Surah 19. Maryam, Ayah 77

This is a further illustration of the attitude described in verses {73-75} (and referred to in note [59]): namely, the insistence on material values to the exclusion of all moral considerations, and the conviction that worldly "success" is the only thing that really counts in life. As in many other places in the Qur'an, this materialistic concept of "success" is metonymically equated with one's absorption in the idea of "wealth and children".

 This statement was made by Al-’Ȃṣ ibn Wâ'il, a Meccan pagan who staunchly disbelieved in resurrection.

Besides the man who boasts of wealth and power in actual possession, there is a type of man who boasts of getting them in the future and builds his worldly hopes thereon. Is he sure? He denies Allah, and His goodness and Mercy. But all good is in the hands of Allah. Can such a man then bind Allah to bless him when he rejects faith in Allah? Or does he pretend that he has penetrated to the mysteries of the future? For no man can tell what the future holds for him.