Surah Al-Qiyamah 75:20-21 — The Fleeting World and the Neglected Hereafter

Why Humanity Neglects and is Indifferent to the An Naba (The Great News) of the Resurrection

Summary

Surah Al-Qiyamah 75:20-21 offers one of the Qur'ān's most enduring diagnoses of the human condition. Humanity's deepest problem is not merely ignorance of the Resurrection but an excessive attachment to what is immediate and transient. By contrasting al-'ājilah ("the fleeting, immediate life") with al-ākhirah ("the Hereafter"), the Qur'ān exposes the tension between temporal desire and eternal purpose. Classical Muslim commentators consistently understood these verses as a warning against allowing worldly attractions to overshadow preparation for the life to come. Their interpretation remains highly relevant in a modern culture that often prizes immediacy, consumption, and instant gratification. Within the broader structure of Surah Al-Qiyamah, these verses explain why many fail to respond to the certainty of Resurrection: not because the evidence is lacking, but because the heart has become attached to what passes away.

1. The Literary Context: The Implicit Question

Verses 20-21 occur near the conclusion of Surah Al-Qiyamah. The earlier sections of the Surah have already established Allah's absolute power to resurrect humanity (75:3-4), mankind's tendency to deny accountability (75:5), the terrifying certainty of the Resurrection (75:7-15), and Allah's preservation and explanation of Revelation (75:16-19).

Having established these profound truths, Allah now asks an implicit question: Why do people still reject them?

The answer provided in verses 20-21 is remarkably simple. It is not because the evidence is insufficient. It is because their hearts prefer something else. The Qur'ān identifies attachment to the transient world as the primary obstacle preventing recognition of the eternal reality.

2. The Meaning of Al-'Ājilah

The expression al-'ājilah (العاجلة) literally means "that which comes quickly," "the immediate," "the present," or "the fleeting." Classical commentators generally interpret it as referring to worldly life, immediate pleasures, temporary possessions, and present gratification [1].

The Qur'ān deliberately avoids using the ordinary word dunyā here. Instead, it chooses a word emphasizing speed, impermanence, and transience. Everything loved in this world arrives quickly — and disappears just as quickly. The human soul, designed for eternity, foolishly attaches itself to that which is guaranteed to vanish.

3. Love Rather Than Belief (Tuḥibbūna)

The verb used is tuḥibbūna (تحبون), meaning "You love." The Qur'ān therefore locates the problem not primarily in the intellect but in desire. People are not condemned because they possess intellectual questions or doubts. They are warned because their loves have become disordered.

The issue is not simply: "I do not believe." The deeper, hidden issue is: "I love something else more." This distinction is one of the Qur'ān's profound psychological insights. Evidence may convince the mind, but only transformed desire changes the heart. The Resurrection therefore requires not merely intellectual assent but moral readiness.

4. "You Leave the Hereafter" (Tadharūna)

The second verse states: wa tadharūna al-ākhirah ("And you leave the Hereafter"). The verb tadharūna (تذرون) means to abandon, neglect, leave behind, or disregard.

The Hereafter is therefore not merely denied; it is ignored. The Qur'ān portrays spiritual negligence as every bit as dangerous as outright disbelief. The mind becomes so consumed with the immediate demands, anxieties, and pleasures of al-'ājilah that the eternal reality of al-ākhirah simply fades from view. It is left behind.

5. Classical Islamic Interpretation

The major classical commentators understood these verses primarily as describing humanity's attachment to worldly pleasures:

• Al-Ṭabarī explains that people prefer the immediate enjoyments of worldly life because they can see and experience them directly, while neglecting the eternal rewards promised by Allah [2].
• Al-Qurṭubī emphasizes that excessive love of worldly life becomes the root of spiritual heedlessness. The heart becomes occupied with temporary concerns until remembrance of Allah fades.
• Ibn Kathīr connects these verses with the recurring Qur'ānic criticism of those who sacrifice eternal happiness for temporary gain. According to him, this preference explains humanity's refusal to prepare for Judgment: "The only thing that has caused them to reject the Day of Judgement and oppose the true revelation... is that their only concern is the present worldly life" [3].

Although each commentator differs slightly in emphasis, all agree on the central point: attachment to the temporary blinds human beings to the eternal.

6. The Universal Diagnosis and the Modern World

These verses are not limited to one religious community or one historical period. They address humanity as a whole. Whether wealthy or poor, religious or secular, ancient or modern, every generation faces the same temptation: to exchange permanence for immediacy.

If these verses described seventh-century Arabia, their relevance to the twenty-first century is even greater. Modern civilization increasingly rewards and demands immediate gratification: instant communication, instant entertainment, instant wealth, instant fame, and instant consumption. The architecture of contemporary society often reinforces precisely the attachment described by al-'ājilah. The Qur'ān therefore speaks with remarkable relevance to modern psychological and social realities.

7. Spiritual Psychology: The Ordering of Love

These verses reveal an important Qur'ānic principle: Human beings become what they love.

Love directs attention. Attention directs thought. Thought directs action. Repeated action shapes character. Character determines destiny. The Qur'ān therefore begins transformation not with external behaviour but with reordered love.

Although the Hereafter certainly includes life after physical death, Qur'ānic theology also presents it as something that shapes present existence. A believer who remembers the Hereafter evaluates actions differently, orders priorities differently, understands suffering differently, and measures success differently. Thus, remembrance of the Hereafter becomes a transformative moral principle rather than merely a future expectation.

8. The Illusion of the Fleeting Life (Surah 57:20)

The profound delusion of preferring the fleeting life is powerfully illustrated elsewhere in the Qur'ān, where the exact nature of this temporary existence is exposed:

This verse [4] perfectly complements Surah 75:20-21. The "fleeting life" (al-'ājilah) is nothing more than play, amusement, and a deceptive illusion (matā'u al-ghurūr). Like vegetation that springs up quickly after rain only to wither into dry chaff, the objects of human desire in this world are destined to turn to dust. To trade the eternal reality of the Resurrection for this temporary illusion is the ultimate spiritual tragedy.

As the Qur'ān succinctly summarizes in Surah Al-A'lā:

9. Conclusion: The Call to Reorder Priorities

Surah Al-Qiyamah 75:20-21 offers a timeless diagnosis of the human condition. The greatest obstacle to the Resurrection is not a lack of proof, but a heart that has fallen in love with the fleeting world. By calling humanity to recognize the transient nature of al-'ājilah and the eternal weight of al-ākhirah, the Qur'ān challenges us to reorder our loves, shift our gaze from the immediate to the eternal, and prepare our souls for the inescapable reality of the Resurrection Age.