Man kana yureedu hartha al-akhirati nazid lahu fee harthihi waman kana yureedu (surah shura: 20)

Tafseer Tafheem-ul-Quran by Syed Abu-al-A'la Maududi

(42:20) Whoever seeks the harvest of the Hereafter, We shall increase for him his harvest, and whoever seeks the harvest of this world, We shall give him thereof; but he will have no share in the Hereafter. *37

Man kaana yureedu harsal Aakhirati nazid lahoo fee harsihee wa man kaana yureedu harsad dunyaa nu`tihee mnhaa wa maa lahoo fil Aakhirati min naseeb

*37) Two of the truths have been mentioned in the previous verse, which we arc observing everywhere at aII times: (1) That Allah is Kind and Compassionate to aII His servants; ard (2) that the measure of His provisions is not the same for everybody, but it varies from man to tnan. Now, in this verse it is being told that although the partial differences in kindness and measures of Provisions are countless, there is also a difference of fundamental nature, which is: there is one kind of the provision for the seeker of the Hereafter and of another kind for the seeker of the world.
This is a very important truth which has been stated here briefly. Let us mderstand it fully, for it helps every man to determine his attitude to life.
Both the seeker of the Hcreafter and the seeker of the world have been likened to the farmer in this verse, who labours persistently hard right from the time he prepares the soil till the time his crop is ready for harvesting. He puts in aII his labour so that he may reap and gather the crop of the seeds he sowed. But hecause of the difference of the intention and objective and also the difference of the attitude and conduct, to a large extent, a vast difference takes place between the famer who sows for the Hereafter and the farmer who sows for this world. Therefore, Allah has ordained different results and consequences of the labours of each, although the place of activity of both is this very earth.
As to the farmer who is sowing for the Hereafter, Allah has not said that he will get no share from the world. The world, in a more or less measure, he will get in any case. for he also has a share in the common provisions being bestowed by Allah, and every person, good or bad, is getting his sustenance here. But Allah has not given him the good news of the harvest of this world but that his harvest of the Hereafter will be increased, for he is a seeker of the same, and is concerned about his end there There are several ways in which this harvest can be increased; for example, as he will go on doing righteous deeds with sincere mentions, he will be blessed with the grace to do more and more righteus deeds and his breast will be opened out for more and more good works. When he will make up his mind to adopt pure means for thieving pure aims, he will be blessed with pure means only and AIlah will not Iet it so happen that aII doors to goodness he closed and only doors to evil to remain open for him. Above aII, his each good work, however small and insignificant, will at least be increased ten times over in the Hereafter, and there is no limit to this increase. Allah will increase it hundreds of thousands of tithes for whomever He may please
As for the one who is only sowing for this world, and is not at aII concerned about the Hereafter, Allah has plainly told him of two of the results of his labours: (11 That, however hard he may struggle and strive. he will not get the whole of what he is trying for, but only a fraction of it, which Allah has ordained for him; and (2) that whatever he has to get, he will get only in this world: there is no share for him in the good things of the Hereafter.