The Benefits of the Verse: “It is made attractive to people the love of desires, namely women, sons, and loaded camels of gold and silver, marked horses, and livestock”

This verse contains several benefits. First: the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic) in testing people by making the love of desires attractive to them in these seven matters. The aspect of the wisdom is that if it were not for these desires that compete with a person in his direction toward his Lord, there would be no benefit in the test in religion. Pay attention, meaning if this love had not been implanted in the heart or in the fitrah (the innate natural disposition) of the human being, there would be no benefit in the test in religion. The reason is that submission to religion, if it has no competitor, becomes easy and facilitated. For this reason, who are the first to respond to the messengers? The poor who were deprived of the worldly life, because they have nothing that competes with them, neither wealth nor leadership nor anything else. This is part of the wisdom of Allah that He made the love of desires attractive in the hearts of people. And from the benefits of the noble verse: that one is not blamed for loving these matters in a manner other than this, which is loving them as a desire. This is because if the love of these matters is made attractive to him not for the sake of desire, that would not be a cause for blocking him from the religion of Allah. For the most thing that tempts a person is desire, if there is no doubt. If there is doubt and both doubt and desire gather upon him, he is subjected to two temptations. And what indicates this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And what also indicates this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged marriage, urged it, and commanded the youth to do it. And what also indicates this is that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) encouraged marrying a woman who is fertile, and a fertile woman is one who gives birth frequently. And if she is fertile, her offspring increases, and among her offspring are sons. So the important point is that loving these things not for the sake of desire is a matter for which a person is not blamed. And from the benefits of the noble verse: the strength of the expression of the Qur'an, and that it is the highest type of speech in perfection. For this reason, He said: and He did not say “the love of women,” or “the love of sons,” or “the love of loaded camels,” but rather He said “the love of desires” from these things. So He directed the love to what? To the desires, not to these things, because the love of these things may be praiseworthy, as you have known. And from the benefits of the noble verse: the presentation of the most severe, then the most severe. For this reason, He presented women, for the temptation of the desire for women is the greatest temptation, the greatest temptation. For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: And for this reason, He began with them and said: . And from the benefits of the noble verse: that sons may be a temptation. And what testifies to this is the saying of the Exalted: and “children” is more general than “sons.” And from the benefits of the noble verse: that gold and silver are among the most dangerous of wealth for a person. For this reason, He presented them over the rest of the wealth, and said: because they are a greater temptation than wealth, especially when described with these attributes, that they are loaded camels. And from the benefits of the noble verse: that the more wealth increases, the more the temptation in its desire increases. Where do we take this from? From His saying: And for this reason, we find some of the poor are generous with all their wealth, and the rich is not generous with all his wealth. Rather, some of the rich—may Allah grant us safety—are afflicted such that the more their wealth increases, the more their stinginess and withholding increase. And from the benefits of the noble verse: that horses are the greatest of riding animals in terms of pride. For this reason, He said: and especially if they are marked, meaning cared for, or marked and left in the pasture, cared for in their grazing, for then they are the greatest of riding animals in temptation. And from the benefits of the verse: that the temptation of livestock—camels, cows, and sheep—is less than the temptation of horses, based on the order, and that the order in this verse is from the highest to the lowest. And from the benefits of the noble verse: that some people are tempted by crops, in agriculture, and they are tempted by it and cultivate in the prescribed manner and in the non-prescribed manner, and it is so, especially in our time where agriculture has become such that people—may Allah protect us from that—go out in it every evening and commit in it the forbidden things, such as lying to the state and betrayal. Yes? And yet they do not see any harm in this. You find a person, for example, sells his produce to a person for cash, then gives him his name so that the buyer can take a higher price from the government or the state. He buys it from the farmer, for example, for one and a half riyals per kilo and sells it to the state for two riyals and lies, taking the farmer's name, so the farmer becomes a traitor and the other a liar, and the result of that is consuming wealth by falsehood. And if they are asked, “This is forbidden,” they say, “We need money.” He says he needs it. If you need money, do you lie and deceive? Be patient, or sell it to him without giving him your name. Sell him the produce and do not give him your name if the state allows its sale. But people are afflicted with this thing. . And from the benefits of the noble verse: that all these things do not exceed being the enjoyment of this worldly life, due to His saying: . And from its benefits: discouraging attachment to these things, due to His saying: And everything that is for the world, a person should not follow his self with it, because it is transient. Do not follow your self with anything of the world except something by which you assist yourself in the obedience of Allah, so that it benefits you. And you will obtain from it what is obtained by one who follows his self with the enjoyment of this worldly life for the world. For example, a man who eats dinner from among the people, some eat it in order to preserve his body or to preserve his physique. He eats it in compliance with the command of Allah. He eats it to assist himself in the obedience of Allah. He eats it to enjoy the blessings of Allah, and he is rewarded for that. And among people are those who eat it merely for desire to fill their stomach, and this reward is denied to him. This reward is denied to him because he intended with it merely desire only. And from the benefits of the verse: diminishing this life, due to His saying: So, by Allah, it is deficient. A residence in which a person does not know the duration of his stay. And a residence whose arrangement is not except diminished by impurity. And a residence in which there is hatred and enmity and animosity among people, and other deficiencies. It is indeed a worldly life. A person among us in this world does not guarantee that he will remain even one [day], is that not so? So how do we say this is life? How do we say that this is life? It is indeed the life of the world, and the person, in reality, from the wisdom of Allah (Mighty and Majestic), is tempted by what is in it of these things that Allah (Mighty and Majestic) mentioned. But the wise person looks at the outcome and the... And from the benefits of the noble verse: that what is with Allah is better than this world, due to His saying: . And from it: what some indicated, that whoever attaches himself to these things with desire, his outcome will not be praiseworthy. Because when Allah mentioned attachment to these things in the manner of desire, He said: So it is as if He is saying: And there is no good return for this one who attaches himself to these things, meaning that his outcome is not praiseworthy. This is what some mentioned, but I have something in my mind about it, and what appears to me is that the verse was concluded with this in order to encourage the person with what is with Allah (Mighty and Majestic) and that he not attach himself to this enjoyment of the worldly life.