Tafsir of Al-`Ankabut 29:5

Ibn Abi Hatim extracted from Sa‘id ibn Jubayr that he said: "Whoever fears the Resurrection in the Hereafter." Thus, "hope" (raja') here carries the meaning of fear (khawf), as in the saying of the Hudhalid poet describing a honey-gatherer: "When the wasps sting him, he does not fear (yarju) their sting; he opposes them in a house of bees as workers." Perhaps the intended meaning of "the meeting with Allah, the Mighty and Majestic" is the Resurrection, because it is one of its precursors.

It is also said: Perhaps "the meeting with Allah Almighty" is an expression for reaching the final outcome. However, since the Resurrection is the greatest thing upon which that outcome depends, it was singled out for mention. In al-Kashshaf, it is stated that "meeting Allah Almighty" is a metaphor for reaching the final end—from encountering the Angel of Death, to the Resurrection, the Reckoning, and the Requital. That state is likened to the state of a servant who arrives before his master after a long period of time, the master having observed what he used to do and leave undone. Either the master meets him with cheer and welcome because he is pleased with his deeds, or the opposite because he is displeased with them. Thus, the meaning of "Whoever is..." is: whoever hopes for that state and to encounter honor and glad tidings from Allah Almighty therein. In his view, the discourse is a form of representation (tamthil), and "hope" signifies anticipation and expectation.

It is also permissible that it retains its known meaning, provided that the speech implies an added construct (mudaf). That is: whoever expects the meeting of Allah’s requital—whether reward or punishment—or the meeting of His judgment, the Mighty and Majestic, on the Day of Resurrection. It could also mean fear, with an omitted construct as well: whoever fears the meeting of Allah’s punishment. It could also mean the expectation of the occurrence of something joyful, as is common, with the construct likewise omitted: whoever hopes for the meeting of Allah’s reward. It is also permissible not to estimate a construct and to treat "meeting Allah" as a metaphor for the reward itself, because the latter is a necessary consequence of the former.

Some have chosen that "hope" is in its well-known sense, and that "meeting Allah" signifies beholding Him, the Glorified, in a manner befitting His Majesty, as is held by the Ahl al-Sunnah wal-Jama‘ah; for there is no need to depart from the literal meaning without necessity. Whatever the Mu‘tazili considered from this is not part of it, as has been explained in the science of theology (kalam). That is: whoever anticipates beholding Allah Almighty on the Day of Resurrection, for which no pleasure is equivalent, and which necessitates success in every good and delight.

(For the term of Allah is indeed coming) The "term" (ajal) is the limit of an extended time designated for a specific matter. Sometimes it is applied to the entire duration of that time, though the first is more common in usage. That is: the time designated by Him, the Glorified, for that [meeting] is indeed coming—inevitably, without any deterrent to delay it or factor to turn it aside, because the parts of time are always passing and slipping away. The arrival of that time is a metonymy for the arrival of what is contained within it and its occurrence.

The nominal sentence stands in the place of the response to the conditional clause, and it is in reality evidence for the omitted response. That is: let him hasten to perform what his hope requires of complying with commands and avoiding prohibitions, or let him hasten to perform what realizes his hope and confirms his anticipation, or similar things that suit the condition. So reflect.

It is also said: It is permissible for it to be the response itself, provided that the intended meaning is appropriate to the condition as mentioned.

(And He is the All-Hearing), the Glorified, to the sayings of the servants, (the All-Knowing) of their conditions regarding outward deeds, inward beliefs, and attributes. This sentence is a concluding assertion (tadhyil) to verify the occurrence of what is hoped for and what is feared, as a promise and a warning.