زهر

Core meaning

Glitter: what shines for a time and draws the eye. The single use says it of the present life, given as enjoyment in order to test.

Uses

1. زَهْرَة → "the glitter" : what, in the enjoyment granted, holds the eyes.

   • «زَهْرَةَ ٱلْحَيَوٰةِ ٱلدُّنْيَا لِنَفْتِنَهُمْ فِيهِ» — "the glitter of the present life — that We may try them therein" (20:131)

Evidence from the text

The word occurs only once, and the verse frames it with two gestures. Before it, the ban on the gaze: "do not stretch your eyes toward what We have granted some pairs among them to enjoy" (20:131); after it, the reason, "that We may try them therein", then the comparison: "and the provision of your Guardian is better and more lasting" (20:131). Glitter is what attracts and does not last, set against what remains.

Distinctions

• زين — adornment: what is added to embellish, whereas زهرة is the shine the thing casts of itself

See also

متع (enjoyment) · فتن (the trial)