Surah Ash-Shura (42) — Ayah 20

(Ayah 20) ➊ { مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيْدُ حَرْثَ الْاٰخِرَةِ … :} Allah Almighty has made the world a field for man; whatever he sows in it, that is what he will reap, and whatever he intends, that is what he will receive. Similarly, He has made the world a place of trade; if he deals in goodness, he will gain goodness as profit, and if he deals in evil, he will find evil as a result. Likewise, the world has been made the path to the Hereafter; if he walks on the path of goodness, he will reach his desired destination and enter eternal Paradise, and if he walks on the path of evil, he will fall into everlasting punishment and perpetual sorrow. The profit and loss of this trade has been mentioned in several verses; He said: «اِنَّ اللّٰهَ اشْتَرٰى مِنَ الْمُؤْمِنِيْنَ اَنْفُسَهُمْ وَ اَمْوَالَهُمْ بِاَنَّ لَهُمُ الْجَنَّةَ » [ التوبۃ : ۱۱۱ ] "Indeed, Allah has purchased from the believers their lives and their properties in exchange for Paradise for them." And He said: «وَ مِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَّشْرِيْ نَفْسَهُ ابْتِغَآءَ مَرْضَاتِ اللّٰهِ » [ البقرۃ : ۲۰۷ ] "And among the people is he who sells himself seeking the pleasure of Allah." And He said: « اُولٰٓىِٕكَ الَّذِيْنَ اشْتَرَوُا الْحَيٰوةَ الدُّنْيَا بِالْاٰخِرَةِ » [ البقرۃ : ۸۶ ] "These are the ones who have purchased the life of this world at the expense of the Hereafter."

➋ In the previous verses, Allah Almighty explained the law of provision, that it is not the same for everyone; He gives to whom He wills and as much as He wills, and in this are countless wisdoms. (See Zukhruf: 32) In this verse, He said that according to the difference in a person's effort and intention, the provision he receives is also different.

➌ Regarding the one who intends the harvest of the Hereafter, it is not said that he will receive nothing in this world. Whether good or bad, everyone is to receive a little or more of the world; regarding the Hereafter, glad tidings are given that We will increase for him in his harvest, because his intention and effort are for that. The increase is that in the world We will grant him further ability to do good deeds, and in the Hereafter, one good deed will be multiplied tenfold to thousands and millions, even beyond count, and eternal blessings will be granted, as He said: « وَ مَنْ اَرَادَ الْاٰخِرَةَ وَ سَعٰى لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَ هُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَاُولٰٓىِٕكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُمْ مَّشْكُوْرًا » [ بني إسرائیل : ۱۹ ] "And whoever intends the Hereafter and strives for it as it should be striven for, while he is a believer, then those are the ones whose effort is appreciated."

➍ In { وَ مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيْدُ حَرْثَ الدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهٖ مِنْهَا …:’’ مِنْهَا ‘‘}, {’’مِنْ‘‘} is for partiality. That is, whoever intends the harvest of this world and strives and works only for the world, firstly, he will not get what he wants, but We will give him only a portion of it; secondly, that portion too We will give him only in this world, and in the Hereafter he will have no share, because he did nothing with the intention of the Hereafter. The same thing is stated in another verse as follows: « مَنْ كَانَ يُرِيْدُ الْعَاجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهٗ فِيْهَا مَا نَشَآءُ لِمَنْ نُّرِيْدُ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا لَهٗ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلٰىهَا مَذْمُوْمًا مَّدْحُوْرًا» [بني إسرائیل : ۱۸ ] "Whoever desires this immediate (world), We hasten for him therein what We will for whom We will; then We have made Hell for him, he will enter it condemned and rejected." And He said: « فَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَنْ يَّقُوْلُ رَبَّنَاۤ اٰتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَ مَا لَهٗ فِي الْاٰخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ» [ البقرۃ : ۲۰۰ ] "Then among the people is he who says, 'Our Lord, give us in this world,' and for him in the Hereafter there is no share."

The exegesis of this verse has been done along with the previous verse.

Whoever desires the harvest of the Hereafter, We increase for him his harvest; and whoever desires the harvest of this world, We give him some of it, but he will have no share in the Hereafter.

A Comparison of the End of a Worldly Person and a Religious Person:

In this verse, a comparison is presented between the lifestyles of two individuals. One of them believes in the Day of Hereafter, while the other denies it and considers everything to be limited to this world alone. Now, it is obvious that a person who believes in the Hereafter will do every deed for the sake of the Hereafter and will give preference to the benefit of the Hereafter over the benefit of this world. Such a person, whatever he sows in the field of this world to reap the fruits on the Day of Hereafter, Allah Almighty will increase it manifold. Just as in this world, sometimes by sowing a single grain, more than seven hundred grains are obtained. This is the matter of his Hereafter. And whatever sustenance or goodness is destined for him in this world, he will surely receive it as well. In contrast, the person who denies the Day of Hereafter and only desires the wealth and goodness of this world—no matter how much he strives, he will only get as much in this world as is destined for him, not more than that. As for his Hereafter, even if he has done some good deeds in this world, he will not receive any reward for them, because he did not do those deeds with the intention of receiving any reward in the Hereafter, nor did he have any belief in the Hereafter.