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Surah 47. Muhammad, Ayah 36

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إِنَّمَا ٱلْحَيَوٰةُ ٱلدُّنْيَا لَعِبٌ وَلَهْوٌ ۚ وَإِن تُؤْمِنُوا۟ وَتَتَّقُوا۟ يُؤْتِكُمْ أُجُورَكُمْ وَلَا يَسْـَٔلْكُمْ أَمْوَٰلَكُمْ
Innam a al h ay a tu a l dduny a laAAibun walahwun wain tuminoo watattaqoo yutikum ojoorakum wal a yasalkum amw a lakum
The life of this world is but a play and a passing delight: but if you believe [in God] and are conscious of Him, He will grant you your deserts. And withal, He does not demand of you [to sacrifice in His cause all of] your possessions:41
  - Mohammad Asad

Although the life of this world is "but a play and a passing delight", God does not want to deprive the believers of its rightful enjoyment: and so He expects them to sacrifice only a small part of their possessions in His cause. This passage evidently foreshadows the imposition of the obligatory annual tax called zakah ("the purifying dues"), amounting to about 22 percent of a Muslims's income and property, as pointed out by most of the classical commentators in connection with the above verse (hence my interpolation). The proceeds of this tax are to be utilized in what the Qur'an describes as "the cause [lit., "way"] of God", i.e., for the defence and propagation of the Faith and the welfare of the community; and its spiritual purpose is the "purification" of a Muslim's possessions from the blemish of greed and selfishness. (It is to be noted that the payment of zakah was made obligatory at the very beginning of the Medina period, that is, at approximately the same time as the revelation of the present surah.)

The life of this world is but play and amusement. If you believe and follow the way of piety, He will grant you your rewards and will not ask you to give up your possessions.
  - Muhammad Farooq-i-Azam Malik
This worldly life is no more than play and amusement. But if you are faithful and mindful 'of Allah', He will grant you your 'full' reward, and will not ask you 'to donate all' your wealth.
  - Mustafa Khattab
The life of the world is but a sport and a pastime. And if ye believe and ward off (evil), He will give you your wages, and will not ask of you your worldly wealth.
  - Marmaduke Pickthall
The life of this world is but play and amusement: and if ye believe land guard against evil He will grant you your recompense and will not ask you (to give up) your possessions. 4860 4861
  - Abdullah Yusuf Ali

Cf. vi. 32, and n. 855; and xxix. 64, and n. 3497. Amusement and play are not bad things in themselves. As preparations for the more serious life, they have their value. But if we concentrate on them, and neglect the business of life, we cannot prosper. So we must use our life in this world as a preparation for the next life.

Complete self-sacrifice, if voluntarily offered, has a meaning: it means that the person's devotion is exclusively and completely for the Cause. But no law or rule can demand it. And a mere offer to kill yourself has no meaning. You should be ready to take risks to your life in fighting for the Cause, but you should aim at life, not death. If you live, you should be ready to place your substance and your acquisitions at the disposal of the Cause. But it is not reasonable to pauperise yourself and become a hanger-on for the Cause. Moreover, the inborn tendency to self-preservation in an average man would lead to concealment and niggardliness if all were asked for the Cause, by Law, and there would further be a feeling of bitterness and rebellion.

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