Life of the world in the light of Quran

O believers! What is the matter with you that when you are asked to march forth in the way of Allah, you cling to the earth? Do you prefer the life of this world to the life of the hereafter? If it is so, then you should know that the comforts of this life are little compared to the life of the hereafter.
(Surah Tauba (9), Ayah 38)

O mankind! Have fear of your Rabb and fear that Day when no father shall avail his son nor a son his father. Surely the promise of Allah is true. Let not the life of this world deceive you, nor let the Deceiver (Shaitan) deceive you concerning Allah.
(Surah Luqman (31), Ayah 33)

O mankind! Certainly the promise of Allah is true, therefore let not the life of this world deceive you nor let the chief deceiver (Satan) deceive you about Allah.
(Surah Fatir (35), Ayah 5)

You should know that the life of this world is only play and amusement, a show and boasting among yourselves, a quest for greater riches and more children. Its similitude is that of vegetation that flourish after rain: the growth of which delights the tillers, then it withers and you see it turn yellow, soon it becomes dry and crumbles away. In the hereafter there will be either severe punishment or forgiveness from Allah and His good pleasure. The life of this world is nothing but an illusion.
(Surah Al-Hadid (57), Ayah 20)

He that desires the reward in this world shall be given it here, and he that desires the reward in the hereafter shall be given it there. Soon We will reward the thankful.
(Surah Al-i’Imran (3), Ayah 145)

As for those who do not hope to meet Us on the Day of Judgement, being well pleased and satisfied with this worldly life and those who give no heed to Our revelations,they shall have the Fire as their abode because of what they had earned (erroneous creed and wrong conduct).
(Surah Yunus (10), Ayah 7 & 8)

Those who desire the life of this world and its splendors, they are given full reward of their deeds therein and shall not be diminished.They are the ones who will have nothing in the hereafter except Hellfire. There they shall come to know that their deeds were fruitless and their actions were worthless.
(Surah Hud (11), Ayah 15 & 16)

He that desires the transitory things of this life, We readily grant him such things as We please to whomsoever We want, then We condemn him to hell, where he will burn, disgraced and rejected.
(Surah Al-Israa (17), Ayah 18)

The life of men when they get to the age of puberty is tempted by desire for women when they get married children, when they get children the hoarding of treasures of gold and silver, splendid horses, cattle, and plantations. These are the comforts for the transitory life of this world; the everlasting best comfort, however, is with Allah.Say : "Shall I tell you of better things than these, with which the righteous will be rewarded by their Rabb? There will be gardens beneath which rivers flow, where they will live forever with spouses of perfect chastity and the good pleasure of Allah. Allah is watching His servants very closely."
(Surah Al-i’Imran (3), Ayah 14 & 15)

He who desires the harvest of the hereafter, shall be given a many fold increase in his harvest; and he who desires the harvest of this world, a share of it shall be given to him: but in the hereafter he shall have no share at all.
(Surah Ash-Shura (42), Ayah 20)

It is clearly evident from the above verses that ALLAH again and again tells us not to get involved too much in the life of the world. But how do we muslims do that? If we look at our lives we will come to realize that in 24 hours, we spend barely an hour or so in the worship of ALLAH. The rest of all our efforts revolve around living and making effort for the world. Whether its our job, or relationship with friends and family. Lets just see a few examples of how a muslim might prefer the worldly attractions of this world than hereafter.

• by spending the free time that he gets after his job or studies in activities that result in just a waste of his time and efforts. If the same could have been spent in following the commandments of ALLAH and working for his DEEN, then surely ALLAH would have rewarded greatly.
• by spending the resources we have in getting the pleasures of this world beyond our needs. Spending our money in lavish things, doing "israaf" in the halal things given to us by ALLAH, by spending our resources on things which neither gives us anything in this world nor will give anything in the hereafter.
• by being more concerned about the temporary relations of this life beyond the responsibilities given by Islam to us. We sometimes prefer to spend time in our friends even when we don't gain anything from it and just for having a fun time when the same could have been spent on working for the DEEN of ALLAH. Islam doesn't promote complete seclusion from world and encourages to enjoy the blessings of ALLAH given to us. However, it should be keep in mind that those blessings are also to be shared with others. If its knowledge it should be shared with others, if its wealth its to be shared with the one in need, if its time then it should be given to those who can earn something valuable from it and become a good muslim in the future.
• by avoiding the vain and idle talks that tempt us greatly in this world but will be of no use to us in the hereafter.

Each one of us should try to look into our lives and what are our priorities. Have we given priority to those things which will save us on the day of judgement or do we spend most of our time in things which are just temporary in this world even.

May ALLAH guide us with the blessing of his divine verses and show us the right path to follow and may ALLAH give us the strength to face the temptations of this wordily life and overcome it.

AMEEN