الآية رقم (212) - زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُواْ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا وَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُواْ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّقَواْ فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ وَاللّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاء بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ

(212) - (Beautified for those who disbelieve is the life of this world, and they ridicule those who believe. But those who fear Allah are above them on the Day of Resurrection. And Allah gives provision to whom He wills without account.)

Why does Allah (swt) says (Beautified) in the passive tense and does not mention the doer? In another verse as well Allah (swt) says:

{ زُيِّنَ لِلنَّاسِ حُبُّ الشَّهَوَاتِ مِنَ النِّسَاءِ وَالْبَنِينَ وَالْقَنَاطِيرِ الْمُقَنطَرَةِ مِنَ الذَّهَبِ وَالْفِضَّةِ وَالْخَيْلِ الْمُسَوَّمَةِ وَالْأَنْعَامِ وَالْحَرْثِ ۗ ذَٰلِكَ مَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا  وَاللَّهُ عِندَهُ حُسْنُ الْمَآبِ }

(Beautified for people is the love of that which they desire – of women and sons, heaped-up sums of gold and silver, fine branded horses, and cattle and tilled land. That is the enjoyment of worldly life, but Allah has with Him the best return.)  (Al-i-Imran: 14)

The answer: This beautifying is either with something lawful and it is from Allah (swt), or it is with something unlawful, in this case it is from Satan. Therefore, the verb is mentioned in passive tense, Allah (swt) says:

{ وَابْتَغِ فِيمَا آتَاكَ اللَّهُ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ ۖ وَلَا تَنسَ نَصِيبَكَ مِنَ الدُّنْيَا ۖ وَأَحْسِن كَمَا أَحْسَنَ اللَّهُ إِلَيْكَ ۖ وَلَا تَبْغِ الْفَسَادَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ۖ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُحِبُّ الْمُفْسِدِينَ }

(But seek, through that which Allah has given you, the home of the Hereafter; and [yet], do not forget your share of the world. And do good as Allah has done good to you. And desire not corruption in the land. Indeed, Allah does not like corrupters.”)  (Al-Qasas: 77)

Hence, to take your share of the world means every enjoyment can be practiced lawfully in this life. For example, sex lust has a lawful way, which is marriage, the love for gathering money has a lawful way which is working hard, love for power as well can be gained lawfully by tiredness, and diligence. Therefore, every adornment in the world has a lawful way decided by Allah (swt):

{الْمَالُ وَالْبَنُونَ زِينَةُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَالْبَاقِيَاتُ الصَّالِحَاتُ خَيْرٌ عِندَ رَبِّكَ ثَوَابًا وَخَيْرٌ أَمَلًا }

(Wealth and children are [but] adornment of the worldly life but the enduring good deeds are better to your Lord for reward and better for [one’s] hope.) (Al-Kahf: 46)

However, if it is from the devil, it will be having the pleasures without lawful controls, such as adultery, and collecting money by stealing and bride. These sins and others are beautified by the devil.

( زُيِّنَ لِلَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا ) (Beautified for those who disbelieve is the life of this world..): The standards of unbelievers are low ones that relate only to this worldly life, which make the creature away from their creator, and do not connect the blessings with the Giver. Whereas, whenever the believers, see something beautiful in this life, acknowledge the Giver. Through that, the bounties take their true course, whereas, the beautifying from Satan is false.

( وَيَسْخَرُونَ مِنَ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا ) (..and they ridicule those who believe..): This behavior is expected, because they get what they want in the simplest and easiest way. They let themselves unleash lusts, they play and enjoy by any deviated way. As such, a public effort is stolen by a thief in a moment, and a study effort of five years is taken by easily through fraud and the purchase of certificates… and so on. So, they ridicule the faithful, make fun of them; because they get what they want though askew ways, false, and forbidden ways and they think it is the best and easiest way; therefore, these standards are lower. Worldly life has been glamorized for them because they separated the worldly life from the afterlife, separated grace from the Giver, separated creation from the Creator.

( وَالَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا فَوْقَهُمْ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ ۗ ) (..But those who fear Allah are above them on the Day of Resurrection…): Allah (swt) says: “those who fear”, and does not say, “those who believe” although the beginning of the verse mentions the believer by ” and they ridicule those who believe”. This is a clear proof that these words are of the Lord of the worlds, not of humans. If it were put by a human being, the verse would come in the following way: (And those who believe are above them on the Day of Resurrection). While Allah (swt) changed the word (believe) with (fear) because this situation is connected with the Day of Resurrection in which the criterion is very accurate. Faith in the worldly life may be tinged with some things, faith increases and decreases, it is increased by obedience and decreases by sins. While piety is the culmination and result of every act of faith and additional acts of the same kind of what man performs:

 {إِنَّ الْمُتَّقِينَ فِي جَنَّاتٍ وَعُيُونٍ * آخِذِينَ مَا آتَاهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ ۚ إِنَّهُمْ كَانُوا قَبْلَ ذَٰلِكَ مُحْسِنِينَ }

(Indeed, the righteous will be among gardens and springs,%  Accepting what their Lord has given them. Indeed, they were before that doers of good.)  (Al-Tharyat:15-16)

They combined faith and doing good (Ihsan) in addition to Islam, this becomes piety. Therefore, Allah (swt) describes the differentiation on the Day of Resurrection: (But those who fear Allah are above them on the Day of Resurrection.). Faith is not a word spoken, nor a slogan to be raised, but faith is an act. When the Prophet (saws) asked the polytheists to say: “There is no god but Allah”, they refused to say it, because they were aware that it was not just a word to be uttered by tongue, otherwise they would have said it and rested themselves. However, they knew that these words, ‘There is no god but Allah’ require commitments. Faith is not a word but faith is acts, faith is doing good, faith is reform, faith is to say the truth:

 {إِنَّ اللَّهَ مَعَ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوا وَّالَّذِينَ هُم مُّحْسِنُونَ }

(Indeed, Allah is with those who fear Him and those who are doers of good.)  (Annahel: 128)

So, it is the morality, it is the values, the commitment and the righteousness:

 {فَاسْتَقِمْ كَمَا أُمِرْتَ وَمَن تَابَ مَعَكَ وَلَا تَطْغَوْا إِنَّهُ بِمَا تَعْمَلُونَ بَصِيرٌ }

(So remain on a right course as you have been commanded, [you] and those who have turned back with you [to Allah], and do not transgress. Indeed, He is Seeing of what you do.)  (Hud:112)

These all are the requirements of faith, which are the goal we are talking about.

( وَاللَّهُ يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَاءُ بِغَيْرِ حِسَابٍ ) (…And Allah gives provision to whom He wills without account..): Allah (swt) gives provision with no account, since the account means there is something countable, however, when He (swt) wants to give provision, He gives without account. Allah’s (swt) provision is not just money, rather everything beneficial for the livelihood. Allah (swt) may give health, knowledge, social status, money, sons, daughters, sometimes preventing in itself is a giving, all these have the meaning of provision.