In a narration found in Tafsīr al-Qummī, narrated with an apparently sound chain,79 attributed to Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) regarding the interpretation of the verse:
Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said that Imam Ali (a) asked the Prophet (sa) about this verse. He responded,
O’ Ali, indeed, the delegation will not be but a group of riders.81 Those are men who feared Allah, so Allah loved them, chose them, and accepted their deeds, so Allah called them the righteous.82 This is the ultimate aspiration for a person who desires to attain lofty ranks – that Allah (swt) loves them. When He loves them, He loves to meet them.
It is mentioned in the supplications:
O’ Allah, fill my heart with love for You, fear of You, belief in You, faith in You, terror of you, and longing for
you. O’ Possessor of Majesty and Generosity. O’ Allah, make me love meeting You, and make meeting You beloved to me, and grant me in Your meeting the best of mercy and blessings - and join me with the righteous.83 In essence, make me love meeting You, being alone with You, drawing near to You, and the sweetness of conversing with You. At the same time, make my meeting beloved to You.
When does Allah love meeting a person?
Allah loves meeting a person when they reach the level of the righteous. Those are men who feared Allah, so Allah loved them and chose them. For example, we read in some narrations that so-and-so narrator is among the special companions of Imam al-Ṣādiq (a). This is the pinnacle of praise! Allah chose these individuals, and this is a very high rank. Then he said:
O’ Ali! By the One who split the seed and created the breeze, they will come out of their graves with faces as white as snow, wearing garments as white as milk, with golden sandals, the straps of which are made of pearls
shining brightly.84 Allah is pleased with their deeds, which are that they fear Allah, they are conscious of Allah, and other deeds that are indicated in another verse. Allah says,
These are the deeds that have made Allah, the Exalted and Mighty, pleased with them. He draws such individuals close to Him and loves them, making them among His special ones. Imam al-Sajjād (a) used to say, "al-ʿafū ([I seek] pardon!)” three hundred times during the Witr prayer in the hours right before dawn. Then, when he would bow down, upon raising his head, he would say:
This is the station of one whose good deeds are a blessing from You, and whose sins, by his actions, are great. His gratitude is little. Nothing can deflect [the repercussions of] all that except Your mercy. O’ my God, hopes are disappointed except with You. The aspirations of the determined ones halt except towards You. The pathways of minds lead nowhere except to You. You are the hope, and to You is the refuge.
O’ noblest purpose! O’ most generous to be asked! I flee to You with my soul, O’ refuge of the fleeing ones with the burdens of their sins – burdens that I bear on my back. I find no intercessor for me except my knowledge that You are the closest One whom the needy seek refuge with, and whom the hopeful put their hopes in.
O’ One whose knowledge has opened the minds and whose praise has loosened the tongues, and He has made what He has granted to His servants sufficient to fulfill His right. O’ Allah, bless Muhammad and his family, and do not let worries find a path to my mind, nor falsehood find a way to my actions.
O’ Allah, You said in Your decisive book revealed to Your sent Prophet (sa)
Yet my sleep has become long, and my standing has become short. It is now dawn, and I seek Your forgiveness for my sins, seeking forgiveness like one who has no control over benefit or harm, or over life or death or resurrection.
What is required of us is to have some of what the righteous have of these deeds and others, and to pay attention to these matters rather than neglect them. Let us not leave undertaking these deeds to chance or the availability of appropriate circumstances. Rather, let us commit fully to them. Let each of us dedicate time to draw close to Allah and to converse with Him. We ask Allah, the Exalted and Mighty, not to deprive us of that.