| Jonah: (7-8) Indeed, those who do not...

After establishing the conclusive proofs for the affirmation of the wise, merciful God, and for the reality of the Resurrection, Gathering, and Revival, He then proceeds to explain the states of those who disbelieve in these truths, and the states of those who believe. The explanation of the disbelievers' states is mentioned in this verse. Know that the Exalted God described them with four characteristics:

The First Characteristic: His saying: {Indeed, those who do not hope for Our meeting} (10:7). In this, there are several issues:

There are two opinions:

The First Opinion: This is the view of Ibn Abbas, Muqatil, and al-Kalbi. It means: they do not fear the Resurrection, because they do not believe in it. The evidence for interpreting Raja' (hope) here as Khawf (fear) is His saying: {You are only a warner to whoever fears it} (An-Nazi'at: 45), and {while they are fearful of the Hour} (Al-Anbiya: 49). Interpreting Raja' as Khawf is permissible, as He says: {What is the matter with you that you do not expect from Allah [due regard for] gravity?} (Nuh: 13). Al-Hudhali said:

If a bee stings him, he does not hope for its sting [to be mild].

The Second Opinion: Interpreting Raja' as Tuma' (craving/desire). Thus, {they do not hope for Our meeting} means they do not crave/desire Our reward. In this case, this hope is the opposite of despair (Ya's), as in: {They have despaired of the Hereafter just as the disbelievers have despaired} (Al-Mumtahanah: 13).

Analysis: Carrying Raja' to mean Khawf is far-fetched, because interpreting an opposite term by its direct opposite is not generally permissible. There is no obstacle here to interpreting Raja' according to its literal meaning. The evidence for this is that the "meeting with Allah" (Liqa' Allah) must mean one of two things:

1. The manifestation of God's Majesty to the servant and the shining of the light of His Greatness in his spirit.
2. Reaching God's reward and His Mercy.

If it is the first, it is the highest degree, the noblest felicity, and the most complete good. How could a rational person not hope for it or desire it? If it is the second, it is the same, because everyone hopes that God will bring them to His reward and the stations of His Mercy. Since this is the case, every believer in God hopes for His reward. Whoever does not believe in God or the Hereafter has nullified this hope for himself; hence, it is appropriate to make the absence of this hope a metaphor for the absence of belief in God and the Last Day.

"Meeting" linguistically means reaching something. For God Almighty, this is impossible because He is exalted above limits and boundaries. Therefore, it must be interpreted metaphorically as "seeing" (Ru'yah), which is a clear metaphor, as it is said: "I met so-and-so" meaning "I saw him." Interpreting it as meeting God's reward requires an additional layer of implied meaning, which contradicts the evidence.

Know that it is established by certain proofs that the felicity of the soul after death lies in the knowledge of God manifesting within it, its illumination being perfected, and its radiance strengthened. This is the Ru'yah (Vision), and it is one of the greatest felicities. Whoever is heedless of seeking it, turning away from it, content after death with obtaining sensory pleasures like eating, drinking, and intercourse, is among the misguided.

The Second Characteristic: Of the characteristics of these disbelievers is His saying: {and they were content with the life of this world} (10:8).

Know that the first characteristic points to the heart's emptiness from seeking spiritual pleasures and its vacancy from seeking the felicities attained through divine gnoses. As for this second characteristic, it points to their immersion in seeking bodily pleasures, being satisfied with them, and being engrossed in their pursuit.

The Third Characteristic: His saying: {and they were at ease therein} (10:8). In this, there are two issues:

The characteristic of the fortunate is that when God is mentioned, a kind of awe and fear befalls them, as He says: {whose hearts tremble when Allah is mentioned} (Al-Hajj: 35). Then, when this state intensifies, tranquility settles in the remembrance of God, as He says: {Their hearts find rest in the remembrance of Allah. Unquestionably, by the remembrance of Allah hearts find rest} (Ar-Ra'd: 28).

The characteristic of the wretched is that tranquility comes to them in the love of the world and in being preoccupied with seeking its pleasures, as He says in this verse: {and they were at ease therein}. The reality of their tranquility is that awe is removed from their hearts. When they hear warnings and admonitions, their hearts do not tremble; they become like the dead when God is mentioned.

Linguistically, it should be said: wa-tma'annū ilayhā (and they were at ease towards it). However, it is permissible for prepositions to substitute for one another in eloquence; for this reason, He said: {wa-tma'annū bihā} (and they were at ease therein).

The Fourth Characteristic: His saying: {and they are heedless of Our signs} (10:8). This means they have become in such a state of turning away from seeking the meeting with God that they are like someone completely oblivious to a thing, which never crosses their mind throughout their life. In summary, these four characteristics indicate the extreme distance from seeking felicity in the spiritual Hereafter, and the extreme immersion in seeking these bodily goods and worldly felicities.

Know that after describing them with these four characteristics, God says: {Those! their refuge will be the Fire, because of what they used to earn} (10:9). In this, there are two issues:

The Fires are of different kinds:

1. The physical Fire: The perceptible, luminous, burning substance that naturally rises. Affirming this is obligatory because affirming Paradise and Hell has been established by the aforementioned proofs.
2. The spiritual/intellectual Fire: This is established by the fact that whoever loves something intensely, and then that thing is lost to him such that he cannot reach it, his heart and inner self will burn. Every rational person says that so-and-so is "heart-burnt" or "inner-burnt" due to separation from that beloved. The pain of this fire is much stronger than the pain of the physical fire.

Once this is known, we say: The souls that were immersed in the love of the physical and heedless of the love of the spiritual realm, when that person dies, separation occurs between that soul and its beloved objects and desires, which are the states of this world. The soul has no knowledge of that [spiritual] realm, nor familiarity with its inhabitants. Its state is like someone removed from the company of his beloved and thrown into a dark well with which he has no familiarity or knowledge of its conditions. This person will be in extreme loneliness and spiritual pain.

Conversely, if someone had aversion to these physical things, knew their ugliness and defects, and had an intense desire to grasp the firmest bond (God), his state would be like someone imprisoned in a dark, foul dungeon filled with harmful insects and destructive pests, and then the prison door is opened, and he is brought into the assembly of the Great Sultan, along with his loved ones and friends—as He says: {And whoever obeys Allah and the Messenger - those will be with the ones upon whom Allah has bestowed favor from the prophets, the truthful, the martyrs, and the righteous. And excellent are those as companions} (An-Nisa: 69). This is the indication of the spiritual Fire and the spiritual Paradise.

The Bā' in {bimā kānū yaksibūn} indicates that the preceding deeds are what cause this punishment to occur. This is similar to His saying: {That is because of what your hands have put forth, and indeed, Allah is not ever unjust to His servants} (Al-Hajj: 62).

7 < {Indeed, those who have believed and done righteous deeds, their Lord will guide them by their faith. Beneath them will flow rivers in Gardens of Pleasure. Their call therein will be: "Exalted are You, O Allah!" and their greeting therein will be: "Peace." And the last of their call will be: "All praise is due to Allah, Lord of the worlds!"} (10:9) > 7

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