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bal tuʾthirūna l-ḥayāta d-dunyā
But you prefer the life of this world,
— Ali Quli Qarai
87Al-AʿlāالأعلىVerse 16 of 19
The Most High87. Al-Aʿlāالأعلى
al-A‘lā
The Most Exalted
MeccanVerse 16 of 19
87Al-AʿlāالأعلىVerse 16 of 19
The Most Exalted
But you prefer the life of this world,
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah A’la, Verses 14-19
14. "Indeed, he (alone) who has purified (himself) shall succeed",
15. “And remembers the name of his Lord and prays."
16. "Nay, you prefer the life of this world,”
17. "While the world to come is better and more lasting,”
18. "Surely this is in the earlier Scriptures,”
19. "The Scriptures of Abraham and Moses."
All Divine Books Contained A Definite Law
The former verses point to the dreadful penalty of the enemies of Truth while the next verses touch on the salvation of the believers and also the effective causes for this felicity. It begins:
Thus, the causes of salvation, felicity and success are counted as three: ‘purification', ‘remembrance of the Name of Allah', and ‘prayers'. Various commentaries have been cited for the meaning of the term /tazkiyah/ ‘purification'. First of all, it means 'purification of the soul from polytheism', in comparison with the former verses, and also that this is the most important purification. Another meaning is ‘purification of the heart from vices' by doing righteous deeds according to the verses of felicity in the Holy Qur'an, such as the beginning verses of Surah Mo'minun, No. 23, which says that salvation is a pledge for righteous deeds; or Surah Shams, No. 91, verse 9 which, according to the questions of righteousness and impiety, says:
Also, the term means 'alms of the fast-breaking feast' which would be paid first and, then, the special two rak'ah prayer of the day may be said, as this meaning has been cited in several narrations from Imam Sadiq (as).7 The same idea is narrated from Hazrat Ali (as) in other Muslim texts.8 A question may arise, here, as to is this Surah a Meccan Surah or not because there was nothing said, in Mecca, about fasting in the fasting month, alms of the fast-breaking feast, or the special two rak'ah prayer of the day. ('id-i-Fitr)
The answer to this question may be that some have said that the first part of the Surah was revealed in Mecca and the last part of it was revealed in Medina. It is also probable that the above commentary expresses one clear example, out of many, and is conforming the verse with a vivid example of the above meaning. Some have also said that the term /tazkiyah/, here, means 'alms-giving'. It is important to know that /tazkiyah/ has such a vast meaning that can involve all of the following: the purification of the soul from polytheism, purification of the heart from inquities, purification of deeds from prohibited ones and from hypocrisy, and purifying the soul and property by alms-giving in the path of Allah, because based on verse
alms-giving causes the soul and spirit to be purified. Therefore, all the above commentaries can be concentrated in the broad meaning of the verse. It is worth mentioning that in these verses, at first, purification is mentioned and, then, the Name of Allah and prayer are pointed out. It is also noteworthy that
is mentioned secondary to the Name of Allah. This is for the reason that one will not stand for prayers unless he remembers Allah and the light of Faith has enlightened his heart. Besides, prayer is worthy and acceptable when it is said wholly with the Name of Allah and His remembrance. And that some have commented on
only by ‘Allah-u-akbar' or
which is said at the beginning of the prayers, are, indeed, examples of this. Pointing to the main cause of disobedience on the path of salvation, it says:
And this is the very fact that is, also, stated in traditions:
"The love for this world is the prime origin of all vice” 10
There is no sound reason that lets man exchange the everlasting next world for this fleeting world and prefer these short low desires, which are often mingled with different kinds of pain and sorrow, to those tremendous eternal blessings which are free from any unbecoming harmful vice. And it should not be forgotten that:
Opinions are divided as to what the demonstrative /hatha/ 'this' points to. Some have said that it points to the last instruction about 'purification', 'prayer', and 'consider the life of this world superior to the Next World', because these have been the most basic teachings of all the prophets and are found in all of the Divine books. Some others believe that it denotes to the whole Surah, because the Surah begins with monotheism, continues with prophecy and ends with practiced programs of religion.
In any case, this structure shows that the splendid content of this Surah, or its last verses in particular, are in the principles of all religions and among the basic teachings of all prophets; that which is a sign of greatness for the Surah and the importance of these teachings. The term /suhuf/ is the plural form of /sahifah/ which, here, means 'a tablet or a page on which something is written.' The above verses show that Abraham and Moses did, indeed, have Divine books.
