29:5

مَن كَانَ يَرۡجُواْ لِقَآءَ ٱللَّهِ فَإِنَّ أَجَلَ ٱللَّهِ لَأٓتٖۚ وَهُوَ ٱلسَّمِيعُ ٱلۡعَلِيمُ

Man kana yarjoo liqaa Allahi fainna ajala Allahi laatin wahuwa alssameeAAu alAAaleemu

Whoever should hope for the meeting with Allah - indeed, the term decreed by Allah is coming. And He is the Hearing, the Knowing.

Word by word
  1. مَنWhoever
  2. كَانَ[is]
  3. يَرۡجُواْhopes
  4. لِقَآءَ(for the) meeting
  5. ٱللَّهِ(with) Allah
  6. فَإِنَّthen indeed
  7. أَجَلَ(the) Term
  8. ٱللَّهِ(of) Allah
  9. لَأٓتٖۚ(is) surely coming
  10. وَهُوَAnd He
  11. ٱلسَّمِيعُ(is) the All-Hearer
  12. ٱلۡعَلِيمُthe All-Knower
Al-'Ankabut · 29:5Makkah

The meeting you hope for is surely coming.

Hope with a date on the calendar


The hope
youhoping to meet Allah
and
His termsurely coming
by
the All-Hearerhears every dua
What hope does
vague wishsomeday, maybe
certain meetingwork for it now

To believers who were suffering, this was reassurance. Ibn Kathir says whoever hopes to meet Allah and does good will have his hopes fulfilled and his deeds rewarded in full. It will surely come, because He hears all supplications and knows every need.

You whisper a dua at night that nobody else knows about. You keep doing quiet good that no one thanks you for. It can feel like talking into the dark. Someone hears, and the meeting is set.

My quiet prayers and efforts probably go nowhere.

The One I hope to meet hears every word, and the meeting is certain.

Try this

Make one dua tonight for something you have stopped asking for.

Simplified reflection. Read the tafsir for scholarship.draft
Tafsir Ibn Kathir

Whoever hopes in meeting with Allah, then Allah's term is surely coming, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower (5)And whosoever strives, he strives only for himself. Verily, Allah stands not in need of any of the creatures (6)Those who believe, and do righteous good deeds, surely, We shall expiate from them their evil deeds and We shall indeed reward them according to the best of that which they used to do (7)

Allah will fulfill the Hopes of the Righteous

Allah's saying;

مَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ

(Whoever hopes in meeting with Allah,) means, in the Hereafter, and does righteous deeds, and hopes for a great reward with Allah, then Allah will fulfill his hopes and reward him for his deeds in full. This will undoubtedly come to pass, for He is the One Who hears all supplications, He knows and understands the needs of all created beings. Allah says:

مَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ اللَّهِ فَإِنَّ أَجَلَ اللَّهِ لَآتٍ ۚ وَهُوَ السَّمِيعُ الْعَلِيمُ 

(Whoever hopes in meeting with Allah, then Allah's term is surely coming, and He is the All-Hearer, the All-Knower.)

وَمَنْ جَاهَدَ فَإِنَّمَا يُجَاهِدُ لِنَفْسِهِ ۚ 

(And whosoever strives, he strives only for himself.) This is like the Ayah,

مَنْ عَمِلَ صَالِحًا فَلِنَفْسِهِ ۖ 

(Whosoever does righteous good deed, it is for himself)(41:46). Whoever does a righteous deed, the benefit of that deed will come back to him, for Allah has no need of the deeds of His servants, and even if all of them were to be as pious as the most pious man among them, that would not add to His dominion in the slightest. Allah says:

وَمَنْ جَاهَدَ فَإِنَّمَا يُجَاهِدُ لِنَفْسِهِ ۚ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَغَنِيٌّ عَنِ الْعَالَمِينَ 

(And whosoever strives, he strives only for himself. Verily, Allah stands not in need of any of the creatures.) Then Allah tells us that even though He has no need of His creatures, He is kind and generous to them. He will still give to those who believe and do righteous deeds the best of rewards, which is that He will expiate for them their bad deeds, and will reward them according to the best deeds that they did. He will accept the fewest good deeds and in return for one good deed will give anything between ten rewards and seven hundred, but for every bad deed, He will give only one evil merit, or even that He may overlook and forgive. This is like the Ayah,

إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يَظْلِمُ مِثْقَالَ ذَرَّةٍ ۖ وَإِنْ تَكُ حَسَنَةً يُضَاعِفْهَا وَيُؤْتِ مِنْ لَدُنْهُ أَجْرًا عَظِيمًا 

(Surely, Allah wrongs not even the weight of a speck of dust, but if there is any good, He doubles it, and gives from Him a great reward.)(4:40). And He says here:

وَالَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ لَنُكَفِّرَنَّ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّئَاتِهِمْ وَلَنَجْزِيَنَّهُمْ أَحْسَنَ الَّذِي كَانُوا يَعْمَلُونَ

(Those who believe, and do righteous good deeds, surely, We shall expiate from them their evil deeds and We shall indeed reward them according to the best of that which they used to do.)