Tafseer of The Forgiver · Ghafir · 40:39
O my people, this worldly life is only [temporary] enjoyment, and indeed, the Hereafter - that is the home of [permanent] settlement.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
He says: ( إِنَّمَا هَذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا مَتَاعٌ ) (This worldly life is only an enjoyment). He says to his people: this lowly, perishable life that has been brought forward for you in this abode is nothing but an enjoyment from which you take pleasure until a term that you will reach; then you die and it slips away from you. ( وَإِنَّ الآخِرَةَ هِيَ دَارُ الْقَرَارِ ) (and the Hereafter, that is the abode of the lasting dwelling-place). He says: and the abode of the Hereafter, that is the abode of the lasting dwelling-place in which you abide and do not die and which does not slip away from you. He says: so it is for that abode that you must work, and that is what you must strive for.
And in line with what we have said concerning the meaning of His statement ( وَإِنَّ الآخِرَةَ هِيَ دَارُ الْقَرَارِ ) (and the Hereafter, that is the abode of the lasting dwelling-place), the scholars of exegesis have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda ( وَإِنَّ الآخِرَةَ هِيَ دَارُ الْقَرَارِ ) (and the Hereafter, that is the abode of the lasting dwelling-place): the Paradise has become a lasting dwelling-place for its inhabitants, and the Fire has become a lasting dwelling-place for its inhabitants.
