This Ramadan, MuslimMatters is pleased to host the Institute Of Knowledge‘s daily Ramadan series: Keys to the Divine Compass. Through this series, each day we will spend time connecting with the Qur’an on a deeper, more spiritual, uplifting level.

Previous in the series: Juz 1 Juz 2 Juz 3 Juz 4 Juz 5 Juz 6 Juz 7 Juz 8 Juz 9 Juz 10 Juz 11 Juz 12 Juz 13 Juz 14 Juz 15 Juz 16 Juz 17

Juzʾ 18: Seven Qualities of Highly Effective Believers

ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb (ra) narrated: “When revelation came to the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, one could hear what sounded like the buzz of bees near his face.

كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صلى الله عليه وسلم إِذَا نَزَلَ عَلَيْهِ الْوَحْىُ سُمِعَ عِنْدَ وَجْهِهِ كَدَوِيِّ النَّحْلِ

One day revelation came to him so we waited a moment until it stopped. He faced the qiblah, raised his hands, and said, ‘O Allah! Increase us, do not diminish us. Honor us, do not disgrace us, give us and don’t withhold from us, favor us and don’t choose others over us, make us pleased and be pleased with us.’

فَأُنْزِلَ عَلَيْهِ يَوْمًا فَمَكَثْنَا سَاعَةً فَسُرِّيَ عَنْهُ فَاسْتَقْبَلَ الْقِبْلَةَ وَرَفَعَ يَدَيْهِ وَقَالَ ‏”‏ اللَّهُمَّ زِدْنَا وَلاَ تَنْقُصْنَا وَأَكْرِمْنَا وَلاَ تُهِنَّا وَأَعْطِنَا وَلاَ تَحْرِمْنَا وَآثِرْنَا وَلاَ تُؤْثِرْ عَلَيْنَا وَأَرْضِنَا وَارْضَ عَنَّا ‏”‏ ‏.

He ﷺ then said, ‘Ten verses were revealed to me, whoever abides by them shall enter Paradise (and they are), ‘Successful indeed are the believers…’ until he completed the ten verses (23:1-10).”

ثُمَّ قَالَ صلى الله عليه وسلم ‏”‏ أُنْزِلَ عَلَىَّ عَشْرُ آيَاتٍ مَنْ أَقَامَهُنَّ دَخَلَ الْجَنَّةَ ‏”‏ ‏.‏ ثُمَّ قَرَأَ ‏:‏ ‏(‏ قدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ ‏)‏ حَتَّى خَتَمَ عَشْرَ آيَاتٍ ‏.

This is a very beautiful, powerful, profound, and inspiring narration designed to enhance our engagement and connection with the opening passage of this sūrah. The Prophet ﷺ is telling us that if we try our best to nurture and develop these seven qualities within ourselves we are guaranteed Paradise. These verses provide a roadmap that leads directly toward success in this life and salvation in the next.

This isn’t something the Prophet ﷺ simply said or advised us to do. He ﷺ showed us how to do implement the guidance and teachings of these verses practically. Once ʿĀ’isha (ra) was asked about the character of the Prophet ﷺ. She said, “His character was the Quran.” She then recited the first nine verses of this sūrah and said, “That’s how the character of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ was.” That’s a very profound statement from ʿĀ’ishah (ra) describing the character of the Prophet ﷺ. The Prophet ﷺ was a physical manifestation of the teachings and guidance of the Quran.

The sūrah starts with a very powerful and emphatic statement that guarantees happiness and success for the believers.

Verse 1

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ١

Successful indeed are the believers

Allah ﷻ opens the sūrah by emphatically declaring that the believers are successful. This is a very interesting statement both grammatically and in terms of meaning. The word “qad” is a particle used in the Arabic language to give the meaning of emphasis and affirmation. It’s usually translated as indeed, surely, or truly. Allah ﷻ then uses the past tense of the verb “to succeed.” The literal translation of the verse would be “Indeed/surely/truly the believers have succeeded.” Using the past tense to describe an event in the future is a literary device used in the Quran to show certainty. Often, Allah ﷻ will use the past tense to describe future events to show that they will happen without a doubt. Allah ﷻ is telling us that those who believe in Him, His last and final messenger, and the last day will definitely be successful both in this world and the next. This is an absolute guarantee and certainty; there’s no doubt about it whatsoever. The success promised by Allah ﷻ for the believers is both for us as individuals and for us as a community, as an Ummah. It includes all forms of goodness, help, assistance, blessings, victory, honor, dignity, respect, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Anas (ra) narrated that the Prophet ﷺ said, “When Allah ﷻ created Paradise He said, ‘Speak.’ Paradise said, ‘Truly the believers have prospered (are successful).’”

Who exactly are these believers that have been promised and guaranteed success both in this world and the next? Allah ﷻ describes them to us with seven specific characteristics or qualities. He paints a complete picture of how belief expresses itself and manifests in the actions and speech of an individual. We can refer to these as the seven qualities of highly successful believers.