32. And the present, worldly life is nothing but a play and a pastime, and better is the abode of the Hereafter for those who keep from disobedience to God in reverence for Him and piety. Will you not, then, reason and understand?*
* The world has three aspects. The first aspect looks to the fact that it is the realm where God’s Names are manifested, and therefore, whatever is there and whatever takes place in it is a mir- ror to God with His Attributes and Names. The second aspect, which looks to the Hereafter, is that the world is the tillage for the Hereafter. The building-blocks to make up one’s Paradise or Hell in the Hereafter are the seeds of one’s belief or unbelief and the deeds that one sows here. With these two aspects, the world is very important and is regarded as being the equal of the heavens; in fact, the Qur’an mentions it alongside the heavens. The third aspect of the world is that which looks to our carnal desires. passions, lusts, and ambitions. It is this a-pect that the Qur’an condemns, as these consist of games, pastimes, greed (hoarding things), and compenting in having more goods –in short, the source of all vice and evil.