Tafsir of Yunus 10:62

Then, since He, the Exalted, made His promise and warning general regarding everyone who obeys and disobeys, He followed it—Glory be to Him—with an explanation of the conditions of His sincere allies, saying, the Most Powerful of those who speak: "Verily, the allies of Allah, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve."

In Irshad al-'Aql al-Salim, it is stated that this is an exposition in the manner of glad tidings and promise, representing the result of the believers' deeds and the culmination of what was mentioned before it—concerning His—the Exalted’s—dominion over His Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, and his nation in all that they do and leave, and the encompassment of His knowledge—Majestic and Exalted is He—after pointing to the ghastly state of those who fabricate lies against Allah, the Exalted, on the Day of Judgment, and the terror that will overtake them as a general reference by way of threat and warning.

The sentence begins with the particle of attention and affirmation to further establish its content. Awliya (allies) is the plural of Wali, derived from wilayah, meaning proximity and closeness. It is said: "He moved away after he had been wali," meaning he was near. The intent by them is the sincere believers, due to their spiritual proximity to Him—the Exalted—as is clarified by their description that follows. The Wali is also interpreted as the "beloved," and there is an interdependence between the two meanings. The complete discussion on this will follow shortly, God willing. It also comes in the sense of "supporter," and the speech of some indicates the validity of considering this meaning here.

The intent of the two negated, conjoined sentences is the permanent negation of their content, as has been established multiple times. It is said: The meaning is that there is no fear upon them of any harm befalling them, nor do they grieve over the loss of any desired thing at any time. That is to say, they are not afflicted by anything that would necessitate this [fear or grief] at all—not that they are afflicted but do not fear or grieve, nor that they are never afflicted by fear or grief at all, while they remain in a state of vitality and joy. How could that be, when the inward awareness of fear—as a manifestation of the greatness of Allah’s majesty, a recognition of the insufficiency of one’s own efforts, and a pursuit of fulfilling the rights of servitude—is among the characteristics of the elite and those brought near? Indeed, the more a servant increases in proximity to his Lord, the Exalted, the more he increases in fear and awe of Him. Numerous reports and His—the Exalted’s—saying point to this: "It is only those among His servants who have knowledge who fear Allah."

The reason they are not afflicted by such [fear and grief] is that their goal is none but Allah, the Exalted, and the attainment of His pleasure, which brings with it honor and proximity; this is something concerning which there is no doubt of its attainment and no possibility of it being lost, by virtue of the Divine promise. As for other worldly matters that fluctuate between attainment and loss, they are in their eyes more contemptible than a wick used by scavengers. Nay, the entire world in their eyes is filthier than the limb of a dead pig, urinated upon by a dog, in the hand of a leper. Thus, it is impossible for these matters to be included in the thread of their objectives—whether in terms of existence or non-existence—such that they would fear the occurrence of their harm or grieve over the loss of their benefit.

It is also said: The intent behind the negation of fear and grief is their security from them on the Day of Judgment after their proximity and happiness have been confirmed. Otherwise, fear and grief do overtake them before that, whether the cause be worldly or otherworldly. It is not permissible for the intent to be their security from what was mentioned in this world, or in both this world and the Hereafter, for that would imply being secure from the plan of Allah, and "none feels secure from the plan of Allah except the losing people." This is based on the assumption that the "fear" being negated is attributed to them [the allies]. However, this is not definitive; some major scholars have held that it is attributed to others—that is, others will have no fear cast upon them—and it does not follow from this that they [the allies] do not fear, so the discussion regarding the necessity of [avoiding] being secure [from Allah's plan] does not arise. This is presented as the subtle point for the difference in the style of the two sentences and the turning away from "nor will they fear" to "nor shall they grieve" in the glorious arrangement.

It may be said: If the intent is that they are not afflicted by what necessitates fear and grief, then there remains no room for the discussion of being secure from the plan of Allah, as is not hidden from the contemplative. However, the subtle point regarding the difference in the style of the two sentences is not apparent here, nor is the nature of the difference between fear and grief—the latter being described as lacking permanence, as it is said: "No grief lasts, nor does joy," unlike the former. Therefore, it was appropriate to express the first with a nominal sentence and the second with a verbal sentence, which signifies occurrence and renewal, as you see.

It is also said: The intent is the negation of fear overwhelming them and the negation of grief entirely. The implication of this is that they are characterized by fear in a general sense; therein is an indication that they are between hope and fear, neither despairing nor feeling secure. For this reason, the two sentences were not brought in the same form, nor was it said, for example, "there is no fear for them."

The most appropriate view in my opinion is what was transmitted from some major scholars: that the meaning of "no fear shall come upon them" is that others will not have fear cast upon them. One should treat the first sentence in this way as a metonymy for their good state, and regarding the second sentence, you have the choice [of interpretation].

Fear, according to al-Raghib, is the expectation of something hateful, and its opposite is security. Grief is derived from al-huzn (with a fatha), which is roughness in the soul due to sorrow that befalls one; its opposite is joy. Based on this, they said in explaining the meaning: "No fear upon them of any harm befalling them, nor shall they grieve over the loss of any hoped-for thing."