The Worth of this World to Allah ta’ala
Bismillah
Allah ta’ala says in surah Zukhruf,
وَلَوْلَا أَن يَكُونَ النَّاسُ أُمَّةً وَاحِدَةً لَّجَعَلْنَا لِمَن يَكْفُرُ بِالرَّحْمَـٰنِ لِبُيُوتِهِمْ سُقُفًا مِّن فِضَّةٍ وَمَعَارِجَ عَلَيْهَا يَظْهَرُونَ
وَلِبُيُوتِهِمْ أَبْوَابًا وَسُرُرًا عَلَيْهَا يَتَّكِئُونَ
وَزُخْرُفًا ۚ وَإِن كُلُّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمَّا مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا ۚ وَالْآخِرَةُ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ
And if it were not that the people would become one community [of disbelievers], We would have made for those who disbelieve in the Most Merciful - for their houses - ceilings and stairways of silver upon which to mount, And for their houses - doors and couches [of silver] upon which to recline, And gold ornament. But all that is not but the enjoyment of worldly life. And the Hereafter with your Lord is for the righteous. (43:33-35)
In other words, were it not for fear that a believer might disbelieve as a result of Our giving the disbeliever what has been mentioned, We would have given him such [luxuries], since the [affairs of this] world represent no danger to Us and he [the disbeliever] would then have no share in the Bliss of the Hereafter. Yet surely all that would be nothing but the [transient] enjoyment of the life of this world, enjoyed during it, but then perishes, and the Hereafter, Paradise, with your Lord is for the God-fearing.
-Imam Suyooti rahimahullah: Tafseer al-Jalalayn
Allah azza wa jal tells us in these ayat that the dunya has no value with Him, and that if it wasn’t for His subtle kindness and mercy on His slaves, He would surely have greatly expanded this dunya for the disbelievers by giving them stairways of silver that mount and He would have given them ornaments of different kinds and anything they desired - but He prevented this out of His Mercy for His slaves fearing for them that they would hasten to disbelief and increase in disobedience because of the love of this world.
So this is a proof that He prevents certain matters of the dunya in a general sense and a special sense for the reformation of the believers. [And this is also a proof that] the dunya does not even amount to the weight of a mosquito wing with Allah. What is mentioned in this ayah is only the transient and deficient enjoyment of this world, but the hereafter with Allah is better from those who are conscious and have taqwa of their Lord by following what He has ordered and abstaining from what He has forbidden, because its pleasures are complete and perfect in every way. In Jannah there is everything that the soul desires and delight for the eyes, and they will abide therein eternally……Then how great is the difference between these two homes!-Imam Sa’di rahimahullah: Tafseer al Kareem al Rahman
Amatullah | Reminders, SubhanAllah, Tafseer | 05 6th, 2010 |
4 People have left comments on this post
assalamu alaykum!
i was wondering before what these ayat meant… Allah is Latif and Khabir, no doubt.
Jazakellah Khairan! Very useful knowledge.
wa alaykum salam wa rahmatullah,
That is why I looked up the tafseer myself subhanAllah…I did not understand what the ayah meant and the tafseer of it was amazing.
Assalaamu alaykum wa rahmatullah wa barakatuhu,
When I think of the astonishing achievements of the Western civilization… And the number of Muslims swapping their Islamic way of life for the Western way of life… Makes me think that the technological advancements, “achievements” and the “riches” of the people of the West, which seem to me to be their “…ceilings and stairways of silver upon which to mount…” and “…doors and couches [of silver] upon which to recline, And gold ornament…”, or at least something close to that, were given to them in order to punish the believers… Because clearly these Western symbols are driving many Muslims to believe that the Western way of thinking is the true one, and that leads them to kufr… And that again shows how mistaken are those who believe that the way for Muslims to return to glory and power is to imitate the non-Muslims… Allah knows best whether I am making a correct analogy and I ask Him s.w.t. to forgive my mistakes. I would like to hear your thoughts on this insha’Allah.
Thank you for reminding us about the timelessness of the Qur’anic wisdom, may Allah s.w.t. reward you and guide us all to that which is best for us, ameen.
Wasslaam
Salaam u alaikum warahmatullahi wabarakatuh, i liked this verse a lot too. MAy Allah grow us in faith and establish our hearts our hearts upon Truth, and shower us with His Love, Ameen.