ثُمَّ يُجزاهُ الجَزاءَ الأَوفىٰ

Then he will be rewarded for it with the fullest reward.

EXEGESIS

It in he will be rewarded for it (yujzāhu) goes back to endeavour in the previous verse, meaning his endeavour, whether good or bad, is requited in a complete manner, as promised by God.^{‎[1]Tibyan, 9/435.}

Yujzā comes from jazāʾ which means recompense. The recompense of good should be good and the recompense of evil should be evil.^{‎[2]Raghib, p. 195.} See the commentary of verse 31 of this surah for more. In this verse it is talking about the recompense of what man has striven for, whether good or evil, and that he shall be rewarded accordingly.

Awfā (fullest), is the superlative form of the root wafāʾ, which means fulfilling what is one’s rightful duty in a complete manner. Here it refers to the recompense of actions that God has promised to give.^{‎[3]Tabari, 27/44.} But as for those who are wary of their Lord, for them there will be lofty abodes with [other] lofty abodes built above them, with streams running beneath them – a promise of Allah. Allah does not break His promise (39:20). As the superlative indicates this reward is the most complete, leaving nothing unrecompensed, whoever does an atom’s weight of good will see it (99:7). Related to that, it has also been said to mean complete, because the complete thing is that which gives all the things which are desired from its attributes.^{‎[4]Mizan, 19/47.}

EXPOSITION

After the judgement he has faced and after he has seen the reality and the true consequences of his actions, man will then face and ‘taste’ and live through those consequences: And if he be of the People of the Right Hand, then ‘Peace be on you,’ [a greeting] from the People of the Right Hand! But if he be of the impugners, the astray ones, then a treat of boiling water and entry into hell (56:90-94).

As we mentioned earlier, the consequences of actions are not just their immediate outcome, but they are in reality far more extensive and lingering than some would imagine. Heaven and hell, and one’s position with regards to them, are the natural consequences of those actions and part of their full outcome. Although, of course, the reward of heaven is by the mercy of God multiplied and manifold, and far exceeds just the outcome of the actions; Whoever brings virtue shall receive ten times its like; but whoever brings vice shall not be requited except with its like, and they will not be wronged (6:160).^{‎[5]See also 27:89-90 and 28:84.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his recompense in the body, according to what he has done, whether it was good or bad.^{‎[6]2 Corinthians 5:10.}

[1] Tibyan, 9/435.
[2] Raghib, p. 195.
[3] Tabari, 27/44.
[4] Mizan, 19/47.
[5] See also 27:89-90 and 28:84.
[6] 2 Corinthians 5:10.