Surah Ash-Shura (42) — Ayah 36

(Ayah 36) ➊ {فَمَاۤ اُوْتِيْتُمْ مِّنْ شَيْءٍ فَمَتَاعُ الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا: ’’مَتَاعٌ‘‘} That which is used for benefit, a thing for use that is quickly exhausted. After mentioning the evidences of His oneness, power, and sovereignty—such as sending down rain for His servants, granting them sustenance according to wisdom, creating the heavens and the earth, spreading countless living beings within them, the sailing of ships like mountains in the seas, and the conditions they encounter—Allah Almighty then mentioned the insignificance and transience of the provisions and adornments of worldly life. This is because the beauty and adornment of the world itself become an obstacle for a person to reflect upon the evidences. When he becomes aware of its reality and it becomes insignificant in his eyes, he will have the opportunity to turn his attention to the Hereafter and will also reflect upon the evidences.

➋ Whatever a person is given in this world, no matter how much or how valuable it is, there is nothing among it over which a person should become arrogant and heedless of the Hereafter, because firstly, it remains in his use for a very short time, and then he leaves everything behind and departs empty-handed from here. Besides this, no matter how vast his property or wealth may be, in practice, only a small portion of it comes into his use. O human! Out of this vast property, only this is for you: [ مَا أَكَلْتَ فَأَفْنَيْتَ أَوْ لَبِسْتَ فَأَبْلَيْتَ ] [ مسلم، الزھد و الرقائق، باب : ۲۹۵۸ ] “That which you have eaten and finished, or that which you have worn and worn out.” A person who is aware of the reality of such a perishable thing can never waste his precious life in its pursuit. See also Surah Ar-Ra’d (26).

➌ {وَ مَا عِنْدَ اللّٰهِ خَيْرٌ وَّ اَبْقٰى:} The wealth and blessings that are with Allah are, in every respect, better than the provisions of this world and are also lasting and eternal.

➍ { لِلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا وَ عَلٰى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُوْنَ:} From here, the qualities of those people are mentioned who will be deserving of the blessings to be received in the Hereafter from Allah Almighty. The very first quality among them is {’’ اٰمَنُوْا ‘‘} in the past tense, and {’’ يَتَوَكَّلُوْنَ ‘‘} in the present tense, meaning that they have already believed with full understanding and their hearts have attained complete conviction in Allah Almighty, His angels, His messengers, His books, His decree, and His Day of Recompense. Now their state is such that in all their affairs, they always rely only on their Lord; they neither hope for benefit from anyone else nor fear any harm from anyone else. {’’ يَتَوَكَّلُوْنَ ‘‘} The present tense indicates continuity.

36. 1. That is, it is ordinary and insignificant, even if it is the treasure of Qarun, so do not be deceived by it because it is temporary and perishable.

36. 2. That is, the reward and recompense for good deeds that will be given by Allah is far better and more lasting than the worldly possessions, because it is not subject to decline and destruction. The meaning is: do not give preference to the world over the Hereafter; if you do so, you will regret it.

36. Whatever you have been given is only the enjoyment of the life of this world, but what is with Allah is better [51] and everlasting. It is for those who believe and put their trust [52] in their Lord.

[51] That is, no matter how much wealth, riches, and means of luxury and comfort a person attains in this world, he can benefit from them only until his death at the most. In the end, he will have to leave this world completely empty-handed. In contrast, the means of luxury and comfort that the believers will receive in the Hereafter will be everlasting and eternal, and the believers will remain alive forever to benefit from these things. They will never die. Therefore, a wise person is one who, instead of worrying about temporary and perishable things, is concerned about eternal and lasting life and its provisions.

[52]
The Meaning of Tawakkul and Its Importance as a Quality of the Believer:

That is, when apparent means seem to be missing and circumstances are discouraging, even then they do not become hopeless or broken-hearted. Rather, even in such a state, their eyes remain fixed on Allah, and they have complete faith in Allah’s promise that Allah will surely create a way out of this difficulty. The other aspect of this is that even if they do possess apparent means, they do not rely on them; rather, their trust is only in Allah. In other words, whether apparent means are present or absent, whether they are few or many, a believer certainly tries to arrange for these means, but his reliance is not on them. The reliance is only on Allah. Thus, trust in Allah is a very important quality of a believer, which Allah has mentioned first of all. Similarly, lack of trust in Allah is a great weakness of a Muslim. On the occasion of the Battle of Hunayn, when every Muslim became proud of apparent means and their large numbers, Allah made them face temporary defeat and immediately warned them of this weakness. Tawakkul does not mean that a person just sits relying on Allah and abandons concern for apparent means. Rather, the command is that one should arrange for apparent means as much as possible and make every effort within his capacity, then leave the outcome to Allah. Accordingly, the Prophet defined tawakkul as: first tie your camel’s knee, then trust in Allah. [طبرانی۔ بروایت ابوہریرہؓ بحوالہ الموافقات للشاطبی، ج 1 ص 290]

And a poet has expressed this concept as follows: The meaning of tawakkul is—
Keep your dagger sharp,
Then leave the outcome of its sharpness
To destiny.