And His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "Know that the life of this world is but play and diversion and adornment and boasting among you and rivalry in wealth and children. It is like the example of a rain whose plant impresses the farmers; then it dries and you see it turned yellow; then it becomes broken pieces. And in the Hereafter is a severe punishment and forgiveness from Allah and pleasure. And what is the life of this world except the enjoyment of delusion."

This verse is a reminder and clarification of the matter of this world and its status. And "that" serves as a substitute for the two objects of knowledge that it does not enter upon two. And although it has restrained from action, the sentence that follows it is negating. And "the life of this world" in this verse refers to the occupations, actions, and thoughts that are specific to the life of this world. As for what is from that in obedience to Allah and His path, and what is from the necessities that support life and assist in acts of obedience, there is no entrance for it in this verse. And reflect upon the state of kings after their poverty, it shows you that all of their luxury is play and diversion. And "adornment" is the enhancement that is external to the essence of the thing, and "boasting" is about lineage, wealth, and others. And "rivalry" is the desire for this world, and he counted them so that honor would be for the one who adheres to the ignorant way.

Then, glorified and exalted is He, struck an example of this world. So the "kaf" in His saying, glorified and exalted is He: "like the example of" is in a raised position as a description of what has preceded. And the image of this example is that a person grows up in the lap of a kingdom or less than that. Then he ages, weakens, becomes ill, and misfortunes befall him in his wealth and offspring. He dies, and his affair diminishes. His wealth becomes for others, and his forms change. His affair is like rain that has struck a land and from that rain, a plant grows that impresses. Then it dries, meaning it becomes withered and yellow, then it breaks apart, then it is scattered by the winds and diminishes.

The interpreters have differed regarding the word "the farmers" here. Some of the people of interpretation said: it is from disbelief in Allah, glorified and exalted is He, because they have the greatest glorification of this world and the greatest admiration for its beauties. Others among them said: it is from "he covered the grain," meaning he concealed it in the ground, and they are the farmers. He specified them in mention because they are the people of insight regarding plants and agriculture, so they are not impressed except by that which is truly impressive, which has no defect in it. And "the crop has dried" means it has withered and turned yellow. And "broken pieces" is an exaggerated term, it is said "broken" and "broken pieces" meaning shattered or broken, like "wonderful" and "wonders" meaning impressive or astonishing.

Then He said, glorified and exalted is He: "And in the Hereafter is a severe punishment," as if He, glorified and exalted is He, said: and the reality is that... Then He mentioned the punishment first, being concerned with it, from the perspective of caution that a person should have first. So if he is cautious of fears, then at that time he extends his hope. So Allah, glorified and exalted is He, mentioned what he should fear before what he hopes for, which is forgiveness and pleasure. And it has been narrated from Asim that he included the letter "ra" from "and pleasure."

And "the enjoyment of delusion" means: the thing that is not worthy of enjoyment except by one who is deceived. And Ikrimah and others said: the enjoyment of delusion refers to glassware, because corruption and calamities quickly approach it. Thus, the world is like that or it is more severe.