and every source of gloom or vexation. Thus He, exalted is He, calls all people to the Abode of Peace: “and He guides whom He wills to a straight path” (Yunus 25).
Guidance, however, is conditional; He did not say, “He guides everyone,” but rather, “and He guides whom He wills to a straight path.” Who, then, is truly entitled to Allah’s guidance? It is the one who turns in repentance to Him, as He, the Exalted, says: “and He guides to Himself those who turn in repentance” (al-Raʿd 27).
He also says, “So when they deviated, Allah caused their hearts to deviate” (as-Saff 5). Therefore, whoever possesses a sincere, untainted intention—seeking the Face of Allah and the dwelling of the Hereafter—such a person is the one Allah guides, and he falls under His statement: “and He guides whom He wills to a straight path.”
The author then quotes additional verses, such as His words: “And set forth for them the parable of the life of this world: it is like water We send down from the sky, and with it the vegetation of the earth mingles; then it becomes dry straw scattered by the winds” (al-Kahf 45). This means that worldly life is like water that descends upon the earth, causing it to sprout; then it dries out and the winds scatter it—it withers, and the winds carry it away. Such, too, is the dunya.
He, the Most High, also says: “Know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, adornment, mutual boasting among you, and rivalry in wealth and children” (al-Hadid 20).
These five things are all of no real worth: play, amusement, adornment, boasting among yourselves, and competition in wealth and offspring. Their example is “like rain whose growth pleases the disbelievers” (al-Hadid 20). It pleases the disbelievers because they are the ones engrossed in the dunya, their minds captivated by it. Vegetation grows from the rain, and the disbelievers marvel at its beauty and freshness: “whose growth pleases the disbelievers, then it withers and you see it turn yellow; then it becomes broken stubble” (al-Hadid 20). It vanishes and comes to an end, while in the Hereafter there is severe punishment