Ta Seen. These are verses of the Qur’an, a clear, elucidating book; a guidance and joyful tidings to the believers who attend regularly to prayers and pay their zakah, and who firmly believe in the life to come.
As for those who will not believe in the life to come, We make their deeds seem fair to them, and so they wander about in distraction.
These are the ones for whom grievous suffering is in store, and who in the life to come shall be the worst losers.
Most certainly, you receive the Qur’an out of the grace of One who is Wise, All-Knowing. (The Ants; Al-Naml: 27: 1-6)
The surah begins with two separate letters, Ta Sin, as reference to the basic material of which the surah and the entire Qur’an are composed. These letters are always available to all Arabic-speaking people, but they are all unable to compose anything like the Qur’an. The challenge has been thrown at them and remains open to all. These two letters are followed by a reference to the Qur’an itself: “These are verses of the Qur’an, a clear, elucidating book.” (Verse 1)
It should be noted that in the Arabic text the conjunction wa, which means “and”, occurs after the word “Qur’an”, but this usage only means “which is”. Describing the Qur’an here as “a book” provides a subtle element of comparing how the unbelievers in Makkah received the book bestowed on them from on high and how the Queen of Sheba and her people received Solomon’s letter, which is also called in the surah as kitab, which means “book”. Yet Solomon is no more than a servant of God.
The Qur’an, or the book, is then described as “a guidance and joyful tidings to the believers.” (Verse 2)
This is more expressive than saying that it contains or provides guidance and joyful tidings. Indeed the way the description is phrased makes the very entity of the Qur’an the guidance and the happy tiding. For certain the Qur’an provides guidance to believers in every way and every sense. It also gives them what brings them happiness both in this present life and in the life to come.
That the guidance and the happy news are given to the believers only is especially significant. The Qur’an is not a book of theoretical or applicable science that yields all its benefits to whoever reads and understands it. The Qur’an addresses hearts in the first instance and gives all its light and fragrance to an open mind that receives it with certainty and contentment. When a person’s mind is refreshed with firm belief, it can better appreciate the Qur’an and understand far more of its meanings than we can imagine. It brings up miraculous change in his life as he adopts his new way of life and discards the old one. All the systems, legislation and values the Qur’an promotes are based first and foremost on faith. Hence, a person who does not, deep at heart, believe in God or accept that this Qur’an is revealed by God or that its contents represent the system God wants implemented in human life, cannot find the desired guidance in the Qur’an and will not share in the joyful news it brings.
This book, the Qur’an, has inexhaustible treasures of guidance, knowledge and sound directives, but faith is the key to all that. Without this key, the Qur’an does not yield its treasures to anyone. Hence those who truly believed in it were able to accomplish miracles. But when the Qur’an was reduced to no more than chants set to charming tunes that people enjoy hearing without touching their hearts, it remained an unopened treasure, able to achieve nothing.
The surah outlines the qualities of the believers who find guidance and happy news in the Qur’an. They are ones “who attend regularly to prayers and pay their zakah, and who firmly believe in the life to come.” (Verse 3) The first quality is to attend regularly to prayer, offering it as it should be offered, with their hearts and souls conscious of the fact that they are standing in front of God, in all His majesty. Thus they feel themselves in contact with His sublime presence, and their thoughts fully attentive to addressing and glorifying Him. Secondly, they pay their zakah, which is the obligatory charity. When they pay it they purge their hearts of stinginess rising above the lure of wealth. They give their brethren some of what God has granted them, thus fulfilling their social duty toward their community. Finally, they firmly believe in the life to come, which means that their fate in the hereafter remains topmost in their thoughts. It prevents them from giving free rein to their desires and keeps the fear of God alive in their hearts. They dread that they should be in the position of a disobedient person when they come before Him for judgment.
It is such obedient believers who hope for God’s reward and dread His punishment that open their hearts to the Qur’an and find its guidance and receive its happy news. It becomes a light illuminating their lives and providing them with strong motivation for action. It is their reliable guide to which they always refer.
At the mention of the hereafter strong emphasis is laid on believing it, in the form of a stern warning to those who refuse to believe, and persist with their erring ways until they meet their inevitable end: “As for those who will not believe in the life to come, We make their deeds seem fair to them, and so they wander about in distraction.” (Verse 4)
Believing in the life to come is the motive that keeps whims and desires in check, urging us to lead a life of moderation. When such a belief is lacking, a person cannot restrain himself from pursuing any wanton desire, thinking that his only chance for indulging his pleasures is that offered in this life, which remains short despite living to old age. Indeed life on earth is scarcely long enough to fulfill a small portion of what people desire or hope for. Besides, when someone has the means to lead a life of indulgence, what would stop him from pursuing his wildest pleasures unless he has to reckon with standing before God awaiting His judgment, reward or punishment? Indeed, a person lacking belief in the hereafter will inevitably pursue every pleasure within his ability. No sense of shame or check will restrain him. It is in the nature of human beings that they love pleasures unless they are guided by a divine message that tells them of a future, permanent life that follows this short one, and begin to prepare for that future life. They will then find much greater pleasure in different types of pursuit.
It is God who has molded human nature in this fashion, giving it the propensity of following His guidance when it opens its receptive faculties to it, and the opposite propensity to remain blind when it shuts such faculties. His will is always done, in both situations. Hence, the Qur’an says in reference to those who will not believe in the hereafter: “We make their deeds seem fair to them, and so they wander about in distraction.” (Verse 4) They chose not to believe, and thus God’s law came into operation making their deeds seem fair and attractive to them. They cannot see any foul element or quality in them and remain unable to find a clear way leading them aright.
When evil is made to seem fair to anyone, the end is well known: “These are the ones for whom grievous suffering is in store, and who in the life to come shall be the worst losers.” (Verse 5) Whether suffering is meted out to them in this present life or in the life to come, they will have to face utter ruin in the hereafter. It will be their just recompense for pursuing what is evil.
The opening of the surah is completed with a verse that re-emphasizes the divine source of the Qur’an that was revealed to God’s Messenger: “Most certainly, you receive the Qur’an out of the grace of One who is Wise, All-Knowing.” (Verse 6)
