وَلَسَوفَ يُعطيكَ رَبُّكَ فَتَرضىٰ

Soon your Lord will give you [that with which] you will be pleased.

EXEGESIS

La is an emphatic prefix. Sawfa is a future particle with an element of delay. Therefore, la-sawfa affirms to the Prophet the certainty of the divine promise. For the sceptics, it warns them not to be deceived with the delay in the realisation of the divine vow, for its occurance is inevitable and its deferment serves a cause.^{‎[1]Razi, 31/195.}

The common root of ʿaṭawa is to give something out of munificence or out of obligation, without looking or expecting anything in return. Further, that which is given is desired or expected by the receiver.

EXPOSITION

Verse 5 compels the reader to ask the question: what is it that would render God’s chosen one truly and fully pleased? What would fulfil the aspirations of the one who was sent as a mercy to all the worlds? To fully answer this question is a daunting task because it necessitates that we have full knowledge of what lies in the Prophet’s sacred heart – something that God knows best.^{‎[2]Zubdah, 7/453.} What we can do is state some of the blessings that came to the name of the Messenger such that he would be pleased both in this world and the next, keeping in mind that there is more in store.

For the blessings in this world, exegetes point out to his epic victory over those who faced him with enmity, the entry of people into Islam in throngs, the prevailing of Islam over the despotic Roman and Persian empires, and the spread of Islam around the world.^{‎[3]Ibn Ashur, 30/352.} Mughniyyah further specifies that the blessings of this life that will be topped in the hereafter include everything from the beginning of revelation till the end of time, including the continuous blessings that go to the Prophet’s name with every Muslim newborn and every community and nation to embrace Islam.^{‎[4]Kashif, 7/578-579.}

As for the hereafter, there is a consensus that only God knows what the Prophet’s greatest blessings and marks of status will be. With all the numerous Quranic verses that speak of paradise, God still says: No one knows what has been kept hidden for them of joy as a reward for what they used to do (32:17). As for the Prophet’s marks of status with God in the hereafter, exegetes speak of the ownership of al-ḥawḍ – the fountain from which only the true believers will drink and feel no thirst thereafter – and the praiseworthy station (maqām maḥmūd) (17:79), which is glorified and seen in high esteem by all creation and which includes the ultimate intercession.^{‎[5]Tabrisi, 10/765; Alusi, 15/377.} Verse 5 also implies that all of the Prophet’s requests will be granted.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. It is narrated that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) has said: ‘The pleasure of my grandfather (s) is that no one that testifies to the oneness of God should remain in the hellfire.’^{‎[6]Tabrisi, 10/765.}
2. It is narrated from Muhammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyyah that he said: ‘O people of Iraq! You claim that the verse that holds the greatest promise of salvation in the book of God is Say [that Allah declares]: ‘O My servants who have committed excesses against their own souls, do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed Allah will forgive all sins. Indeed He is the all-forgiving, the all-merciful’ [39:53]. But we, the Ahl al-Bayt, say the verse that holds the greatest promise of salvation in the book of God is, Soon your Lord will give you [that with which] you will be pleased. And it is, by God, intercession. God will most surely grant it to the Prophet (s) for the adherents of lā ilāha ill-allāh [i.e. those who testify to the oneness of God] until he says “I am pleased”.’^{‎[7]Tabrisi, 10/765.}
3. It is narrated that Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘The Prophet (s) came upon Fatimah (a). She was dressed in a coarse woollen cloak. She was making bread with her hand while giving milk to her baby. Upon seeing this, the Prophet’s (s) eyes teared and he said: “See the bitterness of this world as soon ending by remembering the sweetness of the hereafter. For God has revealed to me: Soon your Lord will give you [that with which] you will be pleased.”’^{‎[8]Tabrisi, 10/765.}

[1] Razi, 31/195.
[2] Zubdah, 7/453.
[3] Ibn Ashur, 30/352.
[4] Kashif, 7/578-579.
[5] Tabrisi, 10/765; Alusi, 15/377.
[6] Tabrisi, 10/765.
[7] Tabrisi, 10/765.
[8] Tabrisi, 10/765.