Tafseer of Jonas · Yunus · 10:62
Unquestionably, [for] the allies of Allah there will be no fear concerning them, nor will they grieve
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
The explanation of the words of the Exalted: أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ (62)
(Behold, verily the friends of Allah — there shall be no fear upon them, nor shall they grieve.)
Abū Jaʿfar says: The Exalted says: Behold, verily the helpers of Allah — there shall be no fear upon them in the Hereafter on account of the punishment (ʿadhāb) of Allah, for Allah is well-pleased with them and has secured them from His punishment, and they shall not grieve over what has escaped them of the worldly life.
The "awliyāʾ" (friends/helpers) is the plural of "walī" (friend/helper), and that is the ally and helper. We have already explained that, with the proofs for it.
The exegetes differed concerning who may lay claim to this designation.
Some said: They are people at whose sight Allah is remembered, on account of the signs of virtue and piety that are visible upon them.
Mention of who said this:
17703 — Abū Kurayb and Ibn Wakīʿ related to us — they said: Ibn Yamān related to us — he said: Ibn Abī Laylā related to us, on the authority of al-Ḥakam, on the authority of Miqsam and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ : he said: "Those are the ones at whose sight Allah is remembered."
17704 — Abū Kurayb and Abū Hishām related to us — they said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Ashʿath ibn Isḥāq, on the authority of Jaʿfar ibn Abī al-Mughīra, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — to the same effect.
17705 — Abū Kurayb related to us — he said: Ibn Yamān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Musayyib, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā — to the same effect.
17706 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us — he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Musayyib, on the authority of his father, concerning أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ : he said: "That is the one at whose sight Allah is remembered."
17707 — [Ibn Wakīʿ] said: Ibn Mahdī and ʿUbayd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-ʿAlāʾ ibn al-Musayyib, on the authority of Abū al-Ḍuḥā — he said: I heard him say concerning this verse أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ : "Among the people there are keys (mafātīḥ) — when they are seen, Allah is remembered at their sight."
17708 — [Ibn Wakīʿ] said: My father related to us, on the authority of Misʿar, on the authority of Sahl Abū al-Asad, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ was asked about the "awliyāʾ Allāh," and he said: "Those are the ones who, when they are seen, bring Allah to mind."
17709 — [Ibn Wakīʿ] said: Zayd ibn Ḥubbāb related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ḥabīb ibn Abī Thābit, on the authority of Abū Wāʾil, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh, concerning أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ : he said: "Those are the ones who, when they are seen, Allah is remembered at their sight."
17710 — [Ibn Wakīʿ] said: Abū Yazīd al-Rāzī related to us, on the authority of Yaʿqūb, on the authority of Jaʿfar, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ — he said: "They are the ones who, when they are seen, Allah is remembered."
17711 — Al-Qāsim related to us — he said: al-Ḥusayn related to us — he said: Furāt related to us, on the authority of Abū Saʿd, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Jubayr — he said: The Prophet ﷺ was asked about the "awliyāʾ Allāh," and he said: "They are the ones who, when they are seen, Allah is remembered."
17712 — [al-Qāsim] said: al-Ḥusayn related to us — he said: Hushaym related to us — he said: al-ʿAwwām informed us, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Abī al-Hudhayl, concerning the words أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ , the verse — he said: "Verily the walī of Allah — when he is seen, Allah is remembered."
Others said the following concerning it:
17713 — Abū Hāshim al-Rifāʿī related to us — he said: Ibn Fuḍayl related to us — he said: My father related to us, on the authority of ʿUmāra ibn al-Qaʿqāʿ al-Ḍabbī, on the authority of Abū Zurʿa ibn ʿAmr ibn Jarīr al-Bajalī, on the authority of Abū Hurayra — he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Verily among the servants of Allah there are servants who are envied by the prophets and the martyrs!" It was said: "Who are they, O Messenger of Allah? Let us know, so that we may love them!" He said: "They are people who love one another for the sake of Allah, without there being any shared wealth or kinship between them. Their faces are of light, upon pulpits (minbars) of light. They are not afraid when the people are afraid, and they do not grieve when the people grieve." And he recited: أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ .
17714 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us — he said: Jarīr related to us, on the authority of ʿUmāra, on the authority of Abū Zurʿa, on the authority of ʿUmar ibn al-Khaṭṭāb — he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "Verily among the servants of Allah there are people who are neither prophets nor martyrs, but who are envied by the prophets and the martyrs on the Day of Resurrection on account of their rank with Allah!" They said: "O Messenger of Allah, tell us who they are and what their deeds are, for we love them for that!" He said: "They are people who love one another for the sake of Allah, by the spirit of Allah, without kinship between them and without shared wealth that they exchange. By Allah, verily their faces are light, and they are indeed upon light. They are not afraid when the people are afraid, and they do not grieve when the people grieve." And he recited this verse: أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ .
17715 — Baḥr ibn Naṣr al-Khawlānī related to us — he said: Yaḥyā ibn Ḥassān related to us — he said: ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd ibn Bahrām related to us — he said: Shahr ibn Ḥawshab related to us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Ghanam, on the authority of Abū Mālik al-Ashʿarī — he said: The Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: "There shall come from the various groups of the people and the strangers of the tribes — a people between whom there is no close kinship, who love one another for the sake of Allah and are sincere to one another for the sake of Allah. Allah will set up for them on the Day of Resurrection pulpits (minbars) of light and seat them upon them. The people will be in fear, but they will not be in fear. And they are the awliyāʾ of Allah over whom there shall be no fear and who shall not grieve."
Abū Jaʿfar says: The correct view of what may be said concerning this is: the "walī" — meaning the "walī of Allah" — is the one who possesses the quality with which Allah has described him, namely the one who believes and fears Allah, as Allah said: الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ (those who believed and were God-fearing).
Ibn Zayd spoke with a view similar to ours:
17716 — Yūnus related to me — he said: Ibn Wahb informed us — he said: Ibn Zayd said, concerning the words أَلا إِنَّ أَوْلِيَاءَ اللَّهِ لا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ : "Who are they, O Lord?" Allah said: الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَكَانُوا يَتَّقُونَ . He said: "Allah refused to accept faith (īmān) except accompanied by God-consciousness (taqwā)."
