Verses 30–78
This is the second part of the chapter, whose verses describe the second creation (nashʾa) of the jinn and humankind—which is the creation in which they return to God and are recompensed for their deeds—and enumerate God’s bounties to them therein. This is just as the first part of the chapter described the original creation and enumerated God’s bounties to them therein.
Commentary
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٣٠
(55:30) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
سَنَفْرُغُ لَكُمْ أَيُّهَ الثَّقَلَانِ ٣١
(55:31) We shall soon make Ourselves unoccupied for you, O you notable two!
‘To make someone unoccupied for a matter’ (farāgh) means that a person was occupied with other matters previously, but they put them to one side to devote their full attention to this new matter because of its importance.
Therefore, We shall soon make Ourselves unoccupied for you, means that We shall soon wrap up the matter of the original creation and devote Our attention to you. The following verses make clear that this refers to their resurrection, their judgement, and the recompense for their deeds, whether good or evil. Therefore, ‘make Ourselves unoccupied for you’ alludes to the transformation of the world for a new creation.
However, God making Himself ‘unoccupied’ for the jinn and humankind does not contradict the principle that God is not distracted from one thing by another (lā yashghaluhu shaʾnun ʿan shaʾnin). This is because the phrase ‘make Ourselves unoccupied’ is with regard to the changing of one creation for another, whereas the principle that God is not distracted from one thing by another is with regard to God’s omnipotence and omnipresence. This is akin to the fact that the description of God as ‘every day’ being ‘engaged in some work’ () is with regard to the variety of work and, as such, does not contradict the principle that God is not distracted from one thing by another.
‘You notable two’ (al-thaqalān) refers to the jinn and humankind, while the instances of the second-person plural pronoun ‘you’ in ‘for you’ (lakum)—in this verse—and the verb ‘you can’ (istaṭaʿtum)—in the following verse—and in other places of this chapter refer to thaqalān even though thaqalān is grammatically dual, because while the jinn and humankind are two groups, they contain a multitude of individuals.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٣٢
(55:32) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
يَا مَعْشَرَ الْجِنِّ وَالْإِنْسِ إِنِ اسْتَطَعْتُمْ أَنْ تَنْفُذُوا مِنْ أَقْطَارِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ فَانْفُذُوا ۚ لَا تَنْفُذُونَ إِلَّا بِسُلْطَانٍ ٣٣
(55:33) O company of jinn and humans! If you can pass through the confines of the heavens and the earth, then do pass through. But you will not pass through except by an authority.
Based on the context of this verse, this address appears to be something that will be spoken to the jinn and humankind on the Day of Resurrection. Furthermore, this address is intended as a challenge, in order to reveal their incapacity to do what it says.
The meaning of ‘can’ (istiṭāʿa) here is power (qudra), while ‘pass through the confines…’ means to escape through them, and ‘confines’ (aqṭār) is the plural of quṭr, which literally means a region or a quarter.
The meaning of the verse as a whole reads: ‘O company of jinn and humans—and the jinn are mentioned first because they are able to move faster than humans—if you are able to flee by passing through the regions of the heavens and the earth and thereby escape God’s dominion and avoid His punishment, then flee and do so!’
But you will not pass through except by an authority means you will not be able to pass through without some authority to do so, and you do not have any. ‘Authority’ (sulṭān) means existential power (qudra wujūdiyya), but it can also mean a conclusive argument or any kind of proof, and it may also mean sovereignty.
Some say that the meaning of pass through in this verse refers to penetrating the depths of the heavens and the earth with one’s knowledge. However, it is clear that this meaning is incompatible with the context.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٣٤
(55:34) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
يُرْسَلