Quran Speaks to You

In the name of Allah, the Merciful, the Beneficent.

Their Lord answers them: “I will not suffer the work of any worker among you, male or female, to be lost. Each of you is the issue of another.” Therefore, those who emigrate and are driven out of their homes and suffer persecution in My cause, and fight and are slain (for it) … I shall indeed efface their bad deeds and admit them to gardens underneath which rivers flow, as a reward from Allah. With Allah is the best of rewards.


Let not the disbeliever’s prosperity in the land deceive you. It is but a brief enjoyment. Then, hell shall be their abode. What an evil abode.

(The House of Imran, Aal Imran: 3; 195-197)


In this passage, we have Allah’s answer to the prayer repeated at length by the believers who have come to accept the faith after their reflection on the scene of the creation of the heavens and the earth and the succession of day and night. They recognise that Allah has not created all that in vain. They fully appreciate the message imparted by these scenes and make the appropriate response and pray to Allah to spare them the disgrace of being committed to hell in the hereafter. Allah’s answer is a detailed one, harmonious with the artistic characteristics of the Qur’anic style which takes into account the psychological requirements of every situation. Let us consider this answer and what it tells us about the nature of the divine method and how Islam sets about refining the characters of its followers.


Those people, described in an earlier verse as “endowed with understanding” have reflected on the creations of the heavens and the earth and on the succession of night and day and have appreciated the message of the book of the universe, responding to the truth as it is clearly explained in it, and addressed their Lord with a long, heartfelt prayer which reflects their apprehension. Here they receive the response of their merciful Lord. Their prayers are answered and their attention is drawn to the constituent elements of the way of life Allah wants them to adopt and to its obligations: Their Lord answers them: “I will not suffer the work of any worker among you, male or female, to be lost. Each of you is the issue of another.” Here they are told that reflection; contemplation, apprehension and passionate prayer are not enough nor is it enough to turn to Allah for sins to be forgiven and bad deeds to be effaced and salvation to be achieved. These goals require positive response and has its roots in their high sensitivity reflected in their expression of apprehension. Islam considers this action an act of worship in the same way as it considers reflection on Allah’s creation, contemplation, remembrance of Allah, prayer for forgiveness and maintaining fear of Allah and hope in his bounty. Indeed, Islam views action as the practical result of such worship. It is accepted from all males and females, without any discrimination on the basis of sex. All people are equal as human beings, since each one of them issues from another, and they are all judged equally.


The work required is then outlined. We can see here the obligations imposed by Islamic faith with regard to personal and financial sacrifices. We can appreciate the nature of Islamic method of life and in what sort of society it can be implemented. We are made to understand further the nature of the way to establish such a society and the barriers and difficulties which work against its establishment and the need to remove them and to prepare the soil for the Islamic plant to grow and be firm, no matter how great the sacrifices are: Therefore, those who emigrate and are driven out of their homes and suffer persecution in My cause, and fight and are slain (for it) – I shall indeed efface their bad deeds and admit them to gardens underneath which rivers flow, as a reward from Allah. With Allah is the best of rewards.


This was the status of those who engaged in this prayer and who were the first generation to be addressed by the Qur’an. They emigrated from Makkah and were driven out of their homes there because of their faith. They were persecuted for no other reason than serving Allah’s cause. They had to fight and were killed in battle. The same applies to the advocates of this faith in every land and in every generation. Whenever the faith of Islam begins to establish itself in an environment of ignorance, in a hostile land, which could be any land and amid hostile people, any people, it faces a bad reception because it stands out to people’s illegitimate ambitions and greed. Its followers are persecuted and chased away, especially when its advocates are still few in number. This blessed plant, however, will grow in spite of persecution and hostility. It will then acquire the ability to resist persecution and defend itself against aggression. This leads to fighting in which some of its followers are killed. In return for these great efforts, bad deeds are effaced, sins are forgiven, and reward, great reward is given.


Only in this way, the divine method of life comes to establish itself. It is a method which Allah has ordained that its implementation in life must be through human effort. The effort is exerted by true believers who struggle and work hard for Allah’s cause, seeking Allah’s pleasure.This is the nature of this method, its constituent elements and obligations. We have also seen the course which it follows in educating its followers and refining their characters, giving them directives which ensure that they move from the stage of positive work in order to implement the system Allah wants man to implement.


Following this, a glance is thrown on the temptation which is represented by the luxuries and comforts available in this life to the unbelievers, the disobedient and those who are hostile to the divine faith. This only aims at making known the true weight and value of such luxuries and comforts so that it does not dazzle the eyes of its beneficiaries or the believers who suffer all the persecution of being driven out from their homes, and who have to fight and sacrifice their lives: let not the disbelievers; prosperity in the land deceive you. It is but a brief enjoyment. Then, hell shall be their abode. What an evil abode.


Their prosperity is an aspect of affluence, wealth, position and power. It is bound to leave something in the hearts of the believers as they suffer hardship, poverty, persecution and as they have to fight in battle. All these are hardships very difficult to bear. Yet, the followers of falsehood enjoy themselves and are prosperous. The masses, on the other hand, are bound to feel something when they see the advocates of the truth having to endure all the suffering while the followers of falsehood are spared all trouble, and have all the enjoyment they want. The evil-doers themselves look at the situation and become hardened in their false beliefs. They continue to follow their erroneous ways and carry on with their evil deeds and their corruption. At this point, we have this gentle touch which sets things aright: let not the disbelievers’ prosperity in the land deceive you. It is but a brief enjoyment. Then, hell shall be their abode. What an evil abode.


Their enjoyment is brief. It will soon disappear. As for their final and permanent abode, it is nothing other than hell. It is indeed an evil-abode.