| Jonah: (24) The likeness of the life of this world...

In this verse, there are several issues:

When the Almighty said, {O people, your wrongdoing is only against yourselves; [it is but] a enjoyment of the worldly life} (Jonah: 23), He followed it with this astonishing simile for those who commit injustice on earth, are deluded by the world, cling tightly to it, and strongly turn away from preparing for the Hereafter.

He said: {The likeness of the life of this world is but as rain which We send down from the sky, and the vegetation of the earth mingles with it...} (Jonah: 24).

This statement can be understood in two ways:

1. The mingling due to rain: The meaning is that the vegetation of the earth mingles with the rain that descends from the sky. This is because when rain falls, many types of plants grow because of it, and these types are mixed together, referring to what was not yet growing before the rain fell.
2. The mingling before maturity: The intended meaning is that the vegetation has sprouted but has not yet fully grown or flourished. It is only at the beginning of its emergence from the earth and the start of its existence. When the rain falls upon it and mingles with it (i.e., each element connects with the other), that vegetation becomes vibrant, grows, becomes beautiful, and attains its full splendor and adornment.

This is what is meant by His saying: {until, when the earth has taken on its rich ornament and has been embellished...} This is because embellishment (zukhruf) refers to the perfection of a thing's beauty.

The earth is described as taking on its embellishment by analogy with a bride who wears luxurious garments of every color and adorns herself with all possible colors of beauty—red, green, yellow, gold, and white. Undoubtedly, when a garden reaches this state and condition, its owner rejoices, his hope for its benefit increases, and his heart becomes completely absorbed in it.

Then, the Almighty sends a great calamity upon this wondrous garden all at once, day or night—hail, wind, or flood—so that those trees and crops become ruined and destroyed, as if they had never existed at all. Inevitably, the owner of that garden experiences immense regret and intense sorrow. Similarly, for one who sets his heart upon the pleasures and delights of the world, when those things pass away, his sorrow and longing for them become great.

Know that the comparison of the worldly life to this vegetation can be understood in several ways, which the Judge (Al-Qadi) summarized, may Allah have mercy on him:

The First Way: The consequence of this worldly life, which a person spends pursuing worldly matters, is like the consequence of this vegetation: just when hope for its benefit is high, despair strikes it. This is because, typically, when one clings to the world and sets his heart upon it, death comes to him. This is the meaning of His saying: {So when they rejoiced in what they were given, We seized them suddenly, and behold, they were in despair} (Al-An'am: 44)—losing the world for which they spent their lives, and losing the Hereafter toward which they were heading.

The Second Way: The simile shows that just as that crop yielded no praiseworthy outcome, so too the one deluded by and loving the world will achieve no praiseworthy outcome.

The Third Way: The analogy is similar to His saying: {And We will proceed to what they have done of deeds and make them as scattered dust} (Al-Furqan: 23). Since the effort of the farmer became futile due to the occurrence of destructive causes, so too is the effort of the one deluded by the world.

The Fourth Way: When the owner of that garden cultivated it with the toil of the soul and the strain of the spirit, and attached his heart to benefiting from it, when the destructive cause occurs, the intense effort he exerted in the past becomes the cause of intense misery for him in the future—which is the regret that afflicts his heart. Similarly is the state of one who sets his heart on the world and exhausts himself acquiring it. When he dies and loses everything he attained, the effort he endured in acquiring the means of the world becomes the cause of great misery for him in the Hereafter.

The Fifth Way: Perhaps the Almighty struck this simile for those who do not believe in the Resurrection. We see the crop that has reached the utmost degree of cultivation and beauty, reaching the peak of adornment. Then, a calamity befalls the embellished earth, and that beauty completely vanishes. Then, that earth is described with that adornment once again. Thus, this example is mentioned to indicate that the One capable of doing that is also capable of resurrecting life in the Hereafter to recompense them for their deeds—whether good or evil.

The Simile (al-mathal): A simile is a statement where the condition of the second thing is likened to the first. It is also possible that the intended meaning of "likeness" (mathal) is "description" (sifah). The meaning would be: "The description of the life of this world is like..."

Regarding His saying: {and has been embellished} (waz-zuyyinat), Al-Zajjaj said: It means "it became embellished" (tazayyanat), and the tā' was assimilated into the zāy, and the zāy was made quiescent, thus necessitating the addition of the connecting alif (alif al-wasl). This is similar to what we mentioned concerning His saying: {If you had done so} (idāra'tum) (Al-Baqarah: 72) and {when they follow one another} (idārakū) (Al-A'raf: 38).

As for His saying: {and its people thought that they were able to control it} (wa ẓanna ahluhā annahum qādirūn 'alayhā), Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It means the people of that land were capable of harvesting it and obtaining its fruits. The precise meaning is that although the pronoun seemingly refers back to the earth, it actually refers to the vegetation present on the earth.

Regarding His saying: {until there came to it Our command} (atāhā amrunā), Ibn Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said: It means Our punishment. The precise meaning is that Our command for its destruction came to it.

And His saying: {and We made it as stubble} (faja'alnāhā ḥaṣīdan): Ibn Abbas said: There is nothing left in it. Al-Dahhak said: It means harvested material. Based on this, ḥaṣīd refers to the land whose vegetation has been harvested. It is also possible that ḥaṣīd refers to the vegetation itself. Abu Ubaidah said: Al-ḥaṣīd means completely uprooted. Others said: Al-ḥaṣīd means cut down and plucked out.

Regarding His saying: {as if it had never flourished yesterday} (ka'annam lam taghna bil-ams): Al-Layth said: When something perishes, it is said, "It is as if it never flourished yesterday." This comes from the saying, "The people flourished in their dwelling" (ghaniya al-qawm fī dārihim), meaning they resided there. Based on this interpretation, this phrase describes the vegetation. Al-Zajjaj said: Its meaning is, "as if it had not been inhabited/cultivated yesterday" (ka'annam lam tu'ammar bil-ams). Based on this interpretation, the reference is to the earth.

And His saying: {Thus do We detail the signs} (kadhālika nufaṣṣil al-āyāt): Meaning, We mention them one after another, in sequence, so that their succession and abundance may be a cause for strengthening certainty and removing doubt and ambiguity.

! 7 < { And Allah invites to the Abode of Peace and guides whom He wills to a straight path. } > 7