THE GREATEST TRIUMPH

God uses that phrase in over a dozen places in the Quran. And almost every time it’s relative to making it to Paradise:

“Whoever is spared (the retribution), on that day, has attained His mercy. And this is the greatest triumph.” [6:16]

GOD promises the believing men and the believing women gardens with flowing streams, wherein they abide forever, and magnificent mansions in the gardens of Eden. And God’s blessings and approval are even greater. This is the greatest triumph. [9:72] 

God promises that those who worship Him alone, believe in the last day and lead a righteous life will have no fear and no grief. And we know that God never breaks His promise (3:9, 30:6). So when God promises this, it’s more than a promise; it’s a guarantee. It’s certainly the “greatest triumph.”
God doesn’t promise that everyone will receive this gift; He promises it in 9:72 for the believing men and women. In 5:119 He promises it for the “truthful.” In 9:111, He promises it for those who fight in His cause, “willing to kill and get killed.” In 9:100, He

promises it for those who immigrated and those who supported the immigrants.

God tells us that we must hear and obey if we want to be worthy of receiving this great blessing. And He keeps giving us the means to follow His path. He sends scripture containing His guidance and His commandments. We must carefully and correctly follow the guidance contained therein.

We passed the scripture from generation to generation, and we allowed whomever we chose from among our servants to receive it. Subsequently, some of them wronged their souls, others upheld it only part of the time, while others were eager to work righteousness in accordance with God’s will; this is the greatest triumph. [35:32]

And He sends messengers to clarify and purify the message, another great gift from God. To be able to achieve the triumph of Paradise, we must be willing to listen to, learn from, and obey the messengers.

These are God’s laws. Those who obey GOD and His messenger, He will admit them into gardens with flowing streams, wherein they abide forever. This is the greatest triumph. [4:13] 

One of the great blessings is that this “great triumph” isn’t only something in the far distant future. God gives us glimpses of this reward right here and now. We all have experienced something wonderful happening unexpectedly, and hopefully we turn to God in appreciation.

Absolutely, God’s allies have nothing to fear, nor will they grieve. They are those who believe and lead a righteous life. For them, joy and happiness in this world, as well as in the Hereafter. This is God’s unchangeable law. Such is the greatest triumph. [10:62-4] 

There’s a story in Sura 37 under the subtitle: The Dwellers of Heaven Visit the Dwellers of Hell. These verses illustrate not only how great is this “greatest triumph” but also how narrow is our margin for error. We need to be very careful not to allow disbelieving friends and relatives to shake our resolve to worship God alone.

They will come to each other, and confer with one another. One of them will say, “I used to have a friend.

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