17-11 And man prays for evil as he ought to pray for good; and man is ever hasty.a
وَيَدْعُ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ بِٱلشَّرِّ دُعَآءَهُۥ بِٱلْخَيْرِ ۖ وَكَانَ ٱلْإِنسَـٰنُ عَجُولًۭا (۱۱)
17-11a: عَجُول – عَجَلة is to seek something before its time and because this relates to bodily desire, in the terminology of the Quran it is used for things that deserves censure. Hence, it is said: اَلۡعَجلَةُ مِن الشیطان : haste is the work of the devil (R). عَاجِلَة means the world (LA) or worldly existence. The meaning of عَجُول is either that humans make haste in asking for evil and chastisement or that they are hasty in seeking gain and repelling harm. As a result, humans desire for themselves anything that profits them quickly without adequate consideration of its ultimate consequence, and thus fail to assess what is truly to their benefit and what is harmful.
What is meant by man making haste for evil: The common understanding of this verse is that in their haste, people often curse their children or their friends, but the context requires a meaning that has a broader significance. The previous verses mention that the Quran reveals to the people the path of virtue and benevolence and in the coming verses, there is a mention of the consequences of deeds. Hence what is conveyed here is that as humans are hasty, they strive for worldly benefit and abandon the path of real welfare and progress, and do not care for performing virtuous and moral deeds because their benefit is seen in the long term. Thus, a person, instead of being a seeker of his true welfare, becomes a seeker of evil by sacrificing his real benefit for short term gain. A similar statement by the Prophet Salih is quoted elsewhere in the Quran:
لِمَ تَسْتَعْجِلُونَ بِٱلسَّيِّئَةِ قَبْلَ ٱلْحَسَنَةِ ۖ لَوْلَا تَسْتَغْفِرُونَ ٱللَّهَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُرْحَمُونَ : why do you hasten the evil before the good? Why do you not ask for forgiveness of Allah so that you may have mercy? (27:46). This interpretation encompasses the commonly understood meaning of this verse of cursing one’s family because a person tries to satisfy his immediate need for revenge and does not consider that what he is uttering is something detrimental to himself. In a hadith the Holy Prophet forbade people from cursing their children. Some people curse without giving it a thought, some do so jokingly, and some people in the throes of severe pain or a serious illness pray for death. All of these acts are forbidden.
Holy Prophet’s mercy: The Holy Prophet stated in a hadith: O Allah! I too am human, and like a human I feel pleased and like a human I get displeased. If I invoke evil for a believer, make it the source of his purification.
The connection of this verse with the previous section is that in that section the chastisement of Bani Israel was discussed, and here it is explained that in pursuit of instant gratification and short term benefit, people eventually become the source of their own sorrow.
17-12 And We made the night and the day two signs, then We have made the sign of the night to pass away and We have made the sign of the day manifest, so that you may seek grace from your Lord, and that you may know the numbering of years and the reckoning. And We have explained everything with distinctness.a
وَجَعَلْنَا ٱلَّيْلَ وَٱلنَّهَارَ ءَايَتَيْنِ ۖ فَمَحَوْنَآ ءَايَةَ ٱلَّيْلِ وَجَعَلْنَآ ءَايَةَ ٱلنَّهَارِ مُبْصِرَةًۭ لِّتَبْتَغُوا۟ فَضْلًۭا مِّن رَّبِّكُمْ وَلِتَعْلَمُوا۟ عَدَدَ ٱلسِّنِينَ وَٱلْحِسَابَ ۚ وَكُلَّ شَىْءٍۢ فَصَّلْنَـٰهُ تَفْصِيلًۭا (۱۲)
17-12a: مَحَوْنَآ – مَحۡو means to erase, wipe out, obliterate. Among the blessed names of the Holy Prophet is اَلۡماحِی which means, according to a hadith narration, that Allah will wipe out disbelief through the Holy Prophet.
