The Quran

Preface

وَالَّذينَ كَفَروا أَعمالُهُم كَسَرابٍ بِقيعَةٍ يَحسَبُهُ الظَّمآنُ ماءً حَتّىٰ إِذا جاءَهُ لَم يَجِدهُ شَيئًا وَوَجَدَ اللَّهَ عِندَهُ فَوَفّاهُ حِسابَهُ ۗ وَاللَّهُ سَريعُ الحِسابِ

Yusuf Ali

But the Unbelievers,- their deeds are like a mirage¹ in sandy deserts, which the man parched with thirst mistakes for water; until when he comes up to it, he finds it to be nothing:² But he finds God³ (ever) with him, and God will pay him his account: and God is swift in taking account.

We have had various metaphors to give us an idea of the beneficent Light of God in the spiritual world. Now we have contrasted metaphors to enable us to see those who deny or refuse that Light, and are overwhelmed in utter darkness. The Light (of God) is an absolute Reality, and is mentioned first, and the souls that follow that Light are a reflected reality and are mentioned after the Light. On the other hand the Darkness is not a reality in itself, but a negation of reality; the reflected existences that refuse the Light are mentioned, and then their state, which is Unreality. Two metaphors are given: a mirage, in this verse, and the depths of darkness in the sea, in the next.
The mirage, of which I have seen several instances in the Arabian deserts and in Egypt, is a strange phenomenon of illusion. It is a trick of our vision. In the language of our Parable, it rejects the Light which shows us the Truth, and deceives us with Falsehood. A lonely traveller in a desert, nearly dying of thirst, sees a broad sheet of water. He goes in that direction, lured on and on, but finds nothing at all. He dies in protracted agony.
The rebel against God finds himself like the man deluded by a mirage. The Truth which he rejected is always with him. The mirage which he accepted leads to his destruction.