Surah Al-Hadid (57) — Ayah 20

(Ayah 20) ➊ {اِعْلَمُوْۤا:} The connection of this verse with the previous verses is that the cause of hypocrisy, avoidance of striving in the way of Allah, and reluctance to spend wealth is the love of worldly life. Therefore, Allah Almighty has described the reality of worldly life.

➋ By { اَنَّمَا الْحَيٰوةُ الدُّنْيَا: ’’ الْحَيٰوةُ الدُّنْيَا ‘‘} is meant those deeds of a person which he does in this life only for the benefits to be gained in this world. Otherwise, in this life, he can also attain eternal happiness in the Hereafter through righteous deeds, as He said: « مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِّنْ ذَكَرٍ اَوْ اُنْثٰى وَ هُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهٗ حَيٰوةً طَيِّبَةً وَ لَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ اَجْرَهُمْ بِاَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوْا يَعْمَلُوْنَ » [ النحل : ۹۷ ] "Whoever does a righteous deed, whether male or female, and he is a believer, then surely We will give him a good, pure life, and surely We will give them their reward in return for the best of what they used to do."

➌ { لَعِبٌ وَّ لَهْوٌ:} For its explanation, see the commentary of Surah Al-Ankabut (64).

➍ { وَ زِيْنَةٌ وَّ تَفَاخُرٌۢ بَيْنَكُمْ وَ تَكَاثُرٌ فِي الْاَمْوَالِ وَ الْاَوْلَادِ:} This is the condition of those deprived of faith, the worldly people, as opposed to the true and sincere believers, i.e., the Siddiqeen and Shuhada. Allah Almighty has mentioned all their desires and interests in these five things. Shah Abdul Qadir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes: "A person, in the beginning of life, wants play, then amusement, then adornment, then to increase his status and gain fame, and when death approaches, he worries about wealth and children so that his household remains after him and his children live in comfort. All this is a means of deception; ahead, something else will be of use (faith and righteous deeds), this will not be of any use." (Mawdhih with adaptation)

➎ {كَمَثَلِ غَيْثٍ اَعْجَبَ الْكُفَّارَ نَبَاتُهٗ …:’’ غَيْثٍ ‘‘} Rain, as He said: « وَ هُوَ الَّذِيْ يُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ مِنْۢ بَعْدِ مَا قَنَطُوْا » [ الشورٰی : ۲۸ ] "And He is the One Who sends down rain after they have despaired." By {’’ الْكُفَّارَ ‘‘} is meant here the farmers, as He said elsewhere: « يُعْجِبُ الزُّرَّاعَ » [ الفتح : ۲۹ ] "It pleases the farmers." Because the meaning of kufr is to cover, and the farmer hides the seed in the earth. For the explanation of the other words of the verse and the parable, see the commentary of Surah Yunus (24), Az-Zumar (21), and Surah Al-Kahf (45). Also, see the commentary of Surah Aal-e-Imran (15, 14). Some commentators have taken {’’ الْكُفَّارَ ‘‘} to mean the real disbelievers. According to them, although the crops that grow from rain please both believers and disbelievers, the disbelievers are mentioned specifically because they are more pleased with it, as all their happiness in life is invested in the world.

➏ {وَ فِي الْاٰخِرَةِ عَذَابٌ شَدِيْدٌ وَّ مَغْفِرَةٌ مِّنَ اللّٰهِ وَ رِضْوَانٌ:} That is, it is not just that the worldly life ends and one is freed, but the real matter is what comes after that—the Hereafter and its eternal life—where one will inevitably face one of two things: on one side, there will be severe punishment (as a recompense for such a life of heedlessness), and on the other, Allah's forgiveness and His immense pleasure. {’’ رِضْوَانٌ ‘‘} In the infinitive form, there is an intensified meaning.

➐ { وَ مَا الْحَيٰوةُ الدُّنْيَاۤ اِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُوْرِ:} That is, whoever made all his efforts for the sake of building worldly life has fallen into deception, because whatever he earned ended with the end of worldly life, and nothing remained for him in the Hereafter. However, for those people, worldly life is not a deception who made it a means to attain the Hereafter, because their deeds remain even after the world perishes, as He said: « اَلْمَالُ وَ الْبَنُوْنَ زِيْنَةُ الْحَيٰوةِ الدُّنْيَا وَ الْبٰقِيٰتُ الصّٰلِحٰتُ خَيْرٌ عِنْدَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا وَّ خَيْرٌ اَمَلًا» [ الکھف : ۴۶ ] "Wealth and sons are the adornment of the worldly life, but the enduring good deeds are better with your Lord in reward and better in hope."

20-1. That is, for the disbelievers who remained occupied only in the amusements of the world and considered this alone as the purpose of life.

20-2. That is, for the people of faith and obedience, who did not consider the world as everything, but regarded it as temporary, perishable, and a place of trial, and lived in it according to Allah's guidance.

Know that the life of this world is but play and amusement, adornment and boasting among yourselves, and rivalry in wealth and children. It is like rain whose [growth of] vegetation pleases the farmers; then it flourishes and you see it turning yellow, then it becomes [scattered] debris. And in the Hereafter there is severe punishment (as a recompense for such a life of heedlessness) [35], and (for the believers) forgiveness from Allah and His pleasure. And the life of this world is nothing but the enjoyment of delusion.

[35]
Comparison Between Human and Plant Life:

In this verse, a comparison is presented between human worldly life and the life of plants, and some commentators have divided this life into four stages to illustrate the comparison between these two types of life. For example, a person spends his childhood in play and amusement. Then, when youth comes upon him, his favorite occupation becomes adorning and beautifying himself so that, if he is a man, he becomes the center of attention for women, and if she is a woman, she becomes a source of attraction for men. Then, when he passes through this age, he develops a desire to become something like “there is none like me,” and in the last stage of life, his greed continues to grow. He no longer suffices with the well-being of his own self but begins to toil for the sake of his children, until death overtakes him. The same is the case with plants. They are born, delight their farmers or owners, and many expectations are attached to them. Then comes the period of their youth, and they captivate every heart, but soon after, old age comes upon them, and they begin to turn yellow. The end result is that part of them becomes food for animals, and the rest is trampled underfoot. The purpose of this example is to explain that just as the spring of plants is a temporary thing and so is their autumn, likewise, the prosperities of human life are also temporary things, and so are poverty and hardships. In contrast, the spring of Paradise and all its blessings are everlasting and permanent, and its autumn, that is, Hell and its torments and hardships, are also everlasting and permanent. Therefore, a person’s effort should be that instead of seeking temporary and unstable things, he should make everlasting and permanent things his goal and strive for them with all his effort. And whoever becomes lost in the attractions of the world and becomes intoxicated by its spring has fallen into a great deception. True wisdom is that a person should not consider the life of this world as mere play and amusement, but should regard every moment of it as precious and strive to improve his Hereafter.