“This worldly life is nothing but amusement and play; whereas the abode of the Hereafter is truly the real life, if only they knew. When they board a ship, they call upon Allah, devoting their religion sincerely to Him; but when He delivers them safely to land, they immediately associate partners with Him—so let them deny what We have given them and enjoy themselves; they will soon know. Have they not seen that We have made a secure sanctuary, while people are snatched away all around them? Do they then believe in falsehood and deny the blessing of Allah?”
His saying, Exalted is He: “This worldly life is nothing but amusement and play”: amusement is the enjoyment of worldly pleasures, while play is futile activity. It is described by these two terms because it is fleeting. “Whereas the abode of the Hereafter is truly the real life”: that is, the everlasting and enduring life. The word translated “real life” means life itself; that is, it is there that everlasting life is found—“if only they knew”—the perishability of this world and the permanence of the Hereafter.
His saying, Exalted is He: “When they board a ship,” and fear drowning, “they call upon Allah, devoting their religion sincerely to Him,” abandoning their idols. “But when He delivers them safely to land, they immediately associate partners with Him.” This reports their obstinacy: in times of hardship, they acknowledge that Allah alone has the power to remove it; yet when it is gone, they return to their disbelief. Ikrimah said: “When the people of the pre-Islamic era set sail, they would take their idols with them. When the wind became violent against them, they threw them into the sea and cried, ‘O Lord, O Lord!’”
“So let them deny what We have given them”: the lām in this expression is the imperative particle, but its meaning is that of threat and warning, as in His saying: “Do whatever you wish” (41:40). That is, let them deny Allah’s blessing in delivering them. “And let them enjoy themselves”: Hamzah and al-Kisa’i recited the lām without a vowel, while the rest recited it with kasrah, coordinating it with “let them deny.” It was also said that whoever reads the lām with kasrah takes it as indicating purpose, and likewise in “let them deny.” The meaning is that they gain nothing from associating partners with Allah except disbelief and the enjoyment they have in this present life, with no share in the Hereafter.
“Have they not seen that We have made a secure sanctuary, while people are snatched away all around them?” That is, the Arabs would capture one another, while the people of Makkah remained safe. “Do they then believe in falsehood”—that is, idols and Satan—“and deny the blessing of Allah”—that is, Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and Islam?