ {وَ مَا هٰذِهِ الْحَيٰوةُ الدُّنْيَا… : ’’ الدُّنْيَا ‘‘ ’’اَلْأَدْنٰي‘‘} is the feminine form, near, lowly. In contrast to this is {’’ الْاٰخِرَةَ ‘‘}. {’’ لَهْوٌ ‘‘} is that which distracts the heart from necessary matters, i.e., amusement, such as singing and music, as He said: «{ وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَّشْتَرِيْ لَهْوَ الْحَدِيْثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَنْ سَبِيْلِ اللّٰهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ }» [ لقمان : ۶ ] “And among the people is he who buys distracting talk to mislead from the way of Allah without knowledge.” {’’ لَعِبٌ ‘‘} “Play.” In this sentence, the insignificance of the worldly life compared to the Hereafter is described in four ways: first, the word {’’ هٰذِهِ ‘‘} is used to express contempt, meaning “this” worldly life. Just as Pharaoh said to belittle Musa (peace be upon him): «{ اَمْ اَنَا خَيْرٌ مِّنْ هٰذَا الَّذِيْ هُوَ مَهِيْنٌ }» [الزخرف : ۵۲ ] “Rather, I am better than this one who is insignificant.” Second, the word {’’ الدُّنْيَا‘‘} indicates baseness and lowliness; third, {’’ لَهْوٌ ‘‘} (amusement); and fourth, {’’ لَعِبٌ ‘‘} (play), meaning the reality of this insignificant worldly life is nothing but amusement and play, just as a person spends some time singing, playing, and then goes home. Here, whether someone is a king or a minister, a merchant or an industrialist, an owner or a laborer, if he is engaged in any work that is of no use for the Day of Resurrection, then know that he is merely involved in amusement and play, and all his companions are part of this play. In this spectacle, someone is a king, someone a minister, and someone else something else. Whatever means of luxury they have—whether women or sons, treasures of gold and silver, high-bred horses, all kinds of cattle, or fields and gardens—all are toys of this play. Then a time comes when this play ends, and every character of the play departs from this world with the same destitution with which he came. He may amuse himself with these toys for sixty, seventy, or a hundred years, but in the end, he must leave all this behind, pass through the door of death, and reach that world where life is everlasting and eternal. Very unfortunate is the person who remains engaged in this play and does not care for that eternal life.

➋ {وَ اِنَّ الدَّارَ الْاٰخِرَةَ لَهِيَ الْحَيَوَانُ: ’’ الدَّارَ ‘‘} is the described noun and {’’ الْاٰخِرَةَ ‘‘} is its attribute, the final home. Here, a word is omitted, i.e., {’’إِنَّ حَيَاةَ الدَّارِ الْآخِرَةِ لَهِيَ الْحَيَوَانُ‘‘ ’’ الْحَيَوَانُ ‘‘} is a verbal noun, just as {’’ اَلْحَيَاةُ ‘‘} is a verbal noun. In {’’ الْحَيَوَانُ ‘‘}, due to the abundance of letters, there is emphasis in the meaning of “life,” and then the “alif lam” on {’’ الْحَيَوَانُ ‘‘} conveys the sense of perfection, so the translation of {’’ الْحَيَوَانُ ‘‘} is “the real life.” That is, surely the life of the final home is the real life, which never ends, so a person should care more for the final life than for this short-lived life, because that is the real and everlasting one. He should not become so absorbed in the amusements of the world that he forgets the Hereafter, but rather, while living here, he should prepare for there.

➌ {لَوْ كَانُوْا يَعْلَمُوْنَ:} If they had known, they would not have preferred the perishable over the everlasting. The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) described the value and worth of the world, saying: [ لَوْ كَانَتِ الدُّنْيَا تَعْدِلُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ جَنَاحَ بَعُوْضَةٍ مَا سَقٰی كَافِرًا مِنْهَا شَرْبَةَ مَاءٍ ] [ ترمذي، الزھد، باب ما جاء في ھوان الدنیا علی اللہ عزوجل : ۲۳۲۰، عن سھل بن سعد رضی اللہ عنہ ، وقال الترمذي و الألباني صحیح ] “If the world were worth the wing of a mosquito to Allah, He would not give a disbeliever a single sip of water from it.”

64-1. That is, the world which has blinded them to the Hereafter and made them heedless of preparing provisions for it is nothing more than a play. The disbeliever remains occupied with worldly affairs, works hard day and night for it, but when he dies, he is empty-handed. Just as children play all day with houses made of mud and then return home empty-handed. Except for fatigue, they gain nothing.

64-2. Therefore, one should perform such righteous deeds by which the home of the Hereafter is adorned.

64-3. Because if they had known this, they would not have been engrossed in the world, heedless of the Hereafter. Therefore, their remedy is knowledge, knowledge of the Shariah.

This worldly life is nothing but play and amusement [97]. The real life is in the Home of the Hereafter—if only they knew.

[97] For whom is the world a play and amusement? This does not mean that there is absolutely no seriousness or reality in the world. For those who are obedient to Allah and consider it insignificant compared to the Hereafter, every moment of this worldly life is extremely precious, and they benefit from this life to earn the Hereafter. The life of this world is merely play and amusement in comparison to the Hereafter, and it is so for those who are absorbed in the love of the world and remain heedless of the remembrance of Allah and the Hereafter. For them, this world will truly seem like a play and amusement. Its example is exactly like a juggler who puts on a puppet show: there is a king, some ministers, and some other characters, and after the drama is completed, they disappear after showing the spectacle to everyone. This is exactly the situation of the kings and other people of the world. Therefore, no one should become heedless of the remembrance of Allah by getting caught up in the allure and attractions of the world.