وَأَنِ اسْتَغْفِرُوا رَبَّكُمْ ثُمَّ تُوبُوا إِلَيْهِ يُمَتِّعْكُم مَّتَاعًا حَسَنًا إِلَىٰ أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى وَيُؤْتِ كُلَّ ذِي فَضْلٍ فَضْلَهُ ۖ وَإِن تَوَلَّوْا فَإِنِّي أَخَافُ عَلَيْكُمْ عَذَابَ يَوْمٍ كَبِيرٍ (3)
(11:3) that you may seek forgiveness of your Lord and turn to Him in repentance whereupon He will grant you a fair enjoyment of life until an appointed term, *3 and will bestow favour on everyone who merits favour. *4 But should you turn away (from the truth), I fear for you the chastisement of an Awesome Day.
*3). If a person turns to God in sincere devotion, He will enable him to spend his life felicitously. God will lavish upon him His bounties, confer a variety of benedictions, provide a life of prosperity, grant peace and tranquillity, and cause him to live honourably rather than in ignominy and disgrace. The same idea has been brought forth elsewhere in the Qur'an in the following words:
Whoever acts righteously - whether male or female - the while he is a believer, We will surely grant him a clean life . . . (al-Nahl 16: 97). This verse dispels the Satanic misconception to which simpletons often succumb. The misconception consists of believing that piety, honesty and responsible behaviour might at the most lead to man's well-being in the Next Life, but they certainly play havoc with his life in the present world. Under this mistaken notion it is believed that good people are inevitably destined to live in abject poverty and utter misery. In refuting this misconception, God makes it clear that righteous behaviour is conducive to man's success in both worlds. Those who live a righteous and God-fearing life will achieve success and esteemed position in this world as in the Next. For, a position of true honour in this world falls only to those who, out of their devotion to God, act righteously, who are known for their excellent morals, who adhere to propriety in their dealings with others, who are considered by people to be trustworthy, of whom all expect nothing but goodness and benevolence, and of whom none entertains the fear of any evil.
Implicit in the Qur'anic expression 'a fair enjoyment of life' is another point which should not escape our attention. According to the Qur'an, 'enjoyment of life' is of two kinds: one. which leads people, who are heedless of God, to temptations with the result that they immerse themselves in worldliness and forget God even more. Thus, 'enjoyment of life', though apparently a divine blessing, proves a curse. It becomes the precursor of God's punishment. This is what the Qur'an brands as 'illusory enjoyment'. (See Al 'Imran 3: 185; al-Hadid 57: 20 - Ed.) By contrast, the other kind of enjoyment of life adds to a person's prosperity and physical vitality in such a way that he becomes even more grateful to God. This kind of 'enjoyment of life' prompts man to fulfil the obligations incumbent upon him towards God, towards God's creatures and towards himself. Strengthened by the resources provided by God, man finds himself in a stronger position to effectively promote the cause of good and righteousness and to strive to obliterate evil and mischief. This is the Qur'anic concept of 'fair enjoyment of life' - an enjoyment which does not end with the life of this world, but extends to the Next Life as well.
*4). The more a person excels in moral conduct and good deeds, the higher will be the status that God confers upon him. God does not let anyone's good deeds go to waste. In the same way as God does not show any appreciation for evil, He does not show any lack of appreciation for goodness and virtue. In God's kingdom there is no place for the kind of atrocious injustice and stupidity to which a Persian poet has given expression in the following couplet:
The Arabian steed lies suffering from the wounds of the saddle-pack while a golden necklace adorns the neck of a donkey! God deals with His creatures in such a way that anyone who deserves a reward, is fully granted that reward.