وَمَن يُطِعِ اللَّهَ وَرَسُولَهُ وَيَخْشَ اللَّهَ وَيَتَّقْهِ فَأُوْلَئِكَ هُمُ الْفَائِزُونَ
Whoever obeys Allah and His Apostle, and fears Allah and is wary of Him – it is they who will be the triumphant.
EXEGESIS
Fāʾizūn (triumphant) is from fawz, with a meaning parallel to falāḥ in the previous verse. It has been defined as attaining goodness whilst maintaining safety.[1]
EXPOSITION
The previous verse told of the reply of the faithful when commanded by God and His Apostle. This verse now speaks of those words being put into action. Perhaps this is why the previous verse ended with It is they who are the felicitous (mufliḥūn), as falāḥ was to cleave aside any obstacles. By declaring their intended obedience they have cleared away the obstacles for reaching success. This verse ends with it is they who will be the triumphant (fāʾizūn), as fawz is to safely reach a good, intended destination.[2] By practicing their declared faith in the form of acts of obedience, they have secured their victory and safe destination, Whoever is delivered from the fire and admitted to paradise has certainly succeeded (fāza) (3:185).
Whoever obeys Allah and His Apostle: whilst the previous verse spoke of the success granted to those who submit when called to God and His Apostle to pass judgement amongst them, this verse broadens the scope to include all others who obey God and His Apostle.[3]
And fears Allah: God is to be feared because of His station (79:40) and because He might take us to task for our deeds.
And is wary of Him: it has been suggested that fear refers to past sins, and wariness to future actions.[4] However, khashyah – used here for fear – is more like a deep reverence in the heart which appears due to awareness of God’s station and His awesome qualities. In this sense it is different from taqwā, which is more to do with being wary of God in practice.
It is they who will be the triumphant: for triumph, three qualities have been mentioned: obedience, fear, and wariness of God. As mentioned, fear of God (khashyah) is the inward aspect of obedience, and God-wariness is the outward aspect.[5] The first is an attitude of the heart, and the second is faith put into practice.
The previous verse also ended with the mention of felicitous success. Like there, this is a juxtaposition to the endings of the two verses 47 and 50, and all four are phrased with the Arabic ulāʾika (those) to draw the reader’s attention to the juxtaposition. The double emphasis on the victory and success of the believers in these two verses is part of the build-up to the promise of final victory and triumph given in the important verse 55.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- It has been reported that this verse intends Imam Ali (a).[6] He certainly was a prime example of such a believer, yet such reports do not limit the generality of the verse.[7]
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Fear the Lord, you his holy people, for those who fear him lack nothing.[8]
- Surely his salvation is near those who fear him, that his glory may dwell in our land.[9]
[1] Raghib, p. 647, f-w-z; Maqayis, 4/459, f-w-z; Lisan, 5/392, f-w-z.
[2] See Furqan, 21/205.
[3] Mizan, 15/149.
[4] See Tabrisi, 7/237; Baghawi, 3/424; Zamakhshari, 3/250; Razi, 24/411; Muhit, 8/63.
[5] Nemuneh, 14/523.
[6] Tabrisi, 7/237.
[7] Nemuneh, 14/523.
[8] Psalms 34:9.
[9] Psalms 85:9.