Appearance
The Effects of Guidance
Based on the principle of complete monotheism (tawḥīd) in all aspects of essence, attributes, actions, and effects, the only life-giving obedience for humanity is following divine guidance. Therefore, God said to His Prophet: “So follow their guidance” (6:90); meaning that your true role model and exemplar are not merely the past prophets, but rather the divine guidance which they followed to reach their destination. Hence, in the verse under discussion, the sole factor for the salvation of society is highlighted as following divine guidance.
There are numerous positive and negative effects of following guidance, as referenced in various places throughout the Noble Qur’an. The verse under discussion explicitly addresses the negation of fear and grief; that is, the inevitable outcome of following divine guidance is freedom from fear in the hereafter and the removal of grief on the Day of Resurrection. On a day when all will be fearful and sorrowful due to the severity of the punishment, a special group—the true followers of divine guidance—will be protected from the harm of fear and the pain of grief. Thus, general verses like “On the Day you see it, every nursing mother will forget what she nursed” (22:2) and others will be specified by these types of verses.
A Few Points About Fear and Sorrow:
In the text of divine guidance, meaning the Qur’an and the Sunnah of the infallible Imams (a.s.), a special station is designated for those who fear: “And for he who fears the station of his Lord are two gardens” (55:46); “But as for he who feared the position of his Lord and prevented the soul from [unlawful] inclination, then indeed, Paradise will be [his] refuge” (79:40). On the other hand, fear of God the Glorified and awe of the Divine Essence are recommended: “And fear Me” (2:40). Likewise, hope in divine mercy and confidence in God’s pardon and forgiveness are also advised. Thus, this type of fear and hope, along with some commendable stages of sorrow, are drawn from the essence of religious guidance. Therefore, those who follow God’s guidance will inherently embody both fear and sorrow.
Within divine guidance, worldly attachments, along with the associated shackles and chains that are deemed the root of every sin, are condemned. This condemnation causes the devoted servants of God to neither fear the potential loss of worldly possessions in the future nor feel sadness about the absence of such possessions in the past. Such praise for the true believer reflects the reality that, because God is great in their hearts, everything else becomes insignificant in their eyes: “The Creator was great in their souls, so everything else became small in their eyes.”(246)
Divine guidance promises God’s true followers the removal of fear and grief, a promise fulfilled in the Hereafter. On that day, as a realization of His covenant with the true followers of His religion, God will say: “No fear shall be upon you, nor shall you grieve” (43:68). The fear and grief of the follower of divine guidance stem from the concern that their adherence may be incomplete, thus excluding them from the divine promise.
The promise of the removal of fear and sorrow implies the promise of all good things because if any perfection in the past, present, or future were withheld from the follower of divine guidance, it would inevitably lead to fear or grief. Therefore, when all forms of fear and sorrow are removed, it becomes evident that no blessing has been or will be denied to them.
Such a promise does not imply equality of ranks among all followers of divine guidance, as each person’s expectation of perfection depends on the extent of his knowledge, and the scope of one’s knowledge corresponds to his existential rank. Since individuals differ in their levels of existence, their knowledge also varies, and consequently, their expectations and hopes are not the same. Thus, it can be concluded that each follower will receive all blessings appropriate to his level, ensuring that no true follower experiences fear or sorrow, even while differences in ranks and levels are preserved.
Although true followers of God’s guidance are few and those included in the promise of negating fear and grief are scarce—hence the singular verb form tabaʿa in the verse under discussion—this group still possesses relative and proportional abundance. Therefore, the pronoun and verb in the statement “There will be no fear for them, nor will they grieve” (46:13) appear in the plural form, just as in the verse “Indeed, those who have said, ‘Our Lord is God,’ and then remained on a right course—there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve,” they are referred to in the plural. Thus, it cannot be asserted that the follower is mentioned in the singular while the disbeliever and denier are mentioned in the plural, with the implied reasoning that the believer is singular and the disbelievers are many. Of course, it is possible that the number of disbelievers and deniers exceeds that of the true followers.
The positive effects of following divine guidance are highlighted in various instances in the Noble Qur’an, one prominent example being the verse “And peace be upon whoever follows the guidance” (20:47). In this verse, peace (salām)—one of the beautiful names of God—descends with all its manifestations of tranquility and security upon the true followers of divine guidance.
Fear originates from an external factor and exerts dominance over the fearful person; hence, it is expressed with the preposition “ʿalā” (upon), unlike sorrow, which stems from an internal source. However, any phenomenon that occupies and subjugates the soul can gain dominance over it, making the use of “ʿalā” appropriate. Some exegetes have suggested that the phrase “wa lā khawfun ʿalayhim” means that no one fears over them,(247) but distinguishing between fear and sorrow based on the unity of context is incorrect. The verse “lā khawfun ʿalaykum al-yawma wa lā antum taḥzanūn,” which refers to the Hereafter, indicates that the intended meaning is that there is no fear at all for the true followers; they will not be fearful themselves, not that others are not fearful of them. On the Day of Judgment, everyone will be too preoccupied to care about others: “Every person that Day will have an affair which will occupy him” (80:37).
The word “ḥuzn” (sorrow) is intransitive in the form “ʿalima yaʿlamu” and transitive in the form “naṣara yanṣuru.” The phrases “li-yaḥzunanī an tadhabū bihī” (12:13) and “lā yaḥzunuhum al-fazaʿu al-akbar” (21:103) provide evidence of its transitivity. The negation of sorrow in the verse “al-ḥamdu lillāhi alladhī adhhaba ʿannā al-ḥuzna” (35:34) might imply a comprehensive meaning for both forms—indicating that neither internal grief nor sorrow imposed from outside affects the true followers of divine guidance.
The verse under discussion presents a general and comprehensive principle: following divine guidance. It highlights its negative effect, which has a positive spirit—namely, the negation of fear and grief. This principle is detailed in other verses, where its positive effects are also mentioned. For example, the verse “Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds and establish prayer and give zakāt will have their reward with their Lord, and there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve” (2:277) elaborates on the principle of following divine guidance in terms of faith, righteous deeds, establishing prayer, and paying zakāt. Here, both the positive effect—reward with God—and the negative effect—negation of fear and grief—are mentioned. Notably, the reward with God indicates a high spiritual station.
Contextual evidence suggests that those who rebel against divine guidance are plagued with fear and grief. While titles, attributes, and similar elements may not inherently carry a specific meaning, the speech often conveys a special message that cannot be easily denied. The verse under discussion seeks to define the boundary between fear and security and to clarify the scope of grief and joy. Those who exchange the abode of delusion for the dawn of joy and prioritize following divine guidance over succumbing to their desires will be spared from fear and grief in the Hereafter. Conversely, those who trade the dawn of joy for the abode of delusion, favoring the whims of their souls over divine revelation and rational proof, will be seized by fear and sorrow at the scene of the greatest terror (fazaʿ akbar). The contextual evidence implies that the source of fear and grief in the Hereafter is Hell itself, which afflicts the companions of the Fire. Therefore, the followers of divine guidance will not experience any fear or sorrow from Hell.
Note: The precedence of negating fear before negating sorrow might be because attaining blessings—which removes sorrow—follows liberation from all forms of affliction, including fear.