al-Raja — Hope in Allah: The Second Wing and the Theology of Divine Mercy

Al-Raja (الرَّجَاء — hope, hopeful expectation; from *r-j-w* meaning to hope for/expect/desire; in Islamic theology, raja' is the expectation of divine mercy, forgiveness, and reward — the confident hope that Allah will fulfill His promises and that His mercy encompasses all things) is the partner and counterbalance to al-khawf (fear of Allah) in Islamic spiritual psychology. The Quranic ground: *'Say: O My servants who have transgressed against themselves [by sinning], do not despair of the mercy of Allah. Indeed, Allah forgives all sins. Indeed, it is He who is the Forgiving, the Merciful.'* (39:53) — the most universally cited verse of hope in the Quran, described by some companions as the most comprehensive statement of divine mercy in the entire text. The divine hadith of mercy: *'O son of Adam, as long as you call upon Me and hope in Me (wa raja'tani), I shall forgive you for what you have done and I do not mind.'* (Tirmidhi) — raja' (hoping in Allah) is itself sufficient cause for divine forgiveness, independent of the magnitude of the sin. The prophetic model: *'None of you should die except while having a good opinion of Allah (husn al-zann bi-Allah).'* (Muslim) — the last moments should be dominated by raja' rather than khawf: the Prophet recommended that the believer approach death with confident hope in divine mercy rather than terror at divine punishment. In Ismaili ta'wil, the highest raja' is the hope that the Da'i's shafa'a (intercession) will avail on the Day of Judgment — that the covenant holder will be protected by the Imam's intercession through walayah.