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good: it may have reduced you to poverty, shame, and disgrace. All the brave show of the wicked in this life is but a
wind charged with evil to themselves. (3.117)
3:180 - And let not those who covetously withhold of the gifts which Allah hath given them of His
Grace think that it is good for them: nay it will be the worse for them: soon shall the things
which they covetously withheld be tied to their necks like a twisted collar on the Day of
Judgment. To Allah belongs the heritage of the heavens and the earth; and Allah is well
acquainted with all that ye do. 483484485
483 The gifts are of all kinds: material gifts, such as wealth, property, strength of limbs, etc., or intangible gifts, such as
influence, birth in a given set, intellect, skill, insight, etc., or spiritual gifts of the highest kind. The spending of all these
things (apart from what is necessary for ourselves) for those who need them, is charity, and purifies our own
character. The withholding of them (apart from our needs) is similarly greed and selfishness, and is strongly
condemned. (3.180)
484 By an apt metaphor the miser is told that his wealth or the other gifts which he hoarded will cling round his neck and
do him no good. He will wish he could get rid of them, but he will not be able to do so. According to the Biblical phrase
in another connection they will hang like a millstone round his neck (Matt. xviii. 6). The metaphor here is fuller. He
hugged his wealth or his gifts about him. They will become like a heavy collar, the badge of slavery, round his neck.
They will be tied tight and twisted, and they will give him pain and anguish instead of pleasure. Cf. also xvii. 13.
(3.180)
485 Another metaphor is now introduced. Material wealth or property is only called ours during our short life here. So all
gifts are ours in trust only; they ultimately revert to Allah, to Whom belongs all that is in the heavens or on earth.
(3.180)
7:176 - If it had been Our will We should have elevated him with our signs; but he inclined to the
earth and followed his own vain desires. His similitude is that of a dog: if you attack him he
lolls out his tongue or if you leave him alone he (still) lolls out his tongue. That is the similitude
of those who reject our signs; so relate the story; perchance they may reflect. 11501151
1150 Notice the contrast between the exalted spiritual honours which they would have received from Allah if they had
followed His Will, and the earthly desires which eventually bring them low to the position of beasts and worse. (7.176)
1151 The dog, especially in the hot weather, lolls out his tongue, whether he is attacked and pursued and is tired, or he is
left alone. It is part of his nature to slobber. So with the man who rejects Allah. Whether he is warned or left alone, he
continues to throw out his dirty saliva. The injury he will do will be to his own soul. But there may be infection in his evil
example. So we must protect others. And we must never give up hope of his own amendment. So we must continue
to warn him and make him think. (7.176)
9:109 - Which then is best? he that layeth his foundation on piety to Allah and His good pleasure?
or he that layeth his foundation on an undermined sand-cliff ready to crumble to pieces? And
it doth crumble to pieces with him into the fire of Hell. And Allah guideth not people that do
wrong. 1359
1359 A man who builds his life on Piety (which includes sincerity and the purity of all motives) and his hopes on the Good
Pleasure of Allah, builds on a firm foundation of rock that will never be shaken. In contrast to him is the man who
builds on a shifting sand-cliff on the brink of an abyss, already undermined by forces which he does not see. The cliff
and the foundations all crumble to pieces along with him, and he is plunged into the Fire of misery from which there is
no escape. (9.109)
9:110 - The foundation of those who so build is never free from suspicion and shakiness in their
hearts until their hearts are cut to pieces. And Allah is All-Knowing Wise. 1360
1360 "Their hearts cut to pieces" i.e., they meet their death. The parable is continued further. The heart of man is the seat
of his hopes and fears, the foundation of his moral and spiritual life. If that foundation is on an undermined sand-cliff
already crumbling to pieces, what security or stability can he have? He is being shaken by alarms and suspicions and
superstitions, until like the edge of a sand-cliff they are cut clean away and fall into a heap of ruin and his spiritual life
and all its land-marks are destroyed. (9.110)
10:24 - The likeness of the life of the present is as the rain which We send down from the skies: by
its mingling arises the produce of the earth which provides food for men and animals: (it
grows) till the earth is clad with its golden ornaments and is decked out (in beauty): the people
to whom it belongs think they have all powers of disposal over it: there reaches it Our
command by night or by day and We make it like a harvest clean-mown as if it had not
flourished only the day before! Thus do We explain the Signs in detail for those who reflect.
1412
1412 Another beautiful Parable, explaining the nature of our present life. The rain comes down in drops and mingles with
the earth. Through it, by Allah's matchless artistry, the womb of the earth is made fruitful. All kinds of good, useful, and
beautiful grains, vegetables, and fruits are produced for men and animals. The earth is covered in its bravery of green
and gold and all kinds of colours. Perhaps the "owner" takes all the credit to himself, and thinks that this will last
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