﴿ أَيَوَدُّ أَحَدُكُمْ أَن تَكُونَ لَهُۥ جَنَّةٌۭ مِّن نَّخِيلٍۢ وَأَعْنَابٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ لَهُۥ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ وَأَصَابَهُ ٱلْكِبَرُ وَلَهُۥ ذُرِّيَّةٌۭ ضُعَفَآءُ فَأَصَابَهَآ إِعْصَارٌۭ فِيهِ نَارٌۭ فَٱحْتَرَقَتْ ۗ كَذَٰلِكَ يُبَيِّنُ ٱللَّهُ لَكُمُ ٱلْءَايَٰتِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَتَفَكَّرُونَ ﴾

“Would any of you like to have a garden of date-palms and vines, through which running waters flow, and have all manner of fruit therein - and then be overtaken by old age, with only weak children to [look after] him-and then [see] it smitten by a fiery whirlwind and utterly scorched? In this way God makes clear His messages unto you, so that you might take thought.”

When an individual plants an orchard in his youth, he does so in the hope that he will enjoy its fruits when he grows old. How unfortunate, then, is one who sees his beautiful orchard reduced to rubble towards the end of his days, just when he stands in greatest need of it. Now time has run out on him and he has no chance of nurturing new saplings. This is exactly what will happen to those who engage themselves in a religious cause, purely out of lust for worldly prestige and profit. Outwardly, they appear to be engaged in pious works, but it is only in their form that their actions differ from those of the run-of-the-mill materialists of this world. In reality, there is no difference between the two types of people. Normally, people seeking worldly fame and prestige, choose worldly means of attaining their goals, whereas hypocritical people choose religious means of advancement towards the same worldly ends. All are aiming at the same mundane goals; only the ways in which they go about achieving them are different. People guided by worldly motives in all their actions will find no reward awaiting them in the Hereafter. God’s signs take an abtruse form. Only those who cultivate in themselves a capacity for reflection are able to decipher these signs and, through them, come to know God.