Ash-Shuraa · Makki · ayah 36 of 53

Ash-Shuraa 42:36

فَمَآ أُوتِيتُم مِّن شَىْءٍ فَمَتَـٰعُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۖ وَمَا عِندَ ٱللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَىٰ لِلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَلَىٰ رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ

“So whatever thing you have been given - it is but [for] enjoyment of the worldly life. But what is with Allāh is better and more lasting for those who have believed and upon their Lord rely”

Saheeh International

Essence

All you are given here is real enjoyment for a stretch of road; what is with Allah is better and never runs out.

A reflection

Admired at eight, a puddle by midnight

At a charity gala, the centrepiece is an ice sculpture of a swan. At eight o'clock guests crowd round it for photographs. It is genuinely beautiful. By midnight it is a smooth lump on a tray of water, and the staff carry it out through the kitchen.

The ayah says fa-mā ūtītum min shayʾin fa-matāʿu al-ḥayāti al-dunyā: whatever you have been given of anything is the enjoyment of the near life. The word matāʿ has an established set of images in the lexicons. In the tent, matāʿ was the household goods. On the road, it was the bundle of provisions, enough to reach the end of the journey. The lexicons tie it to benefit that stretches over a time and then ends. One lexicon pictures the forenoon sun climbing to its height before it declines.

So matāʿ is not a dismissive word. It is real benefit, real enjoyment. The swan really was beautiful. The point is the clock.

One classical commentator notices that the ayah uses two signals at once. Calling it matāʿ points to its smallness. Tying it to al-dunyā points to its passing. Another says simply: it is enjoyed for a few days that end and go, so it is not something to boast about.

The Prophet ﷺ lived this. Jāmiʿ al-Tirmidhī records that he slept on a mat that left marks on his side. His Companions offered to make him soft bedding. He said: what have I to do with the world? I am in it only like a rider who rests in the shade of a tree, then moves on and leaves it. It is graded ṣaḥīḥ.

The gala guests were not wrong to admire the swan. The mistake would be building a life around it. Enjoy the shade. Keep riding.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.