Two Great Rewards to Those Who Follow Divine Guidance

Allah states in the Holy Qur'an :

فَإِمَّا يَأْتِيَنَّكُمْ مِنِّي هُدًى فَمَنْ تَبِعَ هُدَايَ فَلَا خَوْفٌ عَلَيْهِمْ وَلَا هُمْ يَحْزَنُونَ

"Those who follow My guidance shall have no fear, nor shall they grieve."

[Surah Baqarah 2: 38]

Explanation : Verse 38 promises two great rewards to those who follow divine guidance - they will have no fear, and they will not grieve. Fear is the anxiety one feels in apprehending some trouble or pain in the future. Grief is the sorrow arising from the loss of something valuable or from one's failure in attaining a desired object.

One can see that these two rewards comprehend all the possible forms of comfort and peace. Then, the text of the Holy Qur'an makes a subtle distinction between the two. In saying that those who follow divine guidance will have no fear, it speaks in general terms and uses a noun - the Arabic phras "La khawfun alayhim" is to be translated literally as 'no fear upon them'.

But in the next phrase "Wala hum Yahzanoon", the Holy Qur'an employs a verb, placing before it a pronoun as the subject. The literal translation of the phrase is: 'they shall not grieve'. The implication here is that being totally free from all sense of loss is possible only to Men of Allah or the saints (the friends of Allah) who follow divine guidance in all its details; as for the others, no man whether an emperor or a billionaire, can help being grieved at the loss of a valued object or the frustration of a desire, all of which is but a necessary part of the scheme of things.

The 'friends of Allah' do not have to grieve, because they annihilated their own desires and their very will in submitting themselves totally to the will of Allah.

The Holy Qur'an also tells us that those who go to Paradise will thank Allah for having removed from them all regret and sorrow: "All praise belongs to Allah who has put away all sorrow from us." (35:34)