Al Kahf

الْمَالُ وَالْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ عِندَ رَبّـِكَ ثَواباً وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلاً

46. “Wealth and children are an ornament of the life of the world, and the everlasting good works are better with your Lord in reward and better in expectation.”

In Islamic traditions recorded by both the Sunnite and the Shi‘it, it is narrated from the Messenger of Allah (S), and by the Shi‘it again narrated from the Imams of Ahlul-Bayt (as), that the purpose of ‘the everlasting good works’ is the four-hymns, i.e.:

“Glory be to Allah, and praise belongs to Allah, and there is no god save Allah, and Allah is the greatest.”

And, in some other traditions, it is said that the objective meaning of this holy phrase is ‘The five statutory prayers’, while some others denote that it is ‘the night prayer’, while some other traditions indicate that the purpose of it is ‘the love of Ahl-ul-Bayt’.¹ Therefore, in this holy verse, Allah has defined the position of the wealth and the power of man, which are two main pillars of the life in this world. The verse says:

These ornaments are as blossoms which appear over the branches of this tree. They are fleeting and do not last long. If they do not take to themselves the colour of eternality by being on the path of Allah, they are much invalid. In this holy verse, in fact, two parts of the most important capitals of this world have been referred to, the rest of which are some dependants to these two. These two parts are the economical ability and human ability.

Then, it adds:

The concept of the phrase ‘the everlasting good works’ is so vast that it envelops any thought, idea, speech, and deed which is righteous and praiseworthy. And, naturally, this effort remains and its effects and favours reach the members of societies, such as science, industry, good children, the buildings of a mosque, hospital, and school, and also religious and useful publications like: the commentary of the Qur’an, the traditions of Ahl-ul-Bayt (as), and so on.