Lately, I’ve been listening to the ending verses of sūrah Āle-ʿImrān on repeat, and thinking.
These verses are some of the most beautiful yet powerful verses in the Qurʾān. I don’t think there is any student of the Qurʾān who does not hold these verses dear.
In a Ḥadīth, it is narrated to us that Rasūl Allāh ﷺ would recite these verses upon waking up from sleep, and thus scholars have encouraged us to do the same.
And truly, I can’t think of anything that can give one the motivation to get up and get going than these last āyāt. Absolutely incredible.
In sūrah al-Baqarah, Allāh subḥāneh relates to us a methodology of ‘doing it right’. In it we also learn how the nations before us brought the wrath of Allāh upon themselves by taking a series of misguided routes and by taking on condemned traits. Vivid imagery from past incidents is related to us with one aim: that we may be heedful.
The next surah, Āle-ʿImrān, offers a subsequent lesson. A lesson just as crucial as the one offered in surah al-Baqarah. Think: Chapter two (or three, technically) to chapter one of The Code of Guidance.
And what might this lesson be?
It is a lesson in thabāt (persistence, perseverance).
Now that you have been shown the methodology of doing it right, your duty is to remain undeterred from this methodology. How? We learn the how-to of persistence in surah Āle-ʿImrān. (More on this another day.)
The beginning āyah of sūrah Āle-ʿImrān tells us that the Truth is with us,
[He has sent down upon you, [O Moḥammed], the Book in truth, confirming what was before it.] Āle-ʿImrān:3
And the last āyah tells us how to successfully hold on to it,
[O you who have believed, persevere and endure in patience, and strengthen each other and fear Allāh that you may be successful.]
That’s pretty much what will get us through this life: persistence, endurance, strengthening each other, and taqwa of Allāh.
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