The Majestic Quran

23. Al-Mu’minun The Believers This chapter was revealed in the late Makkan period. The central theme is the resurrection, arguing that faith in God and the Hereafter are knotted into the purpose of life: the two are inseparable. This may explain why the believer is ideally contemplative and socially active, rather than an “armchair” faithful. It opens with a description of successful believers: faith, humility, avoiding useless pursuits, generosity, sexual purity, a sense of responsibility, taking care of contracts, and yearning for closeness to the Divine. Seven beautiful traits of the believers that reflect; firm faith, generous spirit, lively conscience: a restless soul ready to produce good works. The Quran gives a glowing tribute to such lucky souls for their truthfulness , boldness and self-sacrifice: the reward is Paradise. This is followed by proof of God’s creative power in the creation of humanity, the universe, and human history, particularly the ancient prophets. It presents a history of disobedience – humanity rejected the prophets, and killed some. The life stories of some prophets inform the blessed Messenger r that the Makkans are behaving like the ancient people. The Quran also points out the unity of the prophets’ message; a universal message. However, God dealt severely with those who rejected it by destroying them. The disbeliever’s criticisms of the prophets are rejected as baseless, due to arrogance. They are confused; they hate the truth and doggedly follow their whims. The disbelievers frequently demanded the Prophet r to bring about the punishment. However, these demands were rejected; God gave them time to reform, those who persisted in asking for