(O Prophet!): Propound to them the parable of the present life: it is like the vegetation of the earth which flourished luxuriantly when it mingled with water that We sent down from the sky, but after that the same vegetation turned into stubble which the winds blew about. Allah alone has the power over all things. Wealth and children are an adornment of the life of the world. But the deeds of lasting righteousness are the best in the sight of your Lord in reward, and far better a source of hope. Bear in mind the Day when We shall set the mountains in motion and you will find the earth void and bare. On that Day We shall muster all men together, leaving none of them behind.
(Al-Qur’ān – 18:45-47)
God grants life as well as death. He enables people to rise as well as causes them to fall. He causes the blossoming of the spring, and also ordains that it will be followed by autumn. Hence, if someone happens to flourish and enjoy prosperity, he ought not to be deluded into believing that this state would necessarily last for ever. It is God Who has granted man all bounties and he will be instantly deprived of them the moment God so wills. The expression ‘Bear in mind the Day when We shall set the mountains in motion’ refers to the time when the present order of things will be disrupted. The earth will lose its gravitational pull and the mountains will float about as clouds.