Tafsir of Al-Fajr 89:24

"He will say, 'Oh, I wish I had sent ahead [some good] for my life.'"

Know what is contained in this regarding the previous orientation toward deduction, so do not be heedless. This sentence acts as a substitution of inclusion (badal al-ishtimal) for "he remembers" (yatadhakkar), or it is an initiation (isti'naf) that serves as an answer to a question arising from it—as if it were said, "What will he say upon his remembrance?" Thus, it is said, "He will say, 'Oh, I wish...'"

The lam (in li-hayati) is for causation (ta'lil). The intended meaning of "his life" is his life in the Hereafter. The object of "sent ahead" (qaddamtu) is omitted; it is as if he said, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead for the sake of this life of mine righteous deeds by which I might benefit."

It has been said that the lam is for causation, but the meaning is, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead righteous deeds so that I might live a beneficial life." He says this because he neither dies nor lives at that moment—a state which you can see for yourself.

It is also permissible for the lam to be temporal (tawqitiyyah), similar to its usage in expressions like: "I wrote it for fifteen nights having passed from Muharram," or "I came at the rising of the sun." In this case, "his life" would refer to his life in the world—meaning, "Oh, I wish I had sent ahead and performed righteous deeds during the time of my life in the world, so that I might benefit from them today."

There is not in this wish any trace of evidence for the servant’s independence in his actions. It merely indicates the belief that he was capable of sending ahead righteous deeds. As for whether that was through the pure power of the Exalted Almighty, or through God’s creation at the moment of the exertion of the acquired power—al-Zamakhshari claimed this verse as evidence for independence and a refutation of the determinists (al-Mujbirah), whom he considers distinct from the Mu'tazila, assuming there to be a contradiction between wishing and compulsion. However, you have learned that there is no evidence for such a claim. In al-Kashf, it is noted that wishing may occur regarding the impossible, given that he is at that moment like a drowning man.

Furthermore, the People of Truth (Ahl al-Haqq) do not advocate for the total negation of choice.