(7-8) “Indeed, We have made whatever is on the earth an adornment for it, so that We may test them as to which of them is best in deeds. * And indeed, We will turn whatever is on it into barren ground.”

The Exalted informs us that He has made everything on the face of the earth—delicious foods, drinks, comfortable dwellings (1), ⦗471⦘ trees, rivers, crops, fruits, delightful vistas, elegant gardens, melodious voices, beautiful forms, gold, silver, horses, camels, and the like—an adornment for this worldly abode, as a trial and a test. “So that We may test them as to which of them is best in deeds,” meaning whose deeds are most sincere and most correct. Yet Allah will cause all these things to perish and fade away, to vanish and come to an end.

The earth will return to barren ground: its pleasures will be gone, its rivers will have dried up, its traces will have been effaced, and its delights will have vanished. This is the true nature of this world. Allah has made it so clear to us that it is as though we see it with our own eyes. He has warned us against being deceived by it and encouraged us to seek an abode whose bliss endures and whose inhabitants enjoy everlasting happiness. All of this is out of mercy toward us.

Thus, those who look only at the outward face of this world and not at its inner reality are deceived by its splendor and adornment. They pass through it as beasts do and enjoy it as grazing livestock do. They give no thought to what is due to their Lord and do not care to know Him. Their sole concern is to gratify their desires, regardless of where or how they obtain their gratification. When death approaches any one of them, he is distraught at the destruction of his person and the loss of his pleasures, not at the negligence and evil deeds his own hands have sent ahead.

As for one who looks at the inner reality of this world and understands what it is meant for and what he himself is meant for, he takes from it only what will help him fulfill the purpose for which he was created. He seizes the opportunity afforded by his precious life, making this world a place of passage, not an abode of delight; a long journey, not a permanent home. He exerts every effort to know his Lord, carry out His commands, and perform deeds with excellence. Such a person occupies the finest station with Allah and deserves from Him every honor and blessing, every joy and mark of distinction. He looked to the inner reality of this world while the deluded looked only at its outward face, and he labored for his Hereafter while the idle labored for his worldly life. How vast is the gulf between the two groups, and how great the difference between the two parties!