Mary (Maryam)

Verses 73-74 GROUP_737 19.73-74

73
وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِمْ آيَاتُنَا بَيِّنَاتٍ قَالَ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَيُّ الْفَرِيقَيْنِ خَيْرٌ مَّقَامًا وَأَحْسَنُ نَدِيًّا
When Our clear revelations are recited to them, those who deny the truth say to the faithful, ‘Which of the two sides is better in respect of position and makes a more impressive assembly?’
74
وَكَمْ أَهْلَكْنَا قَبْلَهُم مِّن قَرْنٍ هُمْ أَحْسَنُ أَثَاثًا وَرِئْيًا
We have destroyed so many generations before them, who surpassed them in material power and splendour.

Commentary

(a) Those who do not care about what is right or what is wrong, who prefer the considerations of this world to those of the life hereafter and who choose to please other people rather than God, are always successful from the worldly point of view. They are surrounded by glamour and glitter. As opposed to this, those who in all their dealings are worried about right and wrong, who ignore the considerations of this world and prefer those of the life hereafter, and who care for God rather than the attitude of the public, are often bereft of external pomp and glory. This difference gives rise to misunderstandings. It is thought that those who are better off from the worldly point of view are God’s favoured ones and those who do not enjoy this position in this world are low in God’s esteem. But this is a completely wrong assessment, and past history contradicts and disproves it. How many haughty heads of the past have rolled and are buried in the ground? And how many grand palaces are there still extant today that have not fallen into ruin?

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