كُلُّ نَفْسٍ ذَائِقَةُ الْمَوْتِ ۗ وَإِنَّمَا تُوَفَّوْنَ أُجُورَكُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۖ فَمَن زُحْزِحَ عَنِ النَّارِ وَأُدْخِلَ الْجَنَّةَ فَقَدْ فَازَ ۗ وَمَا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا مَتَاعُ الْغُرُورِ ﴿١٨٥﴾
“Every soul will taste death. And you will only be given your (full) compensation on the Day of Qiyaamah. So, whoever is kept away from the fire (of Jahannam) and entered into Jannah, has attained success. And the life of the world is merely goods of deception.” (Surah Aal ‘Imraan v185)
Time and again Allah Ta‘ala turns the attention of man away from this world towards the Hereafter. Similarly, in this verse Allah Ta‘ala explains that every soul will most certainly taste death. Whether a person is experiencing comfort or discomfort in this world, it will either change due to circumstances or it will come to an end with death knocking at his door. Therefore, a believer should not be overcome by his problems, difficulties and the taunts of others, since it is short-lived.
Worrying about this short-lived cycle of comfort and discomfort should not become the primary concern of an intelligent person. Rather, he should be more concerned regarding the Day of Qiyaamah and the Hereafter where rewards will be given and punishments will be meted out. This is what a wise person will prepare for, since it is everlasting. Hence, the one who is saved from Jahannam and is entered into Jannah is indeed the successful one, not the one who has acquired the riches of this world.
It is for this reason that Allah Ta‘ala thereafter mentions that this world is but goods of deception and an enjoyment of delusion. If a person realizes this delusion and acts accordingly, by using it only to the amount of need, he is indeed intelligent and will be successful. Strange is the nature of this deception, since many material enjoyments in this world, will become a source of great hardships in the Hereafter, and most of the hardships faced here, become the treasure of the Hereafter.
The word which Allah Ta‘ala used to describe this world in this aayah – “mataa’”, literally means a commodity which is used for purposes of trade. Hence, Allah Ta‘ala is drawing a parable of this world to a commodity which was outwardly beautified to attract and entice a person who inevitably purchases it, only to find that it is a defect product and he thus realizes that he has been deceived. In a similar manner, Shaitaan beautifies this world and tempts man to hanker after it. However, when his eyes close, he realizes that he had been deceived by its outward beauty which contained nothing but misery.
(Adapted from Ma‘aariful Quraan vol. 2, pgs. 251 & 255)