مُبْصِرَةًۭ – اَبۡصَر has two meanings. The first is saw, and the other is came out of disbelief towards the sagacity of belief. In فَمَنْ أَبْصَرَ فَلِنَفْسِهِۦ : so whoever sees, it is for his own good (6:104), this meaning applies here. The meaning of مُبْصِرَة in فَلَمَّا جَآءَتْهُمْ ءَايَـٰتُنَا مُبْصِرَةًۭ ۟ So when Our clear signs came to them is واضحة clear and open signs. In
اتَيْنَا ثَمُودَ ٱلنَّاقَةَ مُبْصِرَةًۭ :We gave to Thamud the she-camel, a manifest sign (17:59), the meaning of مُبْصِرَة is taken as بَیّنة manifest or مُضِیئة enlightening (signs), with the last meaning fitting here (LA).
What is meant by effacing the sign of the night: The numbering of years and accounting of time by the alteration of the days and nights is well known and by ٱلْحِسَابَ here is meant the counting of years, and keeping account of months and days. However, it is stated in the verse that Allah has made them two signs. So, what is meant by this? Some have said that the related appendix is omitted, and the meaning is نیّری الیل و النہار what illuminates the night and day, referring to the moon and the sun being a sign. Then in this context, مَحۡو is taken to mean that the moon does not have its own illumination, or the sun erased the luster of the moon (RM). Some theories propose that the moon has reached its present state through a slow process of cooling and Ibn Abbas has stated the same in Aasaar that in the beginning, the moon was iridescent like the sun but then its real light was erased (IJ). In one narration, this idea is ascribed to the Holy Prophet.
What is the point of mentioning this obvious fact when the subject of the first verse of this section is about requital of human actions and the same subject is continued in the next verse? The reason for this appears to be, that the obscurity of the night and darkness are metaphorical references for difficulties and hardships. After the first verse mentions that humans create difficulties for themselves because of haste, this verse provides consolation that difficulties ultimately pass away and are replaced by the light of the day. While this is good news for each individual to not panic during difficulties, but its placement after the mention of Bani Israel is especially good news for the Muslim nation, that if leaving the blessings of the Quran lands them in difficulties, even so, the darkness of the night will be erased and the day will be made to dawn on them. It is for this reason that the word used with ٱلَّيْلِ night is مَحۡو erase, meaning the night will get eradicated. The word used with day is مُبْصِرَةًۭ clarity which means the light of faith which will then illuminate the Muslim nation. The ending words of the verse that Allah has explained everything with distinctness indicate the remarkable veracity with which this verse reveals a manifest physical law in a scholarly manner, along with revealing a hidden spiritual truth with great clarity.
17-13 And We have made every man’s actions to cling to his neck, and We shall bring forth to him on the day of Resurrection a book which he will find wide open.a
وَكُلَّ إِنسَـٰنٍ أَلْزَمْنَـٰهُ طَـٰٓئِرَهُۥ فِى عُنُقِهِۦ ۖ وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُۥ يَوْمَ ٱلْقِيَـٰمَةِ كِتَـٰبًۭا يَلْقَىٰهُ مَنشُورًا (۱۳)
17-13a: طَـٰٓئِر – See 3-49c for its meaning. Every action of a person, whether good or bad, flies away from the person and is therefore also called طَـٰٓئِر as in this verse and in طَـٰٓئِرُكُم مَّعَكُمْ :Your evil fortune is with you (36:19) and طَـٰٓئِرُكُمْ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ : Your evil augury is with Allah (27:47). The meaning of طَـٰٓئِر here is ill fortune, that is, the bad outcome they faced because of their evil actions (R). The meaning of طَـٰٓئِر as actions is also narrated by Ibn Abbas (IJ).
