Overview (Verses 1 - 4)

The Main Issues

Alif. Lām. Rā. This is a book, with verses which have been perfected and distinctly spelled out, bestowed on you by One who is Wise, All- aware. Worship none but God. I come to you from Him as a warner and a bearer of glad tidings. Seek forgiveness of your Lord, and then turn towards Him in repentance, and He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life for an appointed term. He will grant everyone with merit a full reward for his merit. But if you turn away, I dread for you the suffering of a great Day. To God you shall all return, and He has power over all things. (Verses 1-4)

These four opening verses set out the main fundamental principles of the Islamic faith:

Confirmation of the facts of revelation and the divine message;
Submission to God alone who has no partners;
God’s reward in this life and in the hereafter to those who follow His guidance and implement His code of living;
His punishment in the hereafter of those who disbelieve, and the fact that all creatures, believers and unbelievers alike, will ultimately return to God; 
His absolute power and limitless authority.

‘Alif. Lām. Rā.’ These words stand for the letters, A, L, R. Like other single letters which occur at the beginning of other sūrahs, they set a challenge to the unbelievers. The challenge is that God’s book is composed of such letters as people use in their speech and writing, but no matter how they try, they will not be able to produce anything similar to it. These three letters constitute the subject of the first sentence, while the rest of the first verse is its predicate.

“This is a book, with verses which have been perfected and distinctly spelled out, bestowed on you by One who is Wise, All-aware.” (Verse 1) The Arabic term which is rendered in translation as have been perfected also denotes firmness of structure and precision of meaning. Every word, every phrase is used carefully to deliver exactly the required meaning. There is no conflict or contradiction between its verses which are all distinctly spelled out. Each is used at its right place, under a proper heading, in order to impart a precise meaning.

Obviously the one who has so firmly perfected them, and distinctly spelled them out, is not the Messenger; he is God: “bestowed on you by One who is Wise, All-aware.” (Verse 1) His wisdom helps to mould their firm structure, and His comprehensive knowledge helps to give clarity to their detail. Furthermore, they come from Him directly, as delivered to His Messenger, without any distortion or alteration.

But what do they tell us? First, an outline of the basics of faith: “Worship none but God,” signifies that man should submit himself only to God, and obey none but Him. “I come to you from Him as a warner and a bearer of glad tidings.” (Verse 2) This refers to the message and its dual purpose.

“Seek forgiveness of your Lord and then turn towards Him in repentance.” (Verse 3) Whenever a sin is committed, it must be followed by a return to God and submission to Him. “He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life for an appointed term. He will grant everyone with merit a full reward for his merit.” (Verse 3) Good reward then awaits those who repent and seek forgiveness. “But if you turn away, I dread for you the suffering of a great Day.” (Verse 3) This is a self-evident threat to those who turn away. Finally, the return to God who has absolute power: “To God you shall all return, and He has power over all things.” (Verse 4)

These then are the principles on which the whole structure of the Islamic faith is raised. Indeed, no religion can establish itself and delineate a complete way of life for mankind without first establishing these principles.

That all people should submit themselves to God alone is the central point in matters of faith. It is the point where people are either liberated from the shackles of myth, superstition and false authority or they continue to be enslaved by diverse deities, people who claim to be intermediaries between God and ordinary people, rulers and dictators who usurp God’s sovereignty and authority to rule and legislate, thereby subjugating others.

No social or moral system, whether national or international, can be established on clear and well-defined principles, which are not subject to personal desire and distorted interpretations, unless the doctrine of God’s oneness is clearly and precisely established. People cannot release themselves from the pressures of fear, humility and anxiety, and enjoy the true noble status with which God has favoured them unless the concept of God’s absolute power and sovereignty is accepted without question, entertaining no rival claim, in any form, by anyone.

