Rest In The Shade 1 – Surah Ibrahim 14:3

In the Name of Allah, Most Gracious, Most Merciful

“Those who love the life of this world more than the Hereafter, who hinder (humankind) from the Path of Allah, and seek therein something crooked: they are astray by a long distance.” 14:3

Giving preference to the life of this world puts a person in a position of conflict with the requirements of faith, and on a collision course with the “path of Allah.” The situation is reversed when preference is given to the life to come. For then, this life is set on the right course. People enjoy it with moderation, always keen to earn Allah’s pleasure.  Hence there is no conflict between their preference for the life to come and their enjoyment of this life with the pleasures that it offers.

Those who turn their minds towards ensuring a happy outcome in the hereafter do not lose the pleasures of this world, as some people with faulty concepts imagine. In Islam, a happy life in this world is a prelude to a happy future life. The fulfillment of man’s task as Allah’s vicegerent on earth requires building a happy life. In Islam, there is no denunciation or renunciation of any aspect of this life as people wait for the hereafter. What Islam requires is that life should prosper with truth, justice and sound behavior by people who seek Allah’s pleasure and a happy life in the hereafter – this it the Islamic outlook.

Those who choose the life of this world in preference to the hereafter cannot monopolize the resources of this world, exploiting, cheating and oppressing people to serve their own interests in a society where the light of faith shines and people follow Allah’s guidance. Hence they turn themselves and others away from Allah’s path and try to make it appear crooked, devoid of truth and justice. It is only when they have done this, and managed to lead themselves away from the straight path of Allah and justice that they resort to their oppressive ways, cheating people and persuading them to share in their corruption. It is only in this way that they can get what they want of self-aggrandisement, taking for themselves most of the resources Allah has placed on earth, and behaving arroganlty towards others. People then submit their authority without resistance.

The way of life advocated by Islam protects human life against the selfishness and greed of those who are preoccupied with the life of this world in preference to the life to come. Under this way of life no one person or group can monopolize the earth’s wealth and resources.

[In The Shade Of The Qur'an, Volume 10, p.240-241.]