Az-Zukhruf · Makki · ayah 35 of 89

Az-Zukhruf 43:35

وَزُخْرُفًا ۚ وَإِن كُلُّ ذَٰلِكَ لَمَّا مَتَـٰعُ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا ۚ وَٱلْـَٔاخِرَةُ عِندَ رَبِّكَ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ

“And gold ornament. But all that is not but the enjoyment of worldly life. And the Hereafter with your Lord is for the righteous.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Gold on top of silver, and all of it a brief enjoyment; what lasts is kept with your Lord for those who carry His shield.

A reflection

A surah named after gold leaf

This single word, zukhruf, gives the whole surah its name. Az-Zukhruf: the Ornament. Out of everything in it, the name it carries is the very thing it calls a passing enjoyment.

The lexicons trace zukhruf first to gold. Then it came to mean any decoration. Then anything gilded to look better than it was. One lexicon defines it as adornment laid on as a coating. The spring blossoms on the earth are called its zukhruf (10:24), beautiful and gone within weeks.

So the picture is gold leaf. Dazzling on the surface, whatever lies beneath.

After the silver roofs, stairs, doors and couches, this ayah lays gold over all of it. Then it gives the verdict in a single breath. Wa-in kullu dhālika lammā matāʿu al-ḥayāti al-dunyā: and all of that is nothing but the enjoyment of the near life.

This is where the ego feels the ground move. Much of what we present to the world is gilding. The polished profile, the curated photographs, the confident manner in the meeting. Underneath, every one of us is ordinary clay. The One who could gild a house in gold for His enemies is not deceived by our gold leaf.

A restorer strips the gilding from an old picture frame. Underneath, the wood is cheap pine, patched with filler. She smiles. The craftsman knew exactly what he was doing.

Allah has no need for us to impress Him. He sees beneath every surface. That is not a threat. It is a relief. You can stop gilding for Him. With your Lord, ʿinda rabbika, what counts is not the surface, but what you have carried underneath it.

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.