this world.

The lexicographers state that khilāq means one’s allotted portion or share, as though it is what has been created for a person—what has been decreed for him. In the same vein, people say qisma for what has been apportioned to him, and naṣīb for what has been set up—or fixed—for him.

Thus the Almighty says, “He shall have no share in the Hereafter” (Q 2:102), meaning no portion at all; and the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, said, “Only those who will have no share in the Hereafter wear silk.”

The verse therefore embraces all of the explanations given by the scholars. For He, exalted be He, also says, “They were mightier than you in strength and greater in wealth and children” (Q 9:69). The strength they possessed could have been used for both this world and the Hereafter, and the same is true of their wealth and offspring. That very strength, wealth, and progeny constitute their khilāq—their allotted portion. They enjoyed their power, their riches, and their children in the life of this world.

As for the deeds they performed through that strength and with those resources, those deeds were their religion. Had they sought thereby the pleasure of God and the Abode of the Hereafter, they would have received a reward for them in the Hereafter. But by taking immediate enjoyment from those deeds, they merely seized their short-lived worldly shares. This includes anyone whose efforts are directed solely toward worldly gain, whether the activity in question is formally an act of worship or something else.