Matāʿ is interpreted in four ways:
1. The word matāʿ is used in the sense of a destination or final point to be reached; in this meaning, it appears in the following words of Allah, addressed to Adam, Eve, and Iblis:
(Allah said to Adam, Eve, and Iblis: "For you on the earth is a place of settlement and enjoyment for a time [that is, until you reach the end of your appointed terms].") (al-Baqara 2:36)
A similar usage is found in Sūrat al-Aʿrāf.
({The prophets said to the Arab polytheists}: "Perhaps it is a trial for you and an enjoyment for a time" [that is, it is a means of trial until you reach the end of your appointed terms].) (al-Anbiyāʾ 21:111)
2. Matāʿ is used in the sense of benefits or advantages, as in the following verses:
"Lawful to you is the game from the sea and its food as provision for you and for the travelers, so that it may be a matāʿ (that is, a benefit for both you and the travelers)." (al-Māʾida 5:96)
"There is no blame upon you for entering houses not inhabited, in which there is matāʿ for you (that is, benefits against heat and cold, i.e., inns or lodging places)." (al-Nūr 24:29)
"Have you considered the fire that you ignite? Is it you who produced its tree, or are We the producer? We have made it (the worldly fire) as a reminder and a matāʿ (that is, a means to various benefits) for the wayfarers (i.e., those who remain in barren lands)." (al-Wāqiʿa 56:71-73)
"As a matāʿ (that is, benefit/provision) for you and your livestock..." (al-Nāziʿāt 79:33)
3. Matāʿ is used in the sense of the mutʿa (consolatory gift) given to a divorced woman, or any property from which benefit is derived; as in the following verses:
"Divorced women are entitled to a matāʿ (that is, the husband is obliged to give her, according to his means, something from which she may benefit [mutʿa] in addition to the dower). This is an obligation upon the God-conscious (muttaqūn)." (al-Baqara 2:241)
"Provide for them (matāʿ) in a reasonable manner (that is, the man should give the divorced woman, according to his means, a mutʿa [a property from which she may benefit]). This is an obligation upon the doers of good (muḥsinūn)." (al-Baqara 2:236)
4. By the term matāʿ, iron, lead, red and yellow copper are intended; as in the following verse:
"Or there emerges from it a foam like [that of] matāʿ (that is, iron, lead, and yellow copper) for the purpose of obtaining it..." (al-Raʿd 13:17)