Throughout history the conflict between Islam and other systems, and the battle between truth and falsehood, have not been over the fact that God is the Lord of the universe who conducts its affairs and establishes its laws of nature. The conflict has always been over who is the Lord of mankind, who enacts their laws, conducts their affairs and to whom they must submit. Tyrants of all colours and creeds have been usurping this right for themselves. By practicing it in life they subjugate people to their own power and enslave them. The divine messages and the Prophets, as well as the advocates of Islam, have always struggled to regain this usurped right in order to establish a society which acknowledges that only God has this right.

God has no need for anyone. His kingdom is neither increased by the obedience and worship of believers, nor is it decreased by the disobedience of anyone or by the tyranny of dictators. It is human beings who live in abject humility when they submit themselves to anyone other than God. On the other hand, they gain in dignity, nobility and honour when they submit to God alone and free themselves from subjugation to anyone else. Since God wants people to live in dignity and honour, He has sent His messengers with the task of returning mankind to the worship of Him alone and to liberate them from subjugation by their fellow men. This is for people’s own good, not for the benefit of God who has no need for anyone.

Submission to God alone means the acknowledgement of His Lordship which, in turn, means that He is the master who can conduct their affairs by His legislation and commandment. This is the subject matter of God’s book, as stated at the opening of this sūrah: “This is a book, with verses which have been perfected and distinctly spelled out, bestowed on you by One who is Wise, All-aware. Worship none but God.” (Verses 1-2) Indeed this is the meaning of worship as recognized by the Arabs in whose language the Qur’ān was revealed.

The acknowledgement of the message is essential to the acceptance of the concepts the message aims to establish. Any doubt that all this comes from God destroys its due respect in peoples’ minds and consciences. Those who think that it comes from Muĥammad, no matter what degree of greatness they assign to Muĥammad, cannot look on it with the same degree of respect which makes people hesitate before violating any of its major principles or minor details. Indeed the feeling that the message and the faith it establishes come from God is the one which causes those who contravene it to feel uneasy until they eventually return to God. It also makes the believers stand firm and resist any pressure to which they may be subjected.

Acceptance of the message also provides a controlling factor which defines what God wants of His servants. Thus in matters of faith and submission to God people acknowledge only one source. No one will then be able to claim that what he says or legislates comes from God. He will be confronted with the fact that his claim is false.

In all doctrines and social set-ups based on jāhiliyyah people and institutions claim sovereignty and the authority to establish values and traditions, but then say: ‘This comes from God.’ Such confusion cannot be resolved unless God’s word is derived from one source, namely, God’s Messenger.

To seek forgiveness for one’s sins is evidence that one’s heart is alive, recognizes the offence committed and is keen to repent. Repentance means to actually refrain from committing sins and starting to do what God has bidden us to do. This is the practical meaning of repentance. Without it, it has no real existence, and cannot be accepted; and no forgiveness can be granted. If someone claims that he has decided to mend his ways and be a true Muslim, without submitting himself to God alone, and accepting only His legislation, conveyed to us through the Prophet, his claim remains false. It is belied by his submission to some authority other than God’s.

Giving glad tidings to those who repent and warning those who turn away are fundamental to the message and its propagation. They utilize the two elements of hope and fear, which are well established in human nature, and which together give very strong and genuine motivation.

To believe in the hereafter is necessary for us to feel that beyond this life there is divine wisdom, and that the goodness to which the divine messages have called is the purpose of life. Therefore, it must be rewarded either in this life or in the hereafter, when human life reaches its perfection. Those who deviate from the way of life God has established are those who sink down and suffer. This should work as a safeguard for human nature against deviation. Thus, when someone is overcome by a fleeting desire or yields to temptation, he soon turns towards his Lord in repentance. Thus life continues in its good way on this planet. To believe in the Day of Judgement is, therefore, not only a method for gaining reward in the hereafter, as some people may think; it also provides motivation to be good in this life and to work for its proper development. Such development is not an end in itself; it is simply a means to establish the sort of life which suits man in whom God has blown of His own spirit, and elevated him above many of His creatures in order to make the goal of his life much more sublime than the goal of animal life.

