فَمَا أُوتِيتُمْ مِنْ شَيْءٍ فَمَتَاعُ الْحَيَاةِ الدُّنْيَا وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ وَأَبْقَى لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَلَى رَبِّهِمْ يَتَوَكَّلُونَ ﴿۳۶﴾ وَالَّذِينَ يَجْتَنِبُونَ كَبَائِرَ الْإِثْمِ وَالْفَوَاحِشَ وَإِذَا مَا غَضِبُوا هُمْ يَغْفِرُونَ ﴿۳۷﴾ وَالَّذِينَ اسْتَجَابُوا لِرَبِّهِمْ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَى بَيْنَهُمْ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ يُنْفِقُونَ ﴿۳۸﴾

﴾36﴿ Famaa ooteetum min shai'in famataa'ul hayaatid dunyaa wa maa 'indal laahi khairunw wa abqaa lillazeena aamanoo wa 'alaa Rabbihim yatawakkaloon
﴾37﴿ Wallazeena yajtaniboona kabaaa'iral ismi wal fawaahisha wa izaa maa ghadiboo hum yaghfiroon
﴾38﴿ Wallazeenas tajaaboo li Rabbihim wa aqaamus Salaata wa amruhum shooraa bainahum wa mimmaa razaqnaahum yunfiqoon

﴾36﴿ So whatever you have been given is only an enjoyment of the worldly life, but what is with Allah is better and more lasting for those who believe and put their trust in their Lord
﴾37﴿ And for those who avoid major sins and open indecencies, and when they are angry, they forgive
﴾38﴿ And those who accept the command of their Lord, establish prayer, and their affairs are conducted through mutual consultation among them, and they spend from what We have provided them

[36] In this verse, there is detachment from the world (tazhīd fī al-dunyā) — meaning, whoever is given ships by Allah the Exalted, and sails through calm and favorable conditions, and is kept safe from drowning — this is still only a small, worldly benefit.
Therefore, it is not permissible to respond to this with arrogance, shirk, and forgetting the Tawḥīd of Allah the Exalted.
"Lilladhīna āmanū" — for attaining the blessings of the Hereafter, Allah mentions several means — in this verse, two qualities are mentioned:
1. Īmān (faith) — which hints at salvation from open (jaliyy) shirk.
2. Tawakkul (trust in Allah) — which points to rescue from hidden (khafiyy) shirk, because true tawakkul means turning only to Allah and ignoring everything else besides Him.
[37] In this verse, the third and fourth qualities are mentioned — while the previous two were positive attributes, these two are negative (restrictive) qualities, i.e., qualities describing what the believers avoid.
"Kabā’ir al-ithm" (major sins) — refers to any sin for which the punishment is severe and grave. These include shirk, murder, adultery, theft, disobedience to parents, sorcery, false oaths, slander, and others — all of which are considered major sins.
"Al-fawāḥish" (shameful deeds) — this is a case of the specific after the general. These are sins that are so vile that both reason and natural human instinct detest them, and their evil is clear to any rational person.
Examples include adultery, lying, deceiving others, betrayal, etc.
"Wa idhā mā ghaḍibū hum yaghfirūn" (and when they are angered, they forgive) — after mentioning rights of Allah, this refers to rights of the servants (ḥuqūq al-‘ibād).
This is a quality of balance and moderation: when someone insults or harms them, they may become angry — but instead of seeking revenge, they choose to forgive.
[38] In this verse, the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth qualities are mentioned:
"Wa amruhum shūrā baynahum" (Their affairs are [decided] by mutual consultation) — this highlights the importance of unity and harmony, which is achieved through mutual consultation.
This consultation (shūrā) is not for creating new laws, but for implementing the laws of Islam — this is what is known as Islamic shūrā.
In contrast, Western-style democracy and republicanism involve legislating laws, which is a form of shirk, because the right to legislate belongs solely to Allah.
This characteristic is specifically mentioned in this surah because its main theme is Tawḥīd in judgment and legislation (tawḥīd fī al-ḥukm) — and to implement that divine law, consultation is essential.