Transliteration:( Allaahu yabsutur rizqa limai yashaaa'u wa yaqdir; wa farihoo bilhayaatid dunyaa wa mal hayaatud dunya fil Aakhirati illaa mataa' )
"Allah extends the provision for whom He wills and restricts. And they rejoice in the life of this world [75], but the life of this world is nothing in comparison to the Hereafter except a brief enjoyment [76]."
✅ [75] Rejoicing in worldly gains
Rejoicing over material gain with arrogance is the trait of disbelievers, who consider worldly abundance a mark of success.
Believers, on the other hand, rejoice only in Allah’s grace and mercy, showing gratitude rather than pride.
Allah says: "Say you, only Allah, only His grace and only His mercy, on it, therefore, let them rejoice." (Surah Yunus, 10:58)
This verse distinguishes the values of those heedless of the Hereafter and those who are spiritually aware.
✅ [76] The fleeting nature of worldly life
The life of the world is a temporary, deceiving enjoyment—especially when it distracts from remembering Allah.
Though filled with apparent prosperity, this worldly life is perishable and insignificant when compared to the eternal life of the Hereafter.
In contrast, life spent in obedience and preparation for the Hereafter is real, meaningful, and everlasting.
Allah says: "They are alive" (Surah Al-Baqarah, 2:154) — referring to the martyrs or spiritually alive individuals.
This highlights profound spiritual realities:
Some appear awake yet are asleep in heedlessness.
Others appear lifeless but are spiritually alive.
This reveals the difference between the spiritually alive and dead, the pious and sinful, the believer and the disbeliever.
26. Allah increases the provision for whom He wills, and straitens (it for whom He wills), and they rejoice in the life of the world, whereas the life of this world compared to the Hereafter is but a brief passing enjoyment.
Allah states that He alone increases the provisions for whom He wills and decreases it for whom He wills, according to His wisdom and perfect justice. So, when the disbelievers rejoice with the life of the present world that was given to them, they do not know that they are being tested and tried. Allah said in other Ayat,
(Do they think that in wealth and children with which We enlarge them. We hasten unto them with good things. Nay, but they perceive not.)﴿23:55-56﴾ Allah belittled the life of the present world in comparison to what He has prepared for His believing servants in the Hereafter,
(whereas the life of this world compared to the Hereafter is but a brief passing enjoyment.) Allah said in other Ayat,
(Say: “Short is the enjoyment of this world. The Hereafter is (far) better for him who has Taqwa, and you shall not be dealt with unjustly even equal to the amount of a Fatila.)﴿4:77﴾ and,
(Nay, you prefer the life of this world, although the Hereafter is better and more lasting.)﴿87:16-17﴾ Imam Ahmad recorded that Al-Mustawrid, from Bani Fihr, said that the Messenger of Allah said,
(The life of the present world, compared to the Hereafter, is just like when one of you inserts his finger in the sea, so let him contemplate how much of it will it carry.) and he pointed with the index finger. Imam Muslim also collected this Hadith in his Sahih. In another Hadith, the Prophet passed by a dead sheep, whose ears were small, and said,
(By Allah! The life of this present world is as insignificant to Allah as this sheep was to its owners when they threw it away).
(13:26) Allah grants the provision to whomsoever He wills abundantly and grants others in strict measure.[42] They exult in the life of the world, although compared with the Hereafter, the life of the world is no more than temporary enjoyment.
42. This verse refutes the wrong criterion by which the disbelievers of Makkah (and all other disobedient people of the world) judged whether one was or was not a favorite of God. They judged a man’s worth by his wealth and worldly prosperity and not by his faith and righteous conduct. They thought that the one who was enjoying all the good things of life was a favorite of God, even if he had erroneous beliefs and did wicked deeds. On the other hand, they considered the one who was poor and indigent to be under the wrath of God, even though he was righteous. That is why in their judgment the chiefs of the Quraish were far superior to the followers of the Prophet (peace be upon him). They would say, “You can see for yourselves that God is with the chiefs of the Quraish.
In this verse, Allah has warned them that they are absolutely wrong in drawing such a conclusion from the worldly conditions of the people. Allah gives His provision to the people abundantly or sparingly for reasons different from those which they presumed and richness or poverty is no criterion by which to judge the worth of people. The real criterion of judging the worth of people is their beliefs and deeds. The one, who has righteous beliefs and does good deeds, shall be higher in rank than the one who has wrong beliefs and does evil deeds. Thus the real criterion is the quality of his deeds and not the possession or the lack of wealth.
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