The Quran

117

مَثَلُ ما يُنفِقونَ في هٰذِهِ الحَياةِ الدُّنيا كَمَثَلِ ريحٍ فيها صِرٌّ أَصابَت حَرثَ قَومٍ ظَلَموا أَنفُسَهُم فَأَهلَكَتهُ ۚ وَما ظَلَمَهُمُ اللَّهُ وَلٰكِن أَنفُسَهُم يَظلِمونَ

Muhammad Asad

The parable of what they spend on the life of this world is that of an icy wind which smites the tilth of people who have sinned against themselves, and destroys it: for, it is not God who does them wrong, but it is they who are wronging themselves.¹

In a marginal note connected with hit commentary on this verse, Zamakhshari explains this parable thus: "If the 'tilth' [i.e., the gainful achievement] of those who deny the truth is lost, it is lost in its entirety, with nothing remaining to them in this world and in the life to come; while, on the other hand, the 'tilth' of a believer is never lost in its entirety: for even if it is seemingly lost, there remains to him the expectation of a reward, in the life to come, for his patience in adversity." In other words, the above Qur'anic phrase is meant to stress the completeness of loss of all efforts in the case of those who are bent on denying the truth.