,islam,quran,tafsir,the light of the quran

200. " when you have performed your (holy) rites, then remember allah,
as you remember your forefathers or even with more intense
remembrance. and there are some men who say: ` our lord! give us
in this world ', they shall have no portion in the world to come."
201. " but there are some who say: ` our lord! grant us good
in this world and good in the world to come, and save us
from the torment of the fire '."
202. " these shall have a portion of what they have earned;
and allah is quick in reckoning."

commentary:
it is narrated from imam sadiq (a.s.) that in the age of ignorance
when the performance of hajj ended there usually formed a meeting of
people where they used to boast about the fanciful honours that they
had owned from their ancestors. they used to explain their stories in
detail.

the qur'an says that after finishing the rites of hajj remember
allah, and speak about him and his endless blessings in that large
gathering. this remembrance of the lord might be, at least, with the
same enthusiasm and affection that you had in your boastings and glory
towards your ancestors in the age of ignorance, though this one should
be even more intense than the former one.

" when you have performed your (holy) rites, then remember allah,
as you remember your forefathers or even with more intense
remembrance. ..."

this verse also teaches us that greatness and honour is true under
the shadow of relation with allah, not boasting for the vain honours of
forefathers.

"... and there are some men who say: ..."

after that, the qur'an makes the situation of people clear, and
points out the standard of thought and understanding of people. there
are some groups of people who do not look for anything but the
material interest for themselves, and do not seek from allah but for
the same. they say:

"...` our lord! give us in this world ', ..."

these people do not seek for any share of spiritualities, here in
this life. they will not have any share of them in hereafter, either. in
the coming eternal world, where all need everything of that kind, they
will have nought, and no portion of the good things of the next world
will be given them.

"...they shall have no portion in the world to come."

* * * *

the second group are those whose thoughts are not limited to the
material life alone. they seek for both the good things of the life of this
world, as the primary stage of the spiritual developement towards
perfection, and the felicity of the next world. so, this verse defines, in
fact, the logic of islam due to the material subjects and spiritual subjects.
it condemns those who are drowned only in materialities as well as
those who have no regard and attention to the worldly life.

" but there are some who say: ` our lord! grant us good in this world
and good in the world to come, ..."

they also ask him to save them from the painful chastisement of
the coming world, saying thus:

"...and save us from the torment of the fire."

it is obvious that the term /hasanah/, which means ` goodness ',
has a vast meaning in the verse so that it includes all the material and
spiritual merits. but, in some traditions, it is narrated that the prophet
(p.b.u.h.), in answer to the question that what the goodness of this world
and the world to come was, said:

" he who has been bestowed a thankful heart, a busy praising tongue,
and a pious wife who helps him in his affairs of this world and the next,
then, surely, he has been given the good of this world and the good of the
coming world, and will be kept off from the torment of fire." 1

evidently, this meaning is among the kind of commenting on a
general concept upon a specific one, and pointing to the clear examples
rather than to be exclusive to these particular ones.

* * * *
" these shall have a portion of what they have earned;
and allah is quick in reckoning."

following the foregoing ideas, in this verse it says that these two
groups of people will enjoy of what they have obtained, both those who
seek allah for only the things of this life and those who demand him
the good of this life and the next. neither of them are deprived from
what they seek for, but each group will be confined to their own
demands.

allah will reckon the account of all people in the hereafter in a
short time without interfering one person's account with that of another
person.

it has been narrated from imam amir-ul-mu'mineen ali (a.s.)
who said:

" verily allah will reckon the human beings in a single whole time
similar to (the way) that he provides them sustenance wholly in a time." 2

so, the qur'an says:

"...and allah is quick in reckoning."

in this verse, the question of speediness of reckoning from the
side of allah has been pointed out.

1 majma`-ul-bayan, vol. 2, p. 298
2 ibid