This explains why the verses of the Qur’ān, perfected and clearly spelled out as they are, call upon us to seek God’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance. Such is the beginning of good action which God rewards both in this life and in the life to come. Good action is not merely having good intentions and offering worship rituals. It is the type of action that seeks to make human life better in every sense of the word.

The promised reward is certain to come: “He will grant you a goodly enjoyment of life for an appointed term. He will grant everyone with merit a full reward for his merit.” (Verse 3) In as far as this life is concerned, goodly enjoyment may refer to the quality of life, or to having abundance and plenty. Where the life to come is concerned, it includes both quality and quantity, as well as comforts and pleasures that no human being can begin to imagine.

Let us consider what goodly enjoyment in this life represents. We often see many good people who always seek God’s forgiveness and turn to Him in repentance and who work hard advocating His message enduring a life of poverty. Where is this goodly enjoyment, then?

To understand the wider significance of the Qur’ānic text, we need to look at life from a broad angle, so as to see it comprehensively and not a mere fleeting glimpse. When any community puts in place a good system based on belief in God, submission to Him alone, acknowledgement of His Lordship as the only God, and promoting good and productive work, it will inevitably enjoy progress, a comfortable standard of living and a generally good life. Furthermore, it benefits by an equity between effort and reward, and experiences a feeling of contentedness and reassurance in the life of its individual members. Therefore, when we notice that those who are good in themselves and work hard in a particular community have to endure a life of stinted means, we conclude that that community does not implement a system based on belief in God and so does not ensure equity between effort and reward.

Nevertheless, those good and hard-working individuals in such a community will still have goodly enjoyment, even though they may be poor and subjected to harm and persecution. This was indeed the case when the idolaters in Makkah persecuted the small number of believers that responded to the call of Islam. It remains the case in many communities today, where the advocates of the divine message are subjected to much persecution. This is by no means a fanciful claim. The fact that a believer has a direct relation with God, and is reassured of the eventual outcome, more than compensates for whatever hardship he endures in this present life. Indeed, it provides goodly enjoyment for anyone who moves even a single step above the material sense.

We do not say this in order to encourage those who suffer injustice and who receive only a miserable reward for their efforts to accept such injustice. Islam does not approve of this, nor does it sit idle when faced with injustice. The Muslim community, and Muslim individuals as well, are required to remove such injustice so as to ensure goodly enjoyment for all those who work hard. We say this because it is true and it is often experienced by believers who endure poverty and limited means.

“He will grant everyone with merit a full reward for his merit.” (Verse 3) Some commentators are of the view that this applies to the hereafter. I feel that it is of general import, making it applicable to both this life and the life to come. But we need to look at it in the same way as we explained what ‘goodly enjoyment’ in this present life means, because, in this sense, it is achievable in all situations. A person who has merit will receive his reward at the moment he uses his merit in a good way. He will enjoy contentedness and reassurance, and strengthen his relations with God as he uses his merit to seek God’s pleasure. His reward in the life to come will be an added blessing.

“But if you turn away, I dread for you the suffering of a great Day.” (Verse 3) This refers to the punishment meted out on the Day of Judgement. Some commentators say that this statement refers to the unbelievers’ suffering at the Battle of Badr. When the Qur’ān speaks of a ‘great day’ in a general sense, this is a reference to the Day of Judgement.

This sense is reinforced by the next verse: “To God you shall all return, and He has power over all things.” (Verse 4) Returning to God occurs in this world and the next, at every moment and in all situations. However, Qur’ānic usage confirms that when such an expression is used, it means the return that comes after this life is over.

“He has power over all things.” (Verse 4) This again reinforces the meaning we have outlined, because stating that God has power over all things fits in with the concept of resurrection which the unbelievers found too difficult to accept.