This verse provides a very wise philosophical analysis of good and bad deeds and their outcomes. The word used for actions is طَـٰٓئِر which is lexicologically correct but refers to something flying away, meaning a deed once done flies out of the hands of a person and he has no more control over it. On one hand, a person loses control over the action and on the other its outcome is tied around the person’s neck, so it becomes like a necklace which cannot be taken off. Most people are unaware of the reality that they will lose control over the action they are committing because it will fly out of their hands, while its outcome will necessarily become part of their life. Hence most people are careless while committing actions and act as if everything is in their control. There are many who think while committing an evil action that they will do it just this once and will then repent. They do not realize that once a deed is done, it will not be in their hands to undo it. There are others who think that the outcome of their deed is not a big deal because they do not see the consequences of their deeds manifestly. Hence after affirming that Allah has made every action to cling to the doer’s neck, it is stated that although the outcome may not be seen manifestly in this world, on Judgment Day it will be present in the form of an open book and the veils preventing a person from seeing the consequences of their actions will be removed. In another place in the Quran, it is stated:
لَّقَدْ كُنتَ فِى غَفْلَةٍۢ مِّنْ هَـٰذَا فَكَشَفْنَا عَنكَ غِطَآءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ ٱلْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌۭ : Thou wast indeed heedless of this, but now We have removed from thee thy veil, so thy sight is sharp this day (50:22). The book is here called كِتَـٰبًۭا مَنشُورًا a wide open book, indicating the person will be brought openly and manifestly before his deeds. Some have interpreted كِتَـٰبًۭا مَنشُورًا as follows: The consequences of a person’s actions are engraved on their soul because the effect of every action simultaneously affects a person’s spirit, but the outcome is hidden from the physical senses. But when these physical senses are severed by death, then the effects of the actions become manifest (RM). The objection to this interpretation is that it would imply that by the Day of Judgment is meant قیامت صغریٰ the lesser or smaller day of judgment, which is a person’s death, and this does not align with the verse. Nevertheless, it must be admitted that by a book is not meant a paper book on which people write with pen and ink. The honorable scribes described as کراماً کاتبین do not write with pen and ink on actual paper. The meaning of the Arabic word کتاب has a range of meanings for which see 10-61a. Furthermore, the book is called كِتَـٰبًۭا مَنشُورًا a wide open book which does not lend itself to the idea of a book open on a particular page because in that case, its other pages would be hidden. Instead, the words indicate that the book is open in every part, and everything that is written on it can be seen in one glance. If this is not what is meant, then there is no point in calling it مَنشُور wide open. So, it is a book in the sense that a person’s actions are preserved in it, and it is wide open in the sense that all of a person’s actions are made clearly visible.
17-14 Read thy book. Thine own soul is sufficient as a reckoner against thee this day.a
ٱقْرَأْ كِتَـٰبَكَ كَفَىٰ بِنَفْسِكَ ٱلْيَوْمَ عَلَيْكَ حَسِيبًۭا (۱۴)
17-14a: On the Day of Judgment a person’s own soul will be sufficient as a reckoner. This verse further elucidates the reality in the previous verse that the condition of the soul will ultimately manifest everything about it. So, the reading in the statement ٱقْرَأْ كِتَـٰبَكَ Read thy book refers to reading in a different sense,. The terminology used for reckoning is varied in other parts of the Quran. For example, in some places, the Quran states that a balance will be set up which indicates that the actions will be weighed, and in other places, as here, it is stated that a person’s own soul will audit itself, and in some verses, other people are called to read the book of deeds, as in هَآؤُمُ ٱقْرَءُوا۟ كِتَـٰبِيَهْ Lo! Read my book (69:19). In reality it is a mistake to presume we understand things that belong to the next world, based on our understanding of this world. However, to give us an idea so we can relate to it, the reality of the next world needs to be explained in terms of the things of this world. Everything that is mentioned in the Quran and Hadith is true but only Allah knows in what way it will come about.
17-15 Whoever goes aright, for his own soul does he go aright; and whoever goes astray, to its detriment only does he go astray. And no bearer of a burden can bear the burden of another. Nor do We chastise until We raise a messenger.a
مَّنِ ٱهْتَدَىٰ فَإِنَّمَا يَهْتَدِى لِنَفْسِهِۦ ۖ وَمَن ضَلَّ فَإِنَّمَا يَضِلُّ عَلَيْهَا ۚ وَلَا تَزِرُ وَازِرَةٌۭ وِزْرَ أُخْرَىٰ ۗ وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًۭا (۱۵)
17-15a: The subject of the first verse is continued and completed in this verse. After discussing the law of reward and punishment for actions and explaining that the reward and punishment will be clearly visible on the Day of Judgment, we are told that whosoever adopts guidance will see the good outcome of his actions in himself and the one who goes astray will see the outcome of his straying in himself. Thus, every person will see the visible outcome of their actions, described in the previous verse as كِتَـٰبًۭا مَنشُورًا in their own soul. This relationship of the outcome of actions with the soul is such that another person cannot take the responsibility for someone’s deeds, nor relieve another of the inevitable consequences. Hence the subject of personal responsibility is described exhaustively, with the added perspective that people are not ignorantly subjected to the law of requital, since Allah sends His messengers to inform them of how the reward and punishment of actions takes place. It is manifest from a number of Quranic verses that people will not be chastised unless a clear sense of what is good and bad is established amongst them by messengers sent by Allah. This is stated in many places in the Quran, as for example in:
وَسِيقَ ٱلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوٓا۟ إِلَىٰ جَهَنَّمَ زُمَرًا ۖ حَتَّىٰٓ إِذَا جَآءُوهَا فُتِحَتْ أَبْوَٰبُهَا وَقَالَ لَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَآ أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ رُسُلٌۭ مِّنكُمْ يَتْلُونَ عَلَيْكُمْ ءَايَـٰتِ رَبِّكُمْ : And those who disbelieve are driven to hell in companies; until, when they come to it, its doors are opened, and the keepers of it say to them: Did not there come to you messengers from among you reciting to you the messages of your Lord (39:71) and أَوَلَمْ نُعَمِّرْكُم مَّا يَتَذَكَّرُ فِيهِ مَن تَذَكَّرَ وَجَآءَكُمُ ٱلنَّذِيرُ :Did We not give you a life long enough, for him to be mindful who should mind? And there came to you the warner (35:37) and ٱلْغَيْظِ كُلَّمَآ أُلْقِىَ فِيهَا فَوْجٌۭ سَأَلَهُمْ خَزَنَتُهَآ أَلَمْ يَأْتِكُمْ نَذِيرٌۭ – قَالُوا۟ بَلَىٰ قَدْ جَآءَنَا نَذِيرٌۭ : Whenever a group is cast into it, its keepers ask them: Did not a warner come to you? They say: Yea, indeed a warner came to us (67:8-9). In the light of these clarifications, interpreting
وَمَا كُنَّا مُعَذِّبِينَ حَتَّىٰ نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًۭا in any other way than Nor do We chastise until We raise a messenger is a grave error. Although one can glean some testimony about the existence of God and His Oneness from the study of nature and to a certain extent this is innate in human nature, information about life after death and the law of reward and punishment discussed above is given to the world only through the prophets, because the far-reaching consequences of deeds are not clear solely by the light of intellect. In reference to Allah’s guidance, the verse states that far be it from the Glory of Allah to punish people under a law of which they have no knowledge. The discussion about chastisement is undertaken because it is the demand of the merciful nature of God to reward good deeds, and it is the demand of the same merciful nature that He should not chastise unless He informs beforehand that a particular matter deserves punishment and people are duly warned.
The law of reward and punishment does not apply to a child: One of the principles of Islam is that a child who is unable to distinguish between right and wrong, and those people to whom the teachings of the prophets have not reached, are not accountable for what they do not know. Reflection shows that this principle is based on a very wise philosophy. A strict logician can say that whether it is a child, or an ignorant person, God’s law will do its job. If a child puts his hand in the fire, it will burn his hand, and there will be no reprieve from getting burned because of being a child or being ignorant. This is true, but physical laws are not necessarily analogous to moral laws. Morals and ethics have a relationship with feelings and emotions which are non-physical things. Sometimes, a child may say something that is against the facts, or he may hide something, but these actions do not negatively impact him, however if the same action is done by a person who knows right from wrong then it will definitely affect his nature and temperament. Allah’s laws of morality are based on the ability to distinguish right from wrong and this ability is developed by prophets. Hence a child cannot be called to account even if he is the child of a disbeliever. The Holy Prophet has clearly stated: ما من مولود الا علی الفطرۃ : No child is born but he is born according to nature (made by God for humans). According to one hadith, the Holy Prophet was asked about the children of the disbelievers, and he replied that they will be the attendants of the dwellers of heaven (IK). The use of the word غلمان may refer to the attendants mentioned in this hadith. Those who consider the children of disbelievers who die before puberty to be accountable and destined for hell because of their disbelieving parents are mistaken. This rule also applies to mentally infirm people. In a hadith narrated in the Musnad of Imam Ahmad ibn Hanbal, it is stated that on the Day of Judgment four kinds of people: the deaf, the mentally infirm, the extremely old, and those who die without receiving guidance, will put forward their excuses. Allah will command them to enter the fire but when they enter, the fire will be extinguished and cooled for them. The moral here appears to be that the prophets, in a manner of speaking, also command their people to enter the fire, which is the fire of the love of God, but which cools the love of this world. Those who enter this fire recognize Allah’s love as the true joy. Included in this exemption are those who are unaware of the teachings of prophets. Some have included intelligence in the category of رَسُولًۭا messengers as an independent factor that provides guidance, which acts and adjudicates like a messenger for them. Some have gone even so far as to say that by نَبْعَثَ رَسُولًۭا We raise a messenger is meant the messages of the intellect because the intellect is the real messenger (Rz). However, we see that Allah started the system of sending messengers right with the creation of humans and has also stated:
وَإِن مِّنْ أُمَّةٍ إِلَّا خَلَا فِيهَا نَذِيرٌۭ :And there is not a people but a warner has gone among them (35:24) This establishes that messengers have been raised in all nations. If some nation has not emerged from a state of barbarity, its condition is like that of a child in which the sense of morality has not yet been born. When we see the state of the civilized world and reflect on the condition of nations, we find in every nation some teacher through whom they have been given the knowledge of the reward and punishment for good and bad. Although there are great differences in understanding the nature and attributes of God, all communities unanimously agree on the reward and punishment for actions and this is even so among the Christians who apparently consider a belief in atonement to be enough for salvation. Hence, the entire mankind has been informed through messengers that human actions have consequences for which there is punishment and reward.
Worldly chastisement and raising of prophets: Given the context, there can be no other meaning for the text of this verse other than the one adopted, but if the chastisement is taken to be punishment in this world, the essential conditions will still be the same, namely that nations that are sometimes chastised in this world because of their unjust actions are chastised only after the law of reward and punishment has been made known to them. This information has been conveyed to them by the prophets who were raised in every nation. Even the most uneducated nations of the world have the knowledge and a sense of the law of reward and punishment because prophets have been raised in all of them. However, those who interpret these words to mean that no chastisement ever comes unless a prophet is raised at the time of the chastisement are mistaken. Allah has informed the entire world of His laws through the Holy Prophet and any chastisement that comes will come because these laws are violated. So, there is no need for a new prophet. A Mujaddid or reformer who calls people to the Holy Prophet and his Book is just a reflection of the Prophet and not an actual prophet.
If, for the sake of argument, there is a need for a prophet to come before a chastisement comes, then the prophet should be raised in the nation that is unjust and needs to be chastised. For example, if Europe is chastised by a war or Italy is chastised by an earthquake and it is argued that a prophet must have been sent before this, it cannot be attributed to a wise God to send that prophet to India. The prophet should have appeared in Europe or Italy. The second difficulty with such a premise is that a period will have to be fixed for each messenger to determine if a chastisement comes within the range of his mission, but if it comes after that period, then it requires a new messenger. Also, if the current disasters mean a new prophet had appeared, then after what period will there be a need for another new messenger. Will this cycle be repeated every thirteen hundred years? Such conjectures give the impression that religion is a game rather than an institution based on knowledge.
17-16 And when We wish to destroy a town, We send commandments to its people who lead easy lives, but they transgress therein; thus the word proves true against it, so We destroy it with utter destruction.a
وَإِذَآ أَرَدْنَآ أَن نُّهْلِكَ قَرْيَةً أَمَرْنَا مُتْرَفِيهَا فَفَسَقُوا۟ فِيهَا فَحَقَّ عَلَيْهَا ٱلْقَوْلُ فَدَمَّرْنَـٰهَا تَدْمِيرًۭا (۱۶)
17-16a: نُهْلِكَ – هَلاك is used in several senses. One sense is to lose something and another may have it, as in: هَلَكَ عَنِّى سُلْطَـٰنِيَهْ : My authority has gone from me (69:29). Another use of هَلاك is for things that are spoiled, desolated as in هَلَكَ الطَّعَامُ : the food is spoiled and يُهْلِكَ ٱلْحَرْثَ وَٱلنَّسْلَ : destroy tilth and offspring (2:205); another meaning of هَلاك is death of which there are several examples; another meaning is for something to become totally extinct or perish from the earth and this is also the meaning of فنا , as in كُلُّ شَىْءٍ هَالِكٌ إِلَّا وَجْهَهُۥ : Everything will perish but He (28:88); another meaning is punishment, fear, and poverty, as in وَإِن يُهْلِكُونَ إِلَّآ أَنفُسَهُمْ : and they ruin none but their own souls (6:26); كَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِن قَبْلِهِم مِّن قَرْنٍۢ : how many a generation We destroyed before them (6:6); وَكَم مِّن قَرْيَةٍ أَهْلَكْنَـٰهَا : And how many a towns have We destroyed (7:4); فَهَلْ يُهْلَكُ إِلَّا ٱلْقَوْمُ ٱلْفَـٰسِقُونَ : Shall then any be destroyed save the transgressing people? (46:34). In the last verse the reference is to the great destruction which is also indicated in a saying of the Holy Prophet: لا شَرَّ کشرٍّ بعدہ النار : There is no evil equal to this evil, after which is fire (R).
أَمَرْنَا –اَمۡر has the well-known meaning of to give a command but what is commanded is omitted in this verse. According to Ibn Abbas, the omitted subject of the command is to obey Allah (IJ). Another meaning of اَمۡر reported is َکۡثَرۡنَا اَ they were made abundant (IJ) and the dictionary meaning of اَمِرَالقوم is کَثُروا the nation became so abundant they needed a leader and some who have taken اَمۡرنَا in the sense of کثَرۡنَا have taken its meaning to be made the well to do people abundant and this meaning has been accepted here as correct. Abu Ubaida has accepted this to be the meaning (R).
دَمَّرْنَا – تَدْمِير means to destroy something (R).
The timing of a destructive chastisement and its purpose: The actual discussion is about the chastisement in the Hereafter and it is clearly stated in verse 17:18 that Allah gives to the worldly seeker the benefits of this world, but in the Hereafter, such a person is consigned to hell. However, when evil exceeds all bounds in a nation and the whole nation becomes a participant, Allah sends a destructive chastisement in this world to act as testimony for the chastisement of the Hereafter so that the chastisement of the Hereafter is not considered by people as a mere fable. Hence, it is stated that when vice and immorality become dominant in the inhabitants of a place, then Allah may destroy such a habitation. Both the meanings of اَمۡرنَا مترفیھا have been given above. Even if we take the meaning as command, it is not necessary that a new messenger be sent at that time to give a fresh command because the command to shun vice and immorality has already been given by Allah to all the nations. In addition, Allah has communicated his commands to humans by giving them intelligence and knowledge. To interpret the omitted command, as a command to commit sin and inequity is against the Quran, as stated in: إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ لَا يَأْمُرُ بِٱلْفَحْشَآءِ : Surely Allah enjoins not indecency (7:28). It is true that a nation is not destroyed unless it has an abundance of vice. It should also be remembered that by destruction is not necessarily meant putting to death, rather destroying its strength and power is also its death. This is explained in the meaning of the word هَلاك. It is stated in the next verse that many nations even after Prophet Noah were destroyed under this law. Only Allah knows when the sins of a nation reach the critical level that the chastisement in this world is triggered. No one has the right to question why a certain nation at a certain time in history was not destroyed.
17-17 And how many generations did We destroy after Noah! And thy Lord suffices as being Aware and Seer of His servants’ sins.
وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا مِنَ ٱلْقُرُونِ مِنۢ بَعْدِ نُوحٍۢ ۗ وَكَفَىٰ بِرَبِّكَ بِذُنُوبِ عِبَادِهِۦ خَبِيرًۢا بَصِيرًۭا (۱۷)
17-18 Whoso desires this transitory life, We hasten to him therein what We please for whomsoever We desire, then We assign to him the hell; he will enter it despised, driven away.a
مَّن كَانَ يُرِيدُ ٱلْعَاجِلَةَ عَجَّلْنَا لَهُۥ فِيهَا مَا نَشَآءُ لِمَن نُّرِيدُ ثُمَّ جَعَلْنَا لَهُۥ جَهَنَّمَ يَصْلَىٰهَا مَذْمُومًۭا مَّدْحُورًۭا (۱۸)
17-18a: This verse reverts to the subject of the first verse of this section. By ٱلْعَاجِلَةَ is meant this world for which see 17-11a because its benefits are achieved quickly. The mention in this verse is of a person who makes his purpose of life achieving the short term benefits of this world. It is stated that Allah gives such a person worldly goods as much as Allah pleases. The term مَا نَشَآءُ : what We please is used because the greed for this world can never be fully satisfied. In another place, it is stated: وَمَن كَانَ يُرِيدُ حَرْثَ ٱلدُّنْيَا نُؤْتِهِۦ مِنْهَا : and whoso desires the tilth of this world, We give him thereof (42:20) but the result of this attitude is hell, since the final outcome of a person who cannot see beyond this world, is grief and sorrow.
17-19 And whoso desires the Hereafter and strives for it as he ought to strive and he is a believer — those are they whose striving is amply rewarded.a
وَمَنْ أَرَادَ ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةَ وَسَعَىٰ لَهَا سَعْيَهَا وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌۭ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ كَانَ سَعْيُهُم مَّشْكُورًۭا (۱۹)
17-19a: سَعَىٰ – The meaning of سَعۡی is to walk fast and it is also used in the sense of striving hard in an affair, whether good or bad, as in وَسَعَىٰ فِى خَرَابِهَآ : and strives to ruin them (2:114) and وَأَن لَّيْسَ لِلْإِنسَـٰنِ إِلَّا مَا سَعَىٰ : And that man can have nothing but what he strives for (53:39). However, most often its use is for actions that are commendable (R). The meaning of سَعَىٰ لَهَا سَعْيَهَا means to strive as he ought to strive.
مَشْكُورًۭا – For the meaning of شکر see 42:52a. Allah’s شکر for His servants is to requit and reward them (R). It is in this sense that مشکور is used here.
It is stated here that one who makes the Hereafter his purpose is rewarded for his striving provided that he puts in the desired effort. In other words, he invariably succeeds. In another place, it is stated وَٱلَّذِينَ جَـٰهَدُوا۟ فِينَا لَنَهْدِيَنَّهُمْ سُبُلَنَا : And those who strive hard for Us, We shall certainly guide them in Our ways (29:69).
17-20 All do We aid — these as well as those — out of the bounty of thy Lord, and the bounty of thy Lord is not limited.a
كُلًّۭا نُّمِدُّ هَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ وَهَـٰٓؤُلَآءِ مِنْ عَطَآءِ رَبِّكَ ۚ وَمَا كَانَ عَطَآءُ رَبِّكَ مَحْظُورًا (۲۰)
17-20a: مَحْظُورًا – حَظۡر means to stop or withhold and مَحْظُور means a thing that has been withheld (LA).
17-21 See how We have made some of them to excel others. And certainly the Hereafter is greater in degrees and greater in excellence.a
ٱنظُرْ كَيْفَ فَضَّلْنَا بَعْضَهُمْ عَلَىٰ بَعْضٍۢ ۚ وَلَلْـَٔاخِرَةُ أَكْبَرُ دَرَجَـٰتٍۢ وَأَكْبَرُ تَفْضِيلًۭا (۲۱)
17-21a: People who strive hard in this world get ahead of others. Similarly, those who strive hard for the Hereafter will get ahead of those who do not, and the ranks of the Hereafter are even more exalted than the ranks of this world.
17-22 Associate not any other god with Allah, lest thou sit down despised, forsaken.a
لَّا تَجْعَلْ مَعَ ٱللَّهِ إِلَـٰهًا ءَاخَرَ فَتَقْعُدَ مَذْمُومًۭا مَّخْذُولًۭا (۲۲)
17-22a: The message is to not take anyone but Allah as a beloved, or to seek others as Allah ought to be sought. تَقْعُدَ or will sit down means to either absolutely cease to progress spiritually, or to be rendered helpless and powerless.
Bayan-ul-Quran 