And the parable of those who spend their property to seek the pleasure of Allah and for the certainty of their souls is as the parable of the garden on an elevated ground, upon which heavy rain falls so it brings forth its fruit twofold but if heavy rain does not fall upon it, then light rain (is sufficient) and Allah sees what you do.
Does one of you like that he should have a garden of palms and vines with streams flowing beneath it; he has in it all kinds of fruits; and old age has overtaken him and he has weak offspring, when, (lo!) a whirlwind with fire in it smites it so it becomes blasted; thus Allah makes the communications clear to you, that you may reflect.
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Discussion of 2:265:
This parable starts with a landowner who acquires and develops property, in this case, a garden, "to seek the pleasure of Allah." Notice that this is the landowner's first priority, to please Allah, and the landowner's own pleasure is secondary. By placing the pleasure of Allah first, those like the landowner will have "the certainty of their souls." The rest of the parable uses an example to show exactly how this becomes true. The landowner who seeks the pleasure of Allah first selects land for their garden that is "on an elevated ground, upon which heavy rain falls." This is a well known phenomena, where a rise of land, like a hill or a mountain, that faces a wind that if often moisture laden (such as the mountains along the west coast of the USA that face the Pacific Ocean) will capture more than their share of rainfall and thus have very lush growth. So when one chooses land for the pleasure of Allah, it is like selected a "garden on an elevated ground, upon which heavy rain falls so it brings forth its fruit twofold." In other words, by prioritizing for Allah above all, one selects a way that reaps twice the harvest during normal times. Then, when hardship fall in life falls, one is "ahead" because one has already invested first in pleasing Allah, and has enough remaining in hardship by which to get by. So "if heavy rain does not fall upon it, then light rain (is sufficient.)" This parable beautifully combines the concepts of agriculture and provision in the time of hardship with the assurity that comes with seeking the pleasure of Allah first, and by virtue of that, one's feet are guided in wise decisions that allows one to prosper even when the heavy rain does not fall, and the light rain is sufficient.
For those of you new to the Qur'an, notice that many of the passages in the Qur'an end with reference to Allah. Here the phrase "and Allah sees what you do" is a reminder that Allah sees all, and observes that this pious landowner had placed as his or her first priority to behave and decide in ways to "seek the pleasure of Allah." This is a very valuable feature of the Qur'an where the Prophet (peace be upon him) almost always ties back each parable and verse to Allah. This is different from the Old Testament which is very much a codification of laws, events, and genealogies. It is easy to get carried away reading the Old Testament books about the events and laws and lose track of the "why's" of God. The Qur'an breaks the teachings of Allah into pieces that are easy to understand for those who listened or read, and in this regard is closer to the New Testament in structure, where Jesus segmented his activities and preachings in way that always points back to God and his will. So both the Qur'an and the New Testament are much more explanatory in nature, and contain frequent "point backs" to God.
Discussion of 2:266:
In this parable, in contrast to the one immediately before it, there is no mention that the landowner has selected land for the pleasure of Allah as the first priority. So the reader can assume that this parable is about the person who selects a garden for their own pleasure. The parable implies that the landowner has had a long run of success with this garden because he has "palms and vines with streams flowing beneath it" and "all kinds of fruits" up through the time when "old age has overtaken him." So he has had a pretty good run of the garden for his own pleasure. But then two things happen. He grows old and has "weak offspring." His children are clearly not strong willed in the discipline of tending to the garden as the old man did, and by implication, not trained sufficiently in following the will of Allah. So the old man has less years remaining to him and less strength, yet cannot turn to his offspring to maintain his work because they are "weak." And then a natural disaster occurs, where there is a "whirlwind with fire" that "smites it so it becomes blasted." Now, this is a natural disaster we are speaking of, not a punishment. Anyone who farms for a living knows that it is inevitable that there are weather changes, storms, disasters that are the will of Allah (in that they are part of how the world operates under Allah) but that a strong person who places Allah first can cope with and plan for. Remember, the landowner in parable 2:265 planted in an area that had more rain than he needed, and was mindful of the pleasure of Allah first. So when disaster struck the first landowner, in the form of a diminishment of rain by a half, he still thrived, for he chose his land by putting Allah's pleasure first. In pragmatic terms, you could say the first landowner knows the ways of Allah in the unpredictability of the weather systems that keep this planet healthy, and so he "built in some redundancy" in respect for Allah's pleasure and ways. The second landowner not only did not choose his land with the pleasure of Allah in mind, but his children also did not perform accordingly, and so not only does the eventual natural disaster overcome them, but there is no one to lead them back to recovery. Perhaps the landowner, putting his own pleasure first over Allah's, neglected the instructions of his offspring in the will of Allah, and then pays the price when the offspring are not upright enough to support the old landowner and their heritage. We see many examples of this in faith and in life. And so it is written "thus Allah makes the communications clear to you, that you may reflect." How many times do we hear someone say, "I never thought it could happen to me?" And worse when through weakness children leave their parents in a position of unnecessary danger and risk? The meaning is that life is unpredictable and that prosperity that is achieved without putting Allah first may be long in duration, or fleeting, but there is no recovery or safety net, if not in the living world, then when judged because as 2:265 reminds, "Allah sees what you do."
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