88 Preface لا تَمُدَّنَّ عَينَيكَ إِلىٰ ما مَتَّعنا بِهِ أَزواجًا مِنهُم وَلا تَحزَن عَلَيهِم وَاخفِض جَناحَكَ لِلمُؤمِنينَYusuf AliStrain not thine eyes. (Wistfully) at what We have bestowed on some1 of them, nor grieve over them:2 but lower thy wing (in gentleness)3 to the believers.It may be that other people have worldly goods which worldly men envy. Do they necessarily bring happiness? Even the temporary pleasure that they may give is not unmixed with spiritual poisons, and even so, will not last. The man of God looks with wistful eyes at other things-the favour and countenance of God.The Prophet of God, in his human love and sympathy, may grieve over certain classes of people who are puffed up with false notions and callous to the Message of God. But he should not make himself unhappy. There is no flaw in God’s Plan, and it must prevail. This was addressed in the first instance to Al Muṣṭafā, but in a minor degree, it applies to all righteous men. (R).The metaphor is from a bird who lowers her wing in tender solicitude for her little ones. Cf. 1 7:24, where it is applied to “lowering the wing” to aged parents.