Living The Quran
From Issue: 648 [Read full issue]
Signs of The Truth
Al Zumar (The Companies) - Chapter 39: Verse 63
"His are the keys of the heavens and the earth. So those who disbelieve in God's Revelations and signs - such are they who are the losers."
God has two different sets of laws: those that govern the universe, including the aspects of human life independent of humankind (which are God's signs of the truth, and which we wrongly call the "laws of nature" - these are the subject matter of the natural sciences); and the other being the Religion. Both require obedience. Results for the latter usually are deferred to the Hereafter, while the returns of obedience or disobedience to the former usually come in this life.
For example, the reward for patience is success, while the punishment for indolence is privation. Industry brings wealth, and steadfastness brings victory. So being a sincere believing Muslim requires obedience to both of these laws. When Muslims, in addition to their failings in the religious life, neglect to fulfill the requirements of obedience to God's laws of life and the universe (God's signs of truth), they become losers in the world relatively to those unbelievers who have obeyed them. However, those who reject God's Revelations (which are also God's signs of the truth) will be eternal losers, as they will lose in the Hereafter.
Compiled From:
"The Quran: Annotated Interpretation in Modern English" - Ali Unal, pp. 958