يَا أَيُّهَا الَّذِينَ آَمَنُوا هَلْ أَدُلُّكُمْ عَلَى تِجَارَةٍ   

O' you who believe!  Shall I inform you of a bargain

    "O' believers, O' you who believe," Allah Almighty calls upon people who believe in Him, but this time to ask them an unusual question and to give an answer later on.

    Allah asks: "Shall I lead you to a bargain?" and the believers are all ears by now, they want to know about the offer.  Allah is offering, and the bargain is there, and who doesn't like a bargain?  Won't anyone be happy if he buys something for a said price, just to sell it for ten times that price?  Won't he be the subject of envy?

تُنجِيكُم مِّنْ عَذَابٍ أَلِيمٍ    

which will deliver you from a painful chastisement?

    But what kind of a bargain, how big is it, what is it?  This bargain must be the unusual, generous, assured, and noble.  "It is a bargain that saves people from a painful end," Allah says, "and it will rescue them from a possible doom."

    Anything that saves us from a painful doom is good, let alone a bargain.  Therefore, the offer is attractive at once, and the curiosity is aroused.

تُؤْمِنُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرَسُولِهِ   

(It is that you should) believe in Allah and His Messenger

The terms of the deal are attractive and simple, they are:

1.  Belief in Allah (swt) and

2.  Belief in Prophet Muhammad (pbuh), Allah's Messenger.

    But we do that already, we truly believe in Allah and have full faith in Him, and we believe in Prophet Muhammad too and in the Holy Quran, the word of Allah.  We also believe in the Prophet's sayings, and we do as best we can apply Islam, we are devoted to the cause, but what other terms are there for this bargain?

وَتُجَاهِدُونَ فِي سَبِيلِ اللَّهِ بِأَمْوَالِكُمْ وَأَنفُسِكُمْ    

and strive in the cause of Allah with

your wealth and your selves.

3.  The terms of the bargain go further, they also require:  striv­ing for the cause of Allah.  Almighty Allah wants us to concentrate on this works, this very important works.

The works is the struggle and perpetual Jihad solely for the cause of Allah.  It is the support of Allah's Directives, His religion, and this belief.

    But to think about Jihad, what is it you may ask, and what forms does it take?

Ø Jihad means striving the best you can to support and spread Islam.  It is to be done in the schools, in the communi­ties, in the churches, to friends, on radio and TV, in papers and books, and anywhere feasible.

Ø Jihad is not only explaining, writing, and publishing about Islam, but also living Islamically in true sense, no matter how difficult it may be.  Jihad is building the Islamic character, as best we can, with the consciousness that Allah (swt) is constantly watching over us.  Character building by following the Islamic ethics, nurturing a personality along Islamic recommendations is but one form of Jihad.

Ø Living Islamicly in the family and bringing up the children along Islamic lines, and educating them in the Islamic way, and preparing them for the tough and difficult struggle on behalf of Islam is another form of Jihad.

Ø But the Islamic community and society may need financial backing, and everyone knows how hard it is to part with money.  A person who elevates himself above the money attachment and gives of his wealth will have gone through another form of Jihad.  If monetary Jihad is expressed it has to be on a regular basis and as much as possible.  All the above is called Major Jihad.

Ø There is more to Jihad than living Islamicly, trying to defend and spread Islam, and offering part of the wealth.  What remains is the most difficult part and this constitutes the pinnacle, it is to do Jihad even with our lives.  This means that to work for Islam we may have to travel, endure difficulties, suffer, and even give our lives.

    One would ask, should we as Muslims lay down our lives for Islam?  And the answer is: why not?!

    Won't you trade a few years of life for something so eternal, everlasting, and magnificent, as the eternal life in Heaven, and to be the favored one?!

    But wait, there are guidelines here too.  Giving your precious life for Islam has to come mainly for the defense of Islam and its principles, and only if need be.  It is not to be done foolishly or haphazardly.  If the Islamic society is attacked, if the religion itself is at stake, then you may fight back, and do your best, in which process you may have to offer your life.  This is called the Lesser Jihad.

ذَلِكُمْ خَيْرٌ لَّكُمْ إِن كُنتُمْ تَعْلَمُونَ    

That is best for you, if you would only know.

    This end of the bargain is best for us, as Allah (swt) says, and He wants us to be informed.

    Jihad is tough, and the struggle is difficult, it is like going uphill.  Though Jihad is trying and difficult it will make us refined human beings.  Through Jihad we will reach the high plateau of Islamic conduct and character, and we will have followed the Islamic ethics and greatly benefited by them.  Better still we will have defended and spread Islam.  Through Jihad we will have gained the pleasure of the Almighty, and through that we will truly gain in a meaningful way.

يَغْفِرْ لَكُمْ ذُنُوبَكُمْ وَيُدْخِلْكُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا ألأنْهَارُ   

He will forgive you your sins and admit you into

Heavenly Gardens, beneath which streams flow,

    The bargain has its terms and we have learned about them.  The big prize is that Allah has promised to forgive our sins, a welcome thing.

    But that is not all, Allah will grant us an eternal abode in the Heavenly Gardens (Paradise) whose beauties are beyond the power of man's imagination.

وَمَسَاكِنَ طَيِّبَةً فِي جَنَّاتِ عَدْنٍ ذَلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ    

   and gracious dwellings in the Garden of Eternity.

That is the supreme achievement.

    And in this Garden of Bliss (Paradise), there will be pleasant dwell­ings and imposing mansions far superior to what our eyes are used to.  These are ours to take and to enjoy, without having to toil for them.  After all, we have already worked for them during this earthly life, and the bargain has been executed as Allah has promised.

And another (blessing He will give you) which you love—help from Allah and an early victory—so (O Muhammad)

وَأُخْرَى تُحِبُّونَهَا نَصْرٌ مِّنَ اللَّهِ وَفَتْحٌ قَرِيبٌ وَبَشِّرِ الْمُؤْمِنِينَ   

give the glad tidings to the believers.

    Allah (swt) has informed us of what lies ahead and He has promised forgiveness and the reward of Paradise.

    But the bargain goes beyond that even, since Allah promises He will help us and advance us as we are alive now.  He promised success and victory for Muslims who work in unison and do their Jihad well.

    Allah, then, ends this Ayah by asking Prophet Muhammad to give glad tidings to the believers, to let them be happy and feel the joy.