Exegesis of the Verse in Surat al-A'la (Indeed, he has succeeded who purifies himself and remembers the name of his Lord and prays. But you prefer the life of this world)

Question:
In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may the blessings and peace be upon our leader, the one with the white, radiant foreheads, our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions. O Allah, teach us what benefits us, benefit us with what You have taught us, and increase us in knowledge, O the Generous. We welcome our brothers and sisters with the most beautiful welcome to this noble, blessed gathering that brings us together with the honorable scholar, the distinguished Shaykh Salih ibn Fawzan al-Fawzan, a member of the Committee of Senior Scholars and a member of the Permanent Committee for Scholarly Research and Ifta. Welcome, Shaykh Salih, to the brothers and sisters. The Shaykh: May Allah greet you and bless you. The questioner: We begin this gathering with the exegesis of this noble verse in the saying of Allah—Blessed and Exalted is He: I seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Shaytan—in Surat al-A'la: (Indeed, he has succeeded who purifies himself and remembers the name of his Lord and prays. But you prefer the life of this world, while the Hereafter is better and more lasting. Indeed, this is in the former tablets, the tablets of Ibrahim and Musa).

Answer:
Answer: In the name of Allah, the Entirely Merciful, the Especially Merciful. Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions. In this noble surah, Surat al-A'la, Allah—Glorified and Exalted is He—says in its end: (Indeed, he has succeeded who purifies himself and remembers the name of his Lord and prays). The scholars said: (He has succeeded who purifies himself) means he paid the alms given at the end of Ramadan (zakat al-fitr). (And remembers the name of his Lord and prays) means he performed the festival prayer. Then He said—Exalted and Majestic is He: (But you prefer the life of this world). This is an announcement from Allah that the children of Adam prefer the life of this world over the Hereafter, even though the life of this world is transient and the Hereafter is better and more lasting for them. This is one of the wonders. Then He said—Exalted and Majestic is He: (But you prefer the life of this world, while the Hereafter is better and more lasting). What is mentioned in the surah of these great matters is (in the former tablets), meaning the ancient ones; those that Allah revealed to Ibrahim al-Khalil (peace be upon him), and those that Allah revealed to His close one and His Prophet Musa ibn Imran (peace be upon him). So this surah is a great surah, and it contains great principles for whoever reflects upon it and acts upon it. For this reason, Allah prescribed its recitation along with Surat al-Ghashiyah in the Friday prayer. Allah prescribed the recitation of (Glorify the name of your Lord, the Most High) and (Has there come to you the news of that which is overwhelming?) in the Friday prayer, because in these two surahs there is a reminder for people, and an alerting of people to what lies ahead of them of the Reckoning, the recompense, the resurrection, and the rising, so that they prepare for it and do not follow the life of this world, but rather they pay attention to their Hereafter and prepare for what lies ahead of them of the abiding abode, and do not be preoccupied with the perishing abode. This is from the favor of Allah upon us and upon people, that Allah alerts us with what is in our benefit and well-being, and forbids us from what harms us. This is from His mercy toward us and His kindness to us. So to Him belongs all praise and favor. And may Allah send blessings and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, and upon his family and all his companions.