Belief in all of the prophets and the Divine designs

 والَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِمَا أُنزِلَ إِلَيْكَ وَمَا أُنزِلَ مِن قَبْلِكَ وَبِالآخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ

" And who believe in what has been revealed to you (Muhammad) , and what has been sent down (to other apostles) before you; and of the Hereafter they are certain."

Commentary:

Another characteristic of the pious ones is belief in all of the prophets and the Divine designs. The Qur'an says that they are those who believe in what has been revealed to Prophet Muhammad(p.b.u.h.) (i.e. the Qur'an) and what has been sent down (to other apostles preceding him like the Turah, the Evangel, the Psalms of David and the rest of the Divine Books) .

Therefore, not only they do not feel that there is any difference in the basis of the invitation of prophets, but they know all prophets to be similar truthful teachers and trainers who came, one after another, in this great school of the world of human beings to persuade people to pave the path of their development. Further, the pious ones not only do not consider the Divine religions the cause of dispersion and hypocrisy, but, regarding their fundamental unity, recognize them as a means of relation and sincere communication among nations.

Those who have this sort of concept and this point of view would cleanse their souls and minds from the dirt of obstinacy, and believe in all that the prophets of Allah have brought forth for the guidance and development of the human race. They would respect all the 'guides' of the path of 'Monotheism'.

Belief in the instructions of the prophets of the past (a.s.) , of course, does not mean that they do not adapt their thoughts and deeds to the religion of the last prophet (p.b.u.h.) , which is the last and completing link of the series of religions. If they do anything other than that, they, in fact, regress on their path towards development.

Faith in the Resurrection is an epithet which is mentioned as the

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last quality in this series of qualities for the pious ones.(1) It says:

"... and of the Hereafter they are certain ".

In the phrase /wa bil 'axirati hum yuqinun/ the word /yaqin/ is the state of conviction and certainty reached through accepting undoubtable evidence or unquestionable proof in /muttaqin/. One of the epithets of 'the pious ones', / muttaqin /, is having an unshakably firm conviction and certainty that the ultimate purpose of life here lies in the realm beyond it, in the direction towards the Absolute.

They are sure that Man is not created uselessly and purposelessly. The creation has defined a route for him which will never end with death, for, if everything came to a completion in this world, all of these statements and tremendous activities and movements in the universe would certainly be in vain if it was meant only for a brief temporary life.

He accepts that the Absolute Justice of Allah is waiting for all humankind and it is not so that our deeds in this world will be disregarded without having any reckoning and compensation.

This belief provides him with ease and tranquility. The stresses resulting from the fulfilment of responsibilities not only do not hurt him, but on the contrary he receives them willingly. He stands firmly in front of misfortunes. He does not resign to any unjust matter. He is sure that even the smallest action, good or evil, will be compensated; and, after death, he will be transferred to a more comprehensive world where no cruelty or oppression exists. But he will meet the infinite favour and Mercy of Allah, the Just.

Belief in the Hereafter means cleaving the binding walls of materialism and reaching a happy realm, better and higher than that. The present world is like a school wherein Man should best prepare himself for the coming world. The present life is not the final goal but it is a preparation for the next life which will be eternal.

The life in this world is also similar to the prenatal period of a

(1) 15 True Faith is, indeed, accompanied with /yaqin/ 'certainty'. This status in a person may be defined from different scopes of view. The most important one of them is 'certainty of knowledge',which has been described as having three stages. More details are given on page 208, vol. 2, the current commentary.

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foetus in the mother's womb. This period is not the purpose of the creation of man, of course, but it is an evolutional stage for the next period of life. Yet, if this foetus does not finish its course safely and without any defects or harm until the baby is born, it will not be happy and prosperous in its next life.

Belief in the Hereafter brings a profound effect in the behaviour of human beings. It gives them courage and bravery, because, 'martyrdom' in the way of a Divine holy purpose, which is life's climax of honour and pride in this world, is the most beloved thing to a believing person. Since, to him, martyrdom is the beginning of an eternal and everlasting life.

Belief in the Hereafter controls man against sins. In other words, our sins have a reverse ratio with our Faith in Allah and the Hereafter. The more that Faith is firm and decisive, the less the amount of sin is. One reference is the words of Allah where He commands David (a.s) : "... and do not follow desire, lest it should lead you astray from the path of Allah: (as for) those who go astray from the path of Allah, they shall surely have a severe punishment because they forgot the Day of Reckoning ", (Sura Sad, No. 38, verse 26) .

Yes, ont this forgetfulness of the 'Day of Reckoning' in man is the origin of the kinds of disobedience, cruelty, and corruption which are the total source of grievous punishment.

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(5) أُوْلَئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ

" They are on(true) guidance from their Lord;and they are the ones who are the successful."

Commentary:

The last verse in the verses under discussion refers to the fruit and the destination of the pious ones who have acquired the above five attributes. It says : " They are on (true) guidance from their Lord; and they are the ones who are the successful."

In fact, both their guidance and their successfulness are guaranteed by Allah. So, it can be said that the only path towards felicity and salvation is the path of this group who, with these five special attributes, have received the guidance of Allah. The reason for the restriction, / 'ula'ika / the pious ones only , is clear in that His guidance is always universal but only the people with such characteristics who have chosen His narrow path, and none else, can be benefited by it, and will be successful in their life-journey in this world and the next.

It is worthy to note that the term / hidayat / ' guidance ', as was stated before, has a vast meaning including many kinds of guidance, all of which originate from Him alone, such as : Divine Guidance, Religious Guidance, and Natural Guidance. Some details about ' guidance ' were discussed when commenting on verse 6 from Sura Al-Fatihah. (1)

(1) For further explanation 'guidance' review pages 55-61 in this very commentary book. By the way, imitating the style in sura Al-Fatihah, these five beginning verses of the sura, which were mentioned as a group at first, are exceptionally repeated again one by one both in Arabic and English when commenting on each of them. The cause of this repetition was the length of their descriptions. But from here on, only the English translations and the descriptions will be mentioned.