Al-Hadid: (20) Know that the life...
(Know that the life of this world is but play, amusement, adornment, mutual boasting among you, and competition in wealth and children.)
After clarifying the state of the two groups in the Hereafter, the nature of the life in which the second group found tranquility is explained. It is indicated that it belongs to the trivialities of affairs, which the rational do not rely upon, let alone find tranquility in. It is "play" (la'b), which yields no fruit other than fatigue; "amusement" (lahw), which occupies a person away from what concerns and matters to them; "adornment" (zinah), from which no intrinsic honor is obtained, such as fine clothing, splendid mounts, and lofty houses; "mutual boasting" (tafakhur) regarding lineages and decaying bones; and "competition" (takathur) in numbers and resources. Al-Sulami read it as tafakhuri baynikum (with a genitive construction).
Then, it is pointed out that, despite this, it is swift to vanish and imminent in its decay, through His saying, Exalted is He: (Like a rain) (a downpour) (whose vegetation pleases the disbelievers) (meaning: its growth, which results from it, delights them). Regarding the "disbelievers" (al-kuffar), it is said: they are the farmers, as narrated from Ibn Mas'ud, because they "cover" (yakfurun) the seeds in the earth, and the reason for specifying them is clear. Or, it refers to those who disbelieve in Allah, Exalted is He; the reason for specifying them is that they are more intensely enamored with the adornment of the world. For when the believer sees something amazing, his thought transitions to the power of its Originator, Majestic is He, and he marvels at that—hence Abu Nuwas said regarding the narcissus: "Eyes of silver, staring; on their tips is molten gold, upon peridot stems, testifying that Allah has no partner." The disbeliever, however, does not let his thought transcend what he senses, so he becomes drowned in amazement.
(Then it dries up) (it moves to the furthest point it can reach; it is also said: it withers after its greenness and freshness) (and you see it)—you, whoever is capable of seeing—(turning yellow) (after you saw it fresh and vibrant). It is read as musfarran (in the accusative). It is said that the reason it was not said "it yellows" (fayusfar) is to signify that its yellowing is not concurrent with its withering, but rather, the yellowing is consequential to your seeing it as such. It is also said that this indicates the visibility of this to everyone. (Then it becomes debris) (crumbled, broken fragments from dryness).
Regarding the place of the "like" (ka): it is said to be in the accusative as a state (hal) from the pronoun in "play" (la'b), because it is in the sense of a description. It is also said to be in the nominative as a predicate following a predicate for the life of this world, by estimating the genitive (i.e., the example of the life is like the example of the rain, etc.). By this, it includes the comparison of all that is in it—the many years—with the duration of the vegetation of a single rain, which perishes and decays in less than a year, signaling its swift disappearance and proximity to decay.
After explaining the triviality of the worldly life—to encourage renunciation of it and aversion to being engrossed in it—the magnificence of the Hereafter is indicated, and the greatness of the pleasures and pains within it, to entice one to attain its lasting bliss and to warn against its painful punishment. He, Exalted is He, placed the mention of punishment first, saying: (And in the Hereafter is a severe punishment), because it is the result of being engrossed in the conditions of worldly life detailed previously, (and forgiveness) (great) (from Allah, and approval) (great, the extent of which cannot be estimated). In contrasting the severe punishment with two things, there is an indication of the dominance of mercy, and that it is of the category: "A difficulty will never overcome two eases."
In omitting the description of the punishment as being "from Allah, the Exalted," while describing what follows it with that, there is also an indication of [mercy's] dominance, and a symbolism that goodness is what is primarily intended.
(And the life of this world is not but the enjoyment of delusion)
(For one who found tranquility in it) and did not make it a means to the Hereafter nor a mount for its bliss. It is narrated from Sa'id ibn Jubayr: "The world is an enjoyment of delusion if it distracts you from seeking the Hereafter; but if it calls you to seek the approval of Allah, the Exalted, and to seek the Hereafter, then it is a blessed enjoyment and a blessed means."
