يا أَيُّهَا الإِنسانُ إِنَّكَ كادِحٌ إِلىٰ رَبِّكَ كَدحًا فَمُلاقيهِ

O man! You are labouring toward your Lord laboriously, and you will encounter Him.

EXEGESIS

Kādiḥ (labouring) is the active participle from kadaḥa, meaning to work hard for some goal or matter.^{‎[1]Tibyan, 10/309; Baghawi, 5/228; Raghib, p. 704.} This tiring effort^{‎[2]Bahrayn, 2/406.} is so strenuous that it affects the person, either physically or mentally. It also implies the meaning of moving towards a goal (sayr), especially when combined with the preposition ilā (toward).^{‎[3]See Mizan, 20/242.}

EXPOSITION

O man is an address to every human being.^{‎[4]Tibyan, 10/309.}

You are labouring toward your Lord laboriously: every moment in a person’s life brings him a step closer to the encounter with God’s judgement on the Day of Resurrection. Every moment that we live is the closest that we are to our death. Every action, whether good or bad, inches us closer to that decisive juncture. Yes, even the sinner and rebel is labouring towards his Lord; though he would like to flee the moment of judgement, his every action inevitably takes him closer to it.

Like the heavens and the earth that will inevitably reach their natural point of inflection and change in order to prepare for that day, as they should, man’s existence naturally entails the inescapable reality of death and impending judgement. These concepts are revisited again throughout the surah, most explicitly in verses 14 and 19.

This profound reality should give every person pause to think whether his actions are benefitting him for that decisive day or harming him; whether they will result in reward or punishment. The commentary of Ṭūsī on this verse is worth quoting in full: ‘You are in this life of yours in difficulty and struggle up until the moment when you shall encounter the recompense of your action from your Lord. You will not be free from difficulties in this worldly life, so do not work for it. Work instead for what leads you to relief from this toil. Both the wealthy and the poor labour according to their circumstances. As for His word famulāqīhi (and you will encounter Him), it magnifies the gravity of what one will encounter from God’s side. It expresses that meeting the recompense of one’s deeds is like meeting Him. This is an amazing meaning and a profound wisdom.’^{‎[5]Tibyan, 10/309.}

As is evident from that quote, the choice of the word labouring can be taken as indication that this world is always accompanied by hardships.^{‎[6]See also Razi, 31/98.} So it is that man’s labour and difficulty only ends when one encounters his Lord with faith and a record of good deeds.^{‎[7]Nemuneh, 26/300.}

We also noted in the Exegesis how kadḥ entails the meaning of effort that affects a person either physically or mentally. Every action done by man, or every effort that he expended (which may or may not have resulted in the desired action), will leave a mark on his soul. Good actions will leave a positive mark and change, whereas sins will darken the soul and harden the heart, their hearts have been sullied by what they have been earning (83:14).

Tabatabai points out that God is referred to as Lord here because lordship (rubūbiyyah) is not actualised except via servitude (ʿubūdiyyah), and servitude is not actualised except via duty (masʾūliyyah), and duty is not actualised except by accounting (ḥisāb), and accounting is not actualised except by recompense (jazāʾ).^{‎[8]Mizan, 20/242.} Hence, moving towards the Lord signifies accountability.

And you will encounter Him: man is constantly reminded of this reality by the Quran: the terminus is toward your Lord (53:42), to Allah is the return (35:18). It is not just the human being who returns to God, but rather everything that originated from Him will return to Him, To Him belongs the kingdom of the heavens and the earth, and to Allah all matters are returned (57:5), It is indeed He who originates and brings back again (85:13), as also alluded to by the preceding verses of this surah. Albeit, true encounter, which entails encountering the accounting of one’s actions, is only applicable to sentient beings.

God does not have a physical body nor is He ever restricted to physical space, so what exactly does this encounter with God mean? Most classical exegetes understand encountering God to mean physically arriving at the court of God for the final reckoning. In other words, meeting God means meeting His requital in terms of reward or punishment. Other views include meeting with the angels of the Lord, or the encounter with God’s decree and command. Some have even considered it a metaphor for the resurrection and the rising of the dead.

However, there is no reason to interpret the verse with such metaphorical meanings. According to Tabatabai, this encounter describes the ultimate spiritual reality of the hereafter: the removal of all barriers that prevent the human soul from directly perceiving the ultimate truth and reality of its Creator. This is because the nature of the Day of Resurrection is the manifestation of truths, as is stated in 24:25: And they will know that Allah is the manifest reality.^{‎[9]Nemuneh, 16/211.}  

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. From Ibn Shihāb al-Zuhrī, that Imam al-Sajjād (a) said: ‘Ease is not created in this world, nor for the people of this world. Ease is created in paradise and for the people of paradise. Toil and hardship are created in this world, and for the people of this world. Whoever is given a bowl [of this world’s provision] is given two bowls like it of greed [along with it]. Whoever attains more of this world is poorer within it, because he becomes dependent on people to protect his wealth and becomes dependent on every tool of worldly means. Therefore, there is no ease in worldly wealth! No, indeed! The friends of God do not toil in this world for the sake of this world; rather, they toil in this world for the sake of the hereafter.’^{‎[10] Khisal, 1/64; Nemuneh, 26/304-305.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Some have said that the pronoun suffix hi in famulāqīhi is not referring to God, but rather to labouring (kadḥ). It would hence mean: you will encounter the result of your labour.^{‎[11] Muhit, 10/437; Ibn Kathir, 8/351. This interpretation is entertained in Tibyan, 10/309, and related in Zamakhshari, 4/726.} This meaning is perhaps linguistically less obvious (albeit still valid), though in practical meaning it may not differ much, as encountering the result of the labour means to encounter the accounting – which is done in the presence of God. It would be similar to the meaning of the verse, Indeed I knew that I shall encounter (mulāqin) my account (69:20).

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. ‘But man is born to trouble …’^{‎[12] Job 5:7.}

[1] Tibyan, 10/309; Baghawi, 5/228; Raghib, p. 704.
[2] Bahrayn, 2/406.
[3] See Mizan, 20/242.
[4] Tibyan, 10/309.
[5] Tibyan, 10/309.
[6] See also Razi, 31/98.
[7] Nemuneh, 26/300.
[8] Mizan, 20/242.
[9] Nemuneh, 16/211.
[10] Khisal, 1/64; Nemuneh, 26/304-305.
[11] Muhit, 10/437; Ibn Kathir, 8/351. This interpretation is entertained in Tibyan, 10/309, and related in Zamakhshari, 4/726.
[12] Job 5:7.