45 Preface وَإِذا قيلَ لَهُمُ اتَّقوا ما بَينَ أَيديكُم وَما خَلفَكُم لَعَلَّكُم تُرحَمونَYusuf AliWhen they are told, “Fear ye that which is1 before you and that which will be after you, in order that ye may receive Mercy,” (they turn back).Man should consider and beware of the consequences of his past, and guard against the consequences in his future. The present is only a fleeting moment poised between the past and the future, and gone even while it is being mentioned or thought about. Man should review his whole life and prepare for the Hereafter. If he does so, God is Merciful: He will forgive, and give strength for a better and higher life in the future. But this kind of teaching does not suit those steeped in this ephemeral life. They are bored, and turn away from it, to their own loss.