Overview (Verses 14 - 19)

At the other end we find prosperity accompanied with self- purification and a heeding of warnings: “Successful will be he who purifies himself and glorifies the name of his Lord and prays.” (Verses 14-15) Purification is used here in the widest sense of the word: purification from everything filthy or sinful. The person who seeks to purify himself, glorifies his Lord, feels His power and majesty in his inmost soul and prays, [whether praying is taken in its general sense or its specific Islamic sense] will definitely be successful, as God states here. He will achieve success here in this life as he enjoys his relationship with God and the perfect bliss that results from his glorification of God. He will achieve even greater success in the hereafter as he escapes hell and is rewarded with perfect happiness in heaven. How different the two destinies are.

Having sketched the two different ends of the most wretched and the God-fearing, the surah points out to the addressees the real reason for their great wretchedness, the failure which drives them headlong into the great fire: “Yet you prefer this present life, while the life to come is better and longer lasting.” (Verses 16-17) This short-sighted preference is the real reason for every misery which befalls man. It is indeed the cause of man’s taking no heed of the warnings given to him. The Qur’an calls the present life dunia which connotes both contempt and easy access. The life to come is better in kind and duration. Only the foolish who are deprived of sound judgement would, in the circumstances, prefer the present life to the next.

In conclusion, the surah points out that the message of Islam is not new; its roots go back far deep in time. “All this has indeed been stated in the earlier revelations; the scriptures of Abraham and Moses.” (Verses 18-19) The basics of the grand faith contained in this surah are the same old basic facts outlined in the ancient scriptures of Abraham and Moses.

The truth is one and the faith is one. This results from the fact that their origin is one, God, whose will it was to send messengers to mankind. The messengers deliver basically the same message, the same simple truth. Details of the messages may differ according to local or temporal needs, but the basics are the same. They have one origin: God, the Most High, who creates, proportions well, determines and guides.

Overview (Verses 14 - 19)

At the other end we find prosperity accompanied with self- purification and a heeding of warnings: “Successful will be he who purifies himself and glorifies the name of his Lord and prays.” (Verses 14-15) Purification is used here in the widest sense of the word: purification from everything filthy or sinful. The person who seeks to purify himself, glorifies his Lord, feels His power and majesty in his inmost soul and prays, [whether praying is taken in its general sense or its specific Islamic sense] will definitely be successful, as God states here. He will achieve success here in this life as he enjoys his relationship with God and the perfect bliss that results from his glorification of God. He will achieve even greater success in the hereafter as he escapes hell and is rewarded with perfect happiness in heaven. How different the two destinies are.

Having sketched the two different ends of the most wretched and the God-fearing, the surah points out to the addressees the real reason for their great wretchedness, the failure which drives them headlong into the great fire: “Yet you prefer this present life, while the life to come is better and longer lasting.” (Verses 16-17) This short-sighted preference is the real reason for every misery which befalls man. It is indeed the cause of man’s taking no heed of the warnings given to him. The Qur’an calls the present life dunia which connotes both contempt and easy access. The life to come is better in kind and duration. Only the foolish who are deprived of sound judgement would, in the circumstances, prefer the present life to the next.

In conclusion, the surah points out that the message of Islam is not new; its roots go back far deep in time. “All this has indeed been stated in the earlier revelations; the scriptures of Abraham and Moses.” (Verses 18-19) The basics of the grand faith contained in this surah are the same old basic facts outlined in the ancient scriptures of Abraham and Moses.

The truth is one and the faith is one. This results from the fact that their origin is one, God, whose will it was to send messengers to mankind. The messengers deliver basically the same message, the same simple truth. Details of the messages may differ according to local or temporal needs, but the basics are the same. They have one origin: God, the Most High, who creates, proportions well, determines and guides.