Ramadan 2022 – Juz 18

قَدْ أَفْلَحَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ ١

ٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ فِى صَلَاتِهِمْ خَـٰشِعُونَ ٢

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَنِ ٱللَّغْوِ مُعْرِضُونَ ٣

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِلزَّكَوٰةِ فَـٰعِلُونَ ٤

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِفُرُوجِهِمْ حَـٰفِظُونَ ٥

إِلَّا عَلَىٰٓ أَزْوَٰجِهِمْ أَوْ مَا مَلَكَتْ أَيْمَـٰنُهُمْ فَإِنَّهُمْ غَيْرُ مَلُومِينَ ٦

فَمَنِ ٱبْتَغَىٰ وَرَآءَ ذَٰلِكَ فَأُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْعَادُونَ ٧

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ لِأَمَـٰنَـٰتِهِمْ وَعَهْدِهِمْ رَٰعُونَ ٨

وَٱلَّذِينَ هُمْ عَلَىٰ صَلَوَٰتِهِمْ يُحَافِظُونَ ٩

أُو۟لَـٰٓئِكَ هُمُ ٱلْوَٰرِثُونَ ١٠

ٱلَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ ٱلْفِرْدَوْسَ هُمْ فِيهَا خَـٰلِدُونَ ١١

“Successful indeed are the believers: those who humble themselves in prayer; those who avoid idle talk; those who pay alms-tax;

those who guard their chastity except with their wives or those ˹bondwomen˺ in their possession, for then they are free from blame,

but whoever seeks beyond that are the transgressors.

˹The believers are also˺ those who are true to their trusts and covenants; and those who are ˹properly˺ observant of their prayers.

These are the ones who will be awarded Paradise as their own. They will be there forever.”— Quran 23:1-11

Allah lays out a blueprint for us in the Qur’an. How to live a good life pleasing to Allah and in line with the actions and practices of the Prophet Muhammad (ﷺ). The best life.

The actions of faith, enrich our actions and bring some semblance of nobility to our lives. Through actions of goodness – seeking to please Allah and follow the noble example of our messenger Muhammad (ﷺ), we can live the most wholesome, peaceful and enriched of lives.

Even when we slip in this path it’s important to remember that the path back to God is simple. Repentance and seeking forgiveness is the key step, as well as not allowing guilt to overwhelm us. It’s natural to slip, what’s important is our response and our continued efforts to improve:

إِنَّ ٱلۡإِنسَـٰنَ لَفِی خُسۡرٍ إِلَّا ٱلَّذِینَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّـٰلِحَـٰتِ وَتَوَاصَوۡا۟ بِٱلۡحَقِّ وَتَوَاصَوۡا۟ بِٱلصَّبۡرِ

“Surely humanity is in ˹grave˺ loss,

except those who have faith and do good deeds

and urge each other to the truth, and urge each other to perseverance.”

— Qur’an Al-Asr 103:2-3

وَمَن تَابَ وَعَمِلَ صَـٰلِحࣰا فَإِنَّهُۥ یَتُوبُ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ مَتَابࣰا

“And whoever repents and does good has truly turned to Allah properly.’’ —Quran Al-Furqan 25:71