One of the most serious, but largely unacknowledged misconceptions, is the supposition that the life of this world is the only real life for human beings. In fact, the world is a temporary place created by Allah to test man. What is real is the life after death. Therefore, everything that charms people and preoccupies them in the fleeting and short-lived existence of this world is an “enjoyment of delusion”. As stated in the following verse, Allah warns people against this deception, reminding them that the real, beautiful abode is in the Presence of Allah:
To mankind the objects of worldly appetites are painted in glowing colours: women and children, and heaped-up mounds of gold and silver, and horses with fine markings, and livestock and fertile farmland. All that is merely the enjoyment of the life of this world. Far better is the return to Allah. (Surat al ‘Imran: 14)
