﴿بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَـنِ الرَّحِيمِ ﴾

In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.

﴿الم - ذَلِكَ الْكِتَابُ لاَ رَيْبَ فِيهِ هُدًى لِّلْمُتَّقِينَ - الَّذِينَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالْغَيْبِ وَيُقِيمُونَ الصَّلوةَ وَمِمَّا رَزَقْنَـهُمْ يُنفِقُونَ الَّذِينَ يُقِيمُونَ الصَّلَوةَ وَيُؤْتُونَ الزَّكَوةَ وَهُم بِالاٌّخِرَةِ هُمْ يُوقِنُونَ أُوْلَـئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ ﴾

(1. Alif Lam Mim.) (2. These are Ayat of the Wise Book.) (3. A guide and a mercy for the Muhsinin.) (4. Those who perform the Salah and give Zakah and they have faith in the Hereafter with certainty.) (5. Such are on guidance from their Lord, and such are the successful.) At the beginning of Surat Al-Baqarah we discussed the letters such as those that appear at the beginning of this Surah. Allah has made the Qur'an a guidance and healing and a mercy for the Muhsinin, who are those who do good deeds in accordance with the Shari`ah. They establish the obligatory prayers in the proper manner and at the correct times, and follow that with regular, optional and supererogatory prayers; they pay the Zakah to those who deserve it; they uphold the ties of kinship with their relatives; they have certain faith that there will be rewards and punishments in the Hereafter, and they seek the reward with Allah; they do not show off or seek a reward or thanks from other people. Whoever does this is one of those of whom Allah says:

﴿أُوْلَـئِكَ عَلَى هُدًى مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ﴾

(Such are on guidance from their Lord,) meaning, they follow His guidance with clear understanding.

﴿وَأُوْلَـئِكَ هُمُ الْمُفْلِحُونَ﴾

(and such are the successful.) in this world and in the Hereafter.

﴿وَمِنَ النَّاسِ مَن يَشْتَرِى لَهْوَ الْحَدِيثِ لِيُضِلَّ عَن سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِغَيْرِ عِلْمٍ وَيَتَّخِذَهَا هُزُواً أُوْلَـئِكَ لَهُمْ عَذَابٌ مُّهِينٌ - وَإِذَا تُتْلَى عَلَيْهِ ءَايَـتُنَا وَلَّى مُسْتَكْبِراً كَأَن لَّمْ يَسْمَعْهَا كَأَنَّ فِى أُذُنَيْهِ وَقْراً فَبَشِّرْهُ بِعَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ ﴾

(6. And of mankind is he who purchases idle talk (Lahw Al-Hadith) to mislead from the path of Allah without knowledge, and takes it by way of mockery. For such there will be a humiliating torment.) (7. And when Our Ayat are recited to such a one, he turns away in pride, as if he heard them not -- as if there were deafness in his ear. So announce to him a painful torment.)