Why is the worldly life nothing but ‘play’?

Many of us have heard this ayah from Suratul Ankaboot.

وَمَا هَٰذِهِ الْحَيَاةُ الدُّنْيَا إِلَّا لَهْوٌ وَلَعِبٌ ۚ وَإِنَّ الدَّارَ الْآخِرَةَ لَهِيَ الْحَيَوَانُ ۚ لَوْ كَانُوا يَعْلَمُونَ

“And this worldly life is not but diversion and amusement. And indeed, the home of the Hereafter – that is the [eternal] life, if only they knew.” Suratul Ankaboot, 64

The first part of the ayah below says, “And this worldly life is not but diversion and amusement.” In other words, it says that the worldly life is just a play.

How so? Imagine a role play being played by different individuals. Where one is a king, the other is a slave and some other people are just ordinary servants. During the role play, the king has power and authority and the slaves have none. The servants may not be respected people. But once the play is over, they become completely different individuals. The king is no longer the king, the slaves and servants become some other individuals of different characteristics.

Our case is no different than those you are just acting out a play. In this world, Allah may have given us money, power, fame and what not. But once this dunya (this ‘play’) is over, our real life begins. The life where we will be judged based on our true character Subhaanallah!

So, let’s ask ourselves today. Who are we for real? Without any of the things or titles that Allah gave us in this world? Because on the Day of Judgement when we stand in front of Allah, all we will be is His slaves. The only thing that will matter is whether our character was pleasing to Him or not.

May Allah make us of those who are pleasing to Him. Ameen!