Surah 36. Yasin, Ayah 45

For an explanation of this rendering of the above phrase, see surah {2}, note [247]. In the present instance it apparently denotes men's conscious doings as well as their unconscious or half-conscious motivations.

Man should consider and beware of the consequences of his past, and guard against the consequences in his future. The present is only a fleeting moment poised between the past and the future, and gone even while it is being mentioned or thought about. Man should review his whole life and prepare for the Hereafter. If he does so, Allah is Merciful: He will forgive, and give strength for a better and higher life in the future. But this kind of teaching does not suit those steeped in this ephemeral life. They are bored, and turn away from it, to their own loss.