وَلَا تَشْتَرُوا بِعَهْدِ اللَّهِ ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا إِنَّمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ هُوَ خَيْرٌ لَكُمْ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ ﴿۹۵﴾ مَا عِنْدَكُمْ يَنْفَدُ وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ بَاقٍ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّ الَّذِينَ صَبَرُوا أَجْرَهُمْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۹۶﴾ مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا مِنْ ذَكَرٍ أَوْ أُنْثَى وَهُوَ مُؤْمِنٌ فَلَنُحْيِيَنَّهُ حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَجْرَهُمْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۹۷﴾ فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ الْقُرْآنَ فَاسْتَعِذْ بِاللَّهِ مِنَ الشَّيْطَانِ الرَّجِيمِ ﴿۹۸﴾

﴾95﴿ Wa laa tashtaroo bi 'ahdil laahi samanan qaleelaa; innamaa 'indal laahi huwa khairul lakum in kuntum ta'lamoon
﴾96﴿ maa 'indakum yanfadu wa maa 'indal laahi baaq; wa lanajziyannal lazeena sabarooo ajjrahum bi ahsani maa kaanoo ya'maloon
﴾97﴿ Man 'amila saaliham min zakarin aw unsaa wa huwa mu'minun falanuhyiyannahoo hayaatan taiiyibatanw wa lanajzi yannnahum ajrahum bi ahsani maa kaanoo ya'maloon
﴾98﴿ Fa izaa qara tal Quraana fasta'iz billaahi minashh Shai taanir rajeem

﴾95﴿ "And do not exchange the covenant of Allah for a small worldly gain; indeed, what is with Allah is better for you, if you only knew
﴾96﴿ That which is with you will perish, but that which is with Allah will endure. And indeed, We shall reward those who are patient according to the best of what they used to do
﴾97﴿ Whoever does righteous deeds, whether male or female, while being a believer, We will surely grant them a good and pleasant life, and We will certainly reward them according to the best of what they used to do
﴾98﴿ So when you recite the Quran, seek refuge in Allah from the accursed Satan

[95] In this verse, there is a prohibition against breaking covenants out of greed for worldly status and wealth.
It means: Do not abandon the true religion—Tawḥīd and Sunnah—for the sake of worldly power or possessions.
This act is referred to as "اشتراء" (selling one thing for another). A detailed explanation of this concept appears in verse (77) of Surah Al-Baqarah.
"(ثَمَنًا قَلِيلًا)" ("a small price") refers to all worldly possessions, as mentioned in verse (38) of Surah At-Tawbah and verse (77) of Surah An-Nisā’.
"(إِنَّمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ)" ("Indeed, what is with Allah")—this is an encouragement and motivation to seek Paradise and the Hereafter instead of being attached to temporary worldly gain.
[96] In this verse, the phrase explains the reason (علت) for the previous statement—it is highlighting that what is with Allah is better (خیر).
It contains an encouragement to detach from the world (تَزهید فی الدنیا), meaning: by firmly holding to the covenant of Allah and the true religion, one gains a reward from Allah that never ends, while worldly wealth and power are destined to perish.
Remaining firm upon the covenant is referred to in this verse as "صبر" (patience).
The word "أَحْسَنَ" ("best") is mentioned because "حُسن" can apply to permissible (مباح) acts, but such acts by themselves do not earn reward unless accompanied by intention or turned into a means of good.
In "أَحْسَنَ", obligatory acts (فرائض), recommended acts (سُنَن), and duties (واجبات) are all included.
Alternatively, "أَحْسَنَ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ" can be taken as an additional explanatory phrase (إضافت بیانیه), clarifying that the reward will be based on the best of what they used to do.
[97] This verse brings glad tidings (بشارت) to the one who fulfills the covenant, which is expressed here as faith (ایمان) and righteous action (عمل صالح).
The phrase "(حَيَاةً طَيِّبَةً)" ("a good life")—the stronger opinion is that it refers to all those blessings that bring happiness in both this world and the Hereafter. This includes lawful sustenance (رزق حلال), contentment (قناعت), and success in obedience (توفیق بر طاعات) in worldly life.
A second opinion is that it refers specifically to Paradise (جنت), because a truly beautiful life cannot exist outside of Paradise.
In the previous verse, the reward mentioned referred to worldly compensation (جزاء دنیوی).
In this verse, "(أَجْرَهُمْ بِأَحْسَنِ مَا كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ)" refers to reward in the Hereafter (جزاء اُخروی)—based on the best of what they used to do.
[98] This verse encourages reciting the Qur’an, along with teaching the proper etiquette (أدب) of doing so.
The connection is that the Qur’an contains reminders of Allah’s covenant, and seeking refuge in Allah (تعوّذ) is necessary to protect oneself from the whisperings of Shayṭān.
Shayṭān attempts to prevent people from benefiting from the Qur’an by casting doubts, whispering incorrect interpretations, and distracting them from the covenant of Allah.
"(الرَّجِيمِ)" refers to Shayṭān being accursed—he is the one upon whom Allah’s curse is declared in the Qur’an, and his evil qualities are mentioned.
"(فَإِذَا قَرَأْتَ)"—the intended meaning of recitation here is the intention to recite, not just the act itself.
"(فَاسْتَعِذْ)"—this is a command to seek protection by saying “أَعُوذُ بِاللَّهِ” (I seek refuge in Allah). Fulfilling this command through words is better and preferred.