إِنَّ هَـذَا الْقُرْآنَ يِهْدِي لِلَّتِي هِيَ أَقْوَمُ    

Verily this Quran guides to what is most upright,

1.  The Holy Quran, the Book of Allah, is clear in guidance and rich in meaning.  The Quran is lofty in its ideals, setting high standards for all life.  Enriching and enlightening the seekers of guidance, the Quran directs mankind toward the best of choices.

2.  The Quran covers every aspect of life.  Islam is a way of life, directing a Muslim to live a decent, chaste, and righteous life.

3.  The Quran guides the behavior of the community and nations for the benefit of all.

4.  The guidance of the Quran is there for the taking, and numerous past generations had taken to it, and so will it be in the future.  The Quran, being the last of the Holy Books, is for all people and all times.

5.  The Quran guides and directs to whatever is good, to the way Allah Almighty sees it.  It also cautions against and prohibits us from the harmful, wrong, or evil.  The Quran shows the way for our behavior, our conscience, our actions and our relationship with others.

6.  The Holy Quran accomplishes all this and it puts it on a firm basis.  This base consists of:

         a.  deep faith,

         b.  accompanied good deeds, and

         c.  the works for Islam.

Ø Allah Almighty sees things in an accurate way, and His guidance is sharp, sure, and reliable.  By following His guidance we stand to have a clear conscience, feel good, have less trouble, and stand to gain very much.  This is true of communities, societies, nations, as well as governments.

وَيُبَشِّرُ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ الَّذِينَ يَعْمَلُونَ الصَّالِحَاتِ      

and gives glad tidings to the believers who do good deeds

 Since faith associated with righteous deeds is the basis for our lives and society, the Holy Quran addresses itself to the believers who are committed in their faith, who apply the wonderful teachings of the Holy Book.

    The Quran gives them the happy news and the glad tidings that:

أَنَّ لَهُمْ أَجْرًا كَبِيرًا    

that they shall have a great reward

    The believers who do good deeds are promised by Allah a great reward.  This recom­pense will be in the Hereafter, the eternal blissful life, though it may be during our present life too.

    Allah appreciates and rewards people who believe and do good deeds because the base of Muslim society is built on the twin pillars of:

1. belief and faith in Islam,

2. Works for and application of Islamic Directives.

    Faith without works for Islam is incomplete, since this can produce little, and will not reach the desired goal.  On the other hand, deeds without faith are also incomplete since they will be without a base, so the desired goal will not be reached either.

    That is why the Quran repeatedly calls forth the true believers who do good deeds meaning believers who apply Islam.  Such believers are the essential basis for society, the ones who endure the hardships and sacrifice for the faith.

وأَنَّ الَّذِينَ لاَ يُؤْمِنُونَ بِالآخِرَةِ   

As for those who do not believe in the Hereafter,

    There have always been people who don't believe in religion or in the Hereafter.  These are the disbelievers who reject the guidance of religion.  They may even fight it and influence others to do likewise.

    Such people are empty human beings who blindly follow their desires, however excessive.  Self‑interest, conceit, arrogance, pursuit of power and money, self-indulgence, selfishness, and greed characterize them.

    These disbelievers are losers not only now but also in the Hereafter.

أَعْتَدْنَا لَهُمْ عَذَابًا أَلِيمًا   

We have prepared for them a painful torment.

    For the disbelievers there will be punishment in the Hereafter as promised by Allah.  When raised again on the Day of Judgment they will agonize.  They will find out that pain and suffering are awaiting them.  Allah's promise is a fact, it will come.

وَيَدْعُ الإِنسَانُ بِالشَّرِّ دُعَاءهُ بِالْخَيْر   

Man invokes evil as he prays for the good,

    Man is given to haste, and he lacks the ability to see accurately what is ahead.  The nature of man is such that he is likely to do things in a hurry, just to end up with trouble later on.  In other words, man without Allah's Directives and Islam is more likely to end up with problems or mischief.  Man may wish for or do something that turns out detrimental in the long run.  Or he may know that doing a certain thing can be detrimental, but he will do it anyway.  Such is the nature of man, he needs directions from Allah (Islam) to show him the way.

 وَكَانَ الإِنسَانُ عَجُولاً    

for man is given to haste.

    Man is given to haste, it is a basic weakness of his.  Man likes immediate gratification, but often this is at the expense of his own welfare.  Man is not very farsighted, he lacks the wisdom of seeing very far ahead.  He needs the religion to provide guidelines for him, to show him the clear path, the path with no trouble.