Translation
In accepting their prayers, God answers, “I shall not let any of your work be without its reward, whether coming from a male or a female, one of you being from the other. Whoever migrates to avoid evils and false belief, is driven from his or her homes unjustly, suffers in preserving his or her faith and purity, or actively fights evils and sometimes dies in such exertion—I will efface his or her bad deeds and bring him or her to Paradise of peace and plenty, a reward from God alone. God is indeed the Best and the most Bountiful in giving rewards.231
Don’t be deceived by the apparent freedom of those who do evils and deny faith as they will—they are given a time for brief enjoyment, before they are brought to Hell, a horrifying place to be. [In contrast] those who keep their duty to God and to people, God reserves Paradise of peace and plenty for them, to reside in and to receive God’s grace. The reward from God for the righteous is the best of all rewards!232
Recognize that there are such people who follow previous revelations and who are true believers in God and in what has been revealed to you and what was revealed to them. They stand in awe of God and do not exchange God’s guidance for small gains in this world. They, too, will be rewarded in a like manner as you, and God is swift in taking accounts [of all that you do]. O People of Faith [all of you]—have patience, compete in enduring patience and resolute preparedness, and have mindful consciousness of your responsibility to God [and to people]—this is how you will become successful!233
Interpretation
231. In answering prayers of the faithful, the Qur’an establishes equality of gender in getting recognition and receiving rewards and emphasizes the fact that we are from one another. Such understanding and awareness are keys to bridging the gender gap in all societies and, in particular, the Muslim societies around the globe. All who have been persecuted by evil forces, who exerted themselves to oppose such evils and to establish goodness in this world, will be rewarded by God, irrespective of whether one is a male or a female.
232. In fighting evils, God calls attention to the fact that there are times when it appears that evil has a free hand in society. In our contemporary history, we know of real examples of such evils—be it slavery in the North American continent, colonialism around the globe, persecution of Jews in Germany, the Vietnam War, ethnic cleansing in Bosnia, tyranny of leaders like Saddam Hussain in Iraq, the Shah of Iran, Pinochet of Chile, communist hegemony, greedy capitalism, and so on. The list is long, and the periods of such tyranny are long and painful. There is assurance from God that such tyrants and tyranny are given time only to confirm their eventual demise and punishment in Hell and to confirm the reward of Paradise and eventual freedom for those who oppose such evils.
233. The recognition that there are people from other faiths and that those who have received revelations from God, such as Jews and Christians, can have true faith and will be rewarded by God, just like faithful Muslims, is a message and a confirmation of the universal nature of Islamic faith. It is less about a label as to who is a Muslim, a Jew, or a Christian, for example, but more of a demonstration of true faith in God and adherence to God’s guidance that will determine our fate and our success in this world and in the hereafter.
REFLECTION
The challenge of gender equality, persistent prevalence of evils in society, the enduring human capacity to fight such evils to restore peace and dignity to human beings, God’s commitment to punish evil and reward good, and the universal nature of faith and good works that encompasses and transcends all religions are matters of serious contemplation and learning in our human societies.
ACTION
Each one of us has to reflect and confirm our posture on these human conditions so that we can be more deliberate in our response when such evils manifest their ugly faces, and we can marshal the spiritual and physical energy and resources to repel such evils and continually restore peace and human dignity in this world.
Key Arabic Term
71. Sabiru wa Rabitu: Competing with patience and resolute preparedness