“And among men is he who worships Allah, while remaining on the borderline; if any good befalls him, he is satisfied; but if a trial afflicts him, he utterly turns away. He will incur loss both of this world and the Hereafter. That indeed is a clear loss.”
(Al-Qur’ān – 22:11)
This is a vital truth which is succinctly stated here. The verse portrays an ambivalent, wavering Muslim, one whose state is the worst. So far as an unbeliever is concerned, because of his convictions he is neither bothered by the idea of God nor of the Next Life, nor is he concerned with the idea of observing God’s Laws. Hence, he concentrates, single-mindedly, on pursuing material objectives. On the other hand, when the true believer firmly and resolutely follows the teachings of the religion of God, he ultimately achieves worldly success as well. Furthermore, even if he remains deprived of worldly success, at least felicity and success in the Next Life are fully assured.
A wavering believer, however, is likely to have no success either in this world or the Next. For, when he rushes to achieve worldly gains, the vestiges of belief in God and the Hereafter and his concern for morality, whatever its extent, all prevent him from riding rough-shod. The result is that he does not have the single-mindedness needed for the kind of unbridled pursuit of worldly interests which is the hallmark of rank unbelievers. Conversely, when he thinks of working for his success in the Hereafter, he is impeded from proceeding in that direction because of his excessive greed for worldly benefits, his fear of worldly losses, and his disinclination to observe the restrictions placed by religion on seeking to satisfy canal desires. In fact, worldliness impairs his belief and corrupts his conduct to such an extent that he can hardly escape punishment in the Hereafter.