وَلَسَوفَ يَرضىٰ

And, surely, soon he will be well-pleased.

EXEGESIS

Sawfa (soon) is used for distant future, unlike the prefix sa which implies near future. The letter lām in la-sawfa is for emphasis. The distant future here may refer to the hereafter.

EXPOSITION

Most exegetes opine that he refers to the God-wary person. However, some have said that it could also refer to Allah and thus the meaning would be that Allah shall soon be well-pleased with His pious servant. In any case, if Allah is pleased with His servant, then the servant would also be pleased with his Lord, and thus the two meanings can be aligned with each other.^{‎[1]Razi, 31/189; Kashif, 7/576.} See also 98:8 and 89:28.

However, the first interpretation seems more plausible, as God is pleased with His servant as soon as the servant carries out a good deed and it does not make sense to say He will soon be well-pleased, as the verse indicates.^{‎[2]Manahij, 30/539.}

This may be an indication that the God-wary will be well-pleased when they enter paradise^{‎[3]Safi, 5/339.} or when they are given the reward for their actions.^{‎[4]Mizan, 20/307.} Some have seen this is a promise from God to the God-wary about their rewards.^{‎[5]Daqaiq, 14/309.}

[1] Razi, 31/189; Kashif, 7/576.
[2] Manahij, 30/539.
[3] Safi, 5/339.
[4] Mizan, 20/307.
[5] Daqaiq, 14/309.