Whoever desires the harvest of the Hereafter - We increase for him in his harvest [i.e., reward]. And whoever desires the harvest [i.e., benefits] of this world - We give him thereof, but there is not for him in the Hereafter any share.
The Provision of Allah in this World and the Hereafter
Here Allah speaks of His kindness towards His creation, in that He provides for every last one of them and does not forget anyone. When it comes to His provision, the righteous and the sinner are alike. Allah says:
(And no moving creature is there on the earth but its provision is due from Allah. And He knows its dwelling place and its deposit. All is in a Clear Book.) (11:6) And there are many similar Ayat.
يَرْزُقُ مَن يَشَآءُ
(He gives provisions to whom He wills.) means, He gives generously to whomsoever He wills.
اللَّـهُ لَطِيفٌ بِعِبَادِهِ (Allah is kind to His slaves - 42:19). The word, latif used in the text has more than one lexical meanings. Sayyidna Ibn ` Abbas ؓ has translated it here as kind, and Sayyidna ` Ikrimah ؓ has translated it as benefactor.
Muqatil (رح) has said that Allah Almighty is kind to all His servants, so much so that even the infidels and sinners keep on being showered with His worldly blessings. There are many types and kinds of the divine bounties, graces and favours showered upon His servants. That is why many meanings of the word latif have been stated in the Tafsir of Qurtubi, all of which are covered by the words ` kind' and ` benefactor'.
The life of this world is for the purpose of putting man to the test. Here, he is provided for, according to the requirements of the test. Now, a man who is Hereafter-minded, will use the provision of this world to build up his life in the Hereafter and consequently, he will be blessed with abundant rewards when he enters Paradise. Contrary to this, all the actions of the man who loves this worldly life will be performed with worldly interests in view. Such a person may receive the fruits of his efforts in the present world, but he will be completely deprived of everything in the Hereafter. When he had done nothing for the sake of Hereafter, how could he possibly be given anything in the afterlife?
Uthmani text of the Madinah mushaf (King Fahd Complex). Translation: Saheeh International. Tafsir via Quran.com.
![Surah Ash-Shuraa 42:20 in Arabic with its translation: “Whoever desires the harvest of the Hereafter - We increase for him in his harvest [i.e., reward]. And whoever…”](/surah/ash-shuraa/20/image.jpg)