Near-synonyms 5: to hope, to despair and to be angry

To hope

تَمَنّى / رجا

According to the most widespread view, the difference between these two terms essentially lies in a difference of probability. The رَجاء is a wish that seems within reach. As for the تَمَنِّي, it evokes a hope that is often improbable or properly unreal.

It is also said that the term رجاء evokes a wish supported by actions aimed at realizing it, while the term تَمَنِّي evokes a wish not supported by actions. This rejoins the first distinction: when one acts to realize a wish, one is more likely to attain it than by remaining passive. In the Qur’anic text this word often appears in a context of efforts connected to the wish evoked, but this is more likely a corollary than a necessary link.

تمنّى

قُلْ إِنْ كَانَتْ لَكُمُ الدَّارُ الْآخِرَةُ عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَالِصَةً مِنْ دُونِ النَّاسِ فَتَمَنَّوُا الْمَوْتَ إِنْ كُنْتُمْ صَادِقِينَ
Say: « If the final abode with God is reserved for you, to the exclusion of all people, then wish for death, if you are truthful. » (2:94)

وَلَا تَتَمَنَّوْا مَا فَضَّلَ اللَّهُ بِهِ بَعْضَكُمْ عَلَى بَعْضٍ
And do not covet that by which God has favoured some of you over others. (4:32)

أَمْ لِلْإِنْسَانِ مَا تَمَنَّى فَلِلَّهِ الْآخِرَةُ وَالْأُولَى
Or will man have whatever he desires? To God belong the Hereafter and the former [life]. (53:24-25)

رجا

فَمَنْ كَانَ يَرْجُو لِقَاءَ رَبِّهِ فَلْيَعْمَلْ عَمَلًا صَالِحًا وَلَا يُشْرِكْ بِعِبَادَةِ رَبِّهِ أَحَدًا
So whoever hopes for the meeting with his Lord, let him do righteous deeds and associate none in the worship of his Lord. (18:110)

إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَتْلُونَ كِتَابَ اللَّهِ وَأَقَامُوا الصَّلَاةَ وَأَنْفَقُوا مِمَّا رَزَقْنَاهُمْ سِرًّا وَعَلَانِيَةً يَرْجُونَ تِجَارَةً لَنْ تَبُورَ
Those who recite the Book of God, establish prayer and spend from what We have provided them, secretly and openly, hope for a trade that will never perish. (35:29)

وَلَا تَهِنُوا فِي ابْتِغَاءِ الْقَوْمِ إِنْ تَكُونُوا تَأْلَمُونَ فَإِنَّهُمْ يَأْلَمُونَ كَمَا تَأْلَمُونَ وَتَرْجُونَ مِنَ اللَّهِ مَا لَا يَرْجُونَ وَكَانَ اللَّهُ عَلِيمًا حَكِيمًا
And do not weaken in pursuit of these people. If you are suffering, they too suffer as you suffer. But you hope from God what they cannot hope. And God is All-Knowing, All-Wise. (4:104)

To despair

قنَط ــَـ / يئِس ــَـ

The nuance of meaning between these two terms, meaning « despair », gives rise to fairly wide divergences. Some consider these two verbs equivalent. Others affirm that يئس is stronger than قنط, basing themselves notably on the following verses:

إِنَّهُ لَا يَيْأَسُ مِن رَّوْحِ اللَّهِ إِلَّا الْقَوْمُ الْكَافِرُونَ
Indeed, no one despairs of the relief (clemency, kindness, spiritual breath) of God except the disbelieving people. (12:87)

قَالَ وَمَن يَقْنَطُ مِن رَّحْمَةِ رَبِّهِ إِلَّا الضَّالُّونَ
He said: « And who despairs of the mercy of his Lord, except those who are astray? » (15:56)

Now, « denial » is graver than « straying ».

Others consider, still on the basis of these two verses, that the word قنط has a broader acceptation, for it includes despair regarding the benefits granted, while يئس concerns only the dissipation of evils. Linguists affirm that the word رَوْح generally designates mercy in its aspect of deliverance, while رحمة comprises both beneficence and deliverance.

In this perspective, يئس would thus mean « to despair of deliverance », while قنط would mean « to despair of everything » (that is, of both deliverance and beneficence).

Anger

غَيْظ / غَضَب / سَخَط

Some linguists consider غَضَب and سَخَط equivalent. Others affirm that سَخَط corresponds to the first degree of anger. Relying on the Qur’an, others consider that it expresses the opposite of satisfaction (رِضَى): from this point of view, it is again a lesser degree of anger.

The root of the word غَضَب evokes strength and solidity. The term of the same root غَضْبة designates « a solid stone ». Linguists affirm that غَضَب would derive from this initial sense.

It is generally admitted that the word غَيْظ evokes a very intense anger; but, paradoxically, some say on the contrary that it designates the beginning of anger. Others add that it is the anger one contains and cannot, or will not, manifest. In a fairly close sense, others see in غَيْظ the inner state of anger, and in غَضَب the attitude that manifests it. The use of this term in the Qur’an regarding Hell evokes a fairly explicit « boiling » or « effervescence »: those who understand it as the beginning of anger see in it the effervescence that precedes the overflow; and those who understand it as the intensity of anger see in it the height of inflaming or boiling. And God knows best.

وَبَاءُوا بِغَضَبٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ
They have incurred the anger of God. (3:112)

أَفَمَنِ اتَّبَعَ رِضْوَانَ اللَّهِ كَمَنْ بَاءَ بِسَخَطٍ مِنَ اللَّهِ وَمَأْوَاهُ جَهَنَّمُ وَبِئْسَ الْمَصِيرُ
Is the one who seeks the good pleasure of God like the one who incurs the anger of God and whose abode is Hell? What a wretched destination! (3:162)

وَإِذَا خَلَوْا عَضُّوا عَلَيْكُمُ الْأَنَامِلَ مِنَ الْغَيْظِ قُلْ مُوتُوا بِغَيْظِكُمْ إِنَّ اللَّهَ عَلِيمٌ بِذَاتِ الصُّدُورِ
And when they withdraw, they bite their fingertips at you in rage. Say: « Die in your rage! God knows what is within the breasts! » (3:119)