(196–198) “Do not let the disbelievers’ movement throughout the lands deceive you. It is only a brief enjoyment; then their refuge will be Hell—and what a wretched resting place! But those who fear their Lord will have Gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever, as hospitality from Allah. What is with Allah is better for the righteous.”

The purpose of this passage is to offer consolation concerning the worldly pleasures enjoyed by the disbelievers: their life of ease, their movement throughout the lands in pursuit of various forms of trade, gain, and pleasure, and the honor and ascendancy they sometimes enjoy. All of this is only “a brief enjoyment,” possessing neither permanence nor duration. They enjoy it briefly and will then be punished for it for a long time. This is the highest condition a disbeliever can attain, and you have seen what its ultimate end will be.

As for those who fear their Lord and believe in Him, besides the honor and comfort they receive in this world, “they will have Gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever.”

Even if it were assumed that they experienced every form of misery, hardship, toil, and difficulty in this world, all of it would be but a negligible trifle compared with everlasting bliss, wholesome life, joy, delight, and happiness—a gift in the guise of a trial. Allah therefore says: “What is with Allah is better for the righteous.” They are those whose hearts became righteous, and consequently their words and deeds became righteous. The Most Benevolent, the Most Merciful, therefore rewards them out of His benevolence with an immense reward, a magnificent gift, and everlasting triumph.