Waqala allatheena ootoo alAAilma waylakum thawabu Allahi khayrun liman amana waAAamila salihan (surah Qasas: 80)

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

(28:80) But those who possessed the knowledge, said, "Alas for you ! Allah's reward is better for him who believes and does good works, and this fortune is attained only by those who show patience." *100

Wa qaalal lazeena ootul `ilma wailakum sawaabul laahi khairul liman aamana wa `amila saalihaa; wa laa yulaq qaahaaa illas saabiroon

*100) That is, "'This kind of character and the way of thinking and the hounty of Allah's reward falls to the lot of only those who stick firmly and steadfastly and patiently to the lawful ways in life, whether by so doing they are able to earn only a bare living, or are enabled to become millionaires, but are never inclined to follow the unlawful ways even if they promise aII the benefits and wealth of the world. In this verse, "Allah's reward" means the bounteous provision that is gained by man in the world and the Hereafter as a result of labour acrd toil undertaken within the bounds set by Allah; and "patience" means to have control over one's emotions and desires, to stick to honesty and righteousness as against greed and lust, to bear the losses that one may have to incur on account of the truth and justice, to spurn the gains that might accrue from employing unlawful devices, to remain content and satisfied with the lawful earning even if it is meagre and insufficient, to eschew feelings of envy and jealousy at the splendour of the corrupt people and avoid ;even casting a glance at it, and to be satisfied with the thought that for an honest man the colourless purity that Allah has granted him by His grace is better than the lustrous filth of evil and corruption. As for "fortune", it implies Allah's reward as well as the pure mentality by virtue of which a believing and righteous person finds it easier to suffer hunger and starvation than become a multi-millionaire by adopting dishonest and corrupt ways and means."