It was one of those days when you are tongue tied and keep on mispronouncing letters and words in the Quran. I was angry, frustrated and annoyed with myself getting stuck and making mistakes one ayat after the other. It was surah al-Hajj. When I finally completed it, I moved on to the next surah. It was al-Mu’minun.
The first line made me choke with tears.
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ (١)
Successful indeed are the believers (1)
I cried the moment I read that. It was like Allah ﷻ reminding me about the rewards of the struggles. Surah al-Hajj was so terrifying because I would tend to stumble and struggle to read it fluently and smoothly. Many kalimahs would sound foreign and tough for me to pronounce correctly. It would take probably 30 to 40 minutes or so just to complete the surah. Somehow surah al-Mu’minun came to calm me down. Let’s read the translation to the first 11 ayat:
بِسۡمِ ٱللهِ ٱلرَّحۡمَـٰنِ ٱلرَّحِيمِ
قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ ٱلۡمُؤۡمِنُونَ (١)Successful indeed are the believers (1)
ٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ فِى صَلَاتِہِمۡ خَـٰشِعُونَ (٢)
Those who offer their Salât (prayers) with all solemnity and full submissiveness. (2)
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ عَنِ ٱللَّغۡوِ مُعۡرِضُونَ (٣)
And those who turn away from Al-Laghw (dirty, false, evil vain talk, falsehood, and all that Allâh has forbidden). (3)
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ لِلزَّكَوٰةِ فَـٰعِلُونَ (٤)
And those who pay the Zakât. (4)
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ لِفُرُوجِهِمۡ حَـٰفِظُونَ (٥)
And those who guard their chastity (i.e. private parts, from illegal sexual acts). (5)
إِلَّا عَلَىٰٓ أَزۡوَٲجِهِمۡ أَوۡ مَا مَلَكَتۡ أَيۡمَـٰنُہُمۡ فَإِنَّہُمۡ غَيۡرُ مَلُومِينَ (٦)
Except from their wives or (slaves) that their right hands possess, – for then, they are free from blame; (6)
فَمَنِ ٱبۡتَغَىٰ وَرَآءَ ذَٲلِكَ فَأُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡعَادُونَ (٧)
But whoever seeks beyond that, then those are the transgressors; (7)
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ لِأَمَـٰنَـٰتِهِمۡ وَعَهۡدِهِمۡ رَٲعُونَ (٨)
Those who are faithfully true to their Amanât (all the duties which Allâh has ordained, honesty, moral responsibility and trusts)[] and to their covenants; (8)
وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمۡ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَٲتِہِمۡ يُحَافِظُونَ (٩)
And those who strictly guard their (five compulsory congregational) Salawât (prayers) (at their fixed stated hours). (9)
أُوْلَـٰٓٮِٕكَ هُمُ ٱلۡوَٲرِثُونَ (١٠)
These are indeed the inheritors. (10)
ٱلَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ ٱلۡفِرۡدَوۡسَ هُمۡ فِيہَا خَـٰلِدُونَ (١١)
Who shall inherit the Firdaus (Paradise). They shall dwell therein forever. (11)
Allah ﷻ gave us the recipe for success. Here we have a list of duties and responsibilities. Nothing in the list requires you to climb a mountain or lift an elephant but those are simply acts of worships that are achievable and second nature to us all.
Reading this surah, soothes my pain. It makes me smile. It makes me hopeful. It makes me very happy. For all the struggles to be a an obedient servant, we will be rewarded. Nothing will go to waste.
The real success is the paradise, the jannah, the heaven. The life in the hereafter is where will be for eternity. Let’s work for that success. We were misled all these while thinking success means being rich and famous. However this surah explains, the successful ones are practising believers.
Let us all gather in jannah. آمين