A narration from Abuthar says that he asked the Prophet (S) how many prophets (Nabi) there were and he answered that there were one hundred and twenty four thousand (124,000). Then he asked about the number of their messengers (Rasul), and the Prophet (S) answered him:
“They were three hundred and thirteen and the rest were only prophets (Nabi).”
He asked whether Adam was a prophet, and he (S) agreed and said that Allah spoke to Adam and it was He Who created him, Himself. Then the Holy Prophet (S) added:
“O Abuthar, four prophets were Arabs: Hud, Salih, Shu'ayb, and your prophet.”
Also, Abuthar asked the Messenger of Allah how many books Allah revealed, and he replied:
“One hundred and four books were revealed; ten books to Adam, fifty books to Shith, thirty books to Okhnukh (Enoch) and he is the first one who wrote by pen, ten books to Abraham, and Torah to Moses, Ingeel to Jesus, Zaboor to David, and Qur'an to Muhammad, (the Prophet of Islam)”. 11
The words
refer to the books of Abraham and Moses that are compared with the latter books which were revealed to Jesus (as) and the Holy Prophet of Islam (S).
Explanation
An analysis on the tradition:
'The love of this world is the prime origin of all vice'.
The Qur'anic calculation, in the aforementioned verses, for comparing this world with the Next World, saying:
is surely quite clear for the believing persons, but, regarding it, how does a believing person neglect his knowledge and commit sin and crimes? The answer to the question is 'the predominance of desires on man's entity', whose main origin is also the love for the world. Love of this world is irrespective of the love of wealth, ambitions, sensuality (lusts), self-indulgence, vengefulness, mammonism, and the like. They may sometimes be so forceful and violent, in man, as to cause him to set aside all his knowledge and wisdom which removes his sense of recognition and, consequently, he gives priority to this world rather than the Next World.
In Islamic traditions and narrations love of this world is repeatedly considered as the source of all sins and it is, in fact, an experienced truth that has been examined frequently in our own lives as well as in that of others. Therefore, for eradicating sins from our lives, there is no other way but, to quell the love we have for this world. We should know that this world is a probationary place and it is considered as a means, a passage, a bridge or as a farm through which we pass.
It is impossible for a lover of this world, when he is to choose either the property of this world or attaining Allah’s contentment, to accept the second idea. The files of criminal persons in courts prove, clearly, the truthfulness of the above tradition. When fights (even between brothers and friends), wars or murders are deeply examined, the hand of the love for this world is seen. But, how can we get rid of the love of this world when we are born and raised as the children of this world; and the love of a child for its mother is a natural phenomena?
To accomplish this task, mental, cultural and ideological training is needed and, then, purification of the soul is necessary. The most helpful thing in this process, for those who have decided to travel this path, is the contemplation on the outcome of the lovers of this world. What did the Pharaohs finally do with that abundant wealth that they had? What happened to Qarun whose
And how much could he finally take with him from the coffers? The present great forceful powers of our time, whose lives and authority have easily vanished and their kingdoms have changed into nothing after a single night or only over a short time, are the best examples for us to learn from. We conclude this long and vast theme with an expressive tradition from Imam Ali-ibn-al-Hosain (as) who was asked what act Allah considers the best, and he answered:
"Next to having the knowledge and consciousness about the Messenger of Allah, no act is better than having enmity for the world”.
Then he added:
"Because there are many paths on the road to the love of the world, and there are numerous ways of committing sin. The first thing, by which sin against Allah began, was lblis (Satan) when
“The second thing was 'greed' which caused Adam and Eve to leave the better when the Almighty Allah told them:
But they went to something that they aid not need and (the result of) that very action remained and will be for his children until the Day of Judgement, since most things that man demands he does not need”.
(Necessities are not often the source of sin, what is the origin of vice is vain desires and those things which are extra to the main necessities).
“Then it was 'envy' which was the cause of sin in Adam's son who envied his brother and killed him”.
Some other forms of love of the world are:
1. lust for women,
2. coveting this world (length of life, having all wishes fulfilled),
3. love for position; (prestige, status),
4. love for comfort (no responsibility: always wanting to be merry),
5. love to be superior,
6. love of speech, and
7. love for wealth.
All these seven characteristics are found in the love of this world. The prophets and learned men, having considered this fact, say:
''Love of this world is the prime origin of all vice.” 15
Supplication
O Lord! Clear our hearts from 'the love of the world’, the source of all vice.
O Lord! Always guide us on all routes to the path of development.
O Lord! You know the manifest and what is hidden, forgive us of our apparent and hidden sins with your Grace.
Footnotes