In surah al-Baqarah, Allah extols remembering Him by saying:
[فَإِذَا قَضَيْتُم مَّنَاسِكَكُمْ فَاذْكُرُوا اللَّهَ كَذِكْرِكُمْ آبَاءَكُمْ أَوْ أَشَدَّ ذِكْرًا]
So when you have completed your rituals, then remember Allah as you remember your fathers or with even more remembrance [200]
and He then goes on to say:
[فَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا وَمَا لَهُ فِي الْآخِرَةِ مِنْ خَلَاقٍ * وَمِنْهُم مَّن يَقُولُ رَبَّنَا آتِنَا فِي الدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةً وَفِي الْآخِرَةِ حَسَنَةً وَقِنَا عَذَابَ النَّارِ]
There are some people who say, "Our Lord, grant us in this life" but they will have no portion in the hereafter. * And there are some who say, "Our Lord, grant us good in this life and good in the next life and save us from the punishment of hellfire" [200-201]
At the intersection of these ayaat, ibn Kathir commented:
Allah goes on to guide us to supplicate to Him after remembering Him abundantly, for that is a circumstance in which supplications are accepted.
And He criticizes those who only ask for worldly things while ignoring the hereafter.
[Tafsir ibn Kathir 1/558]
August 31, 2026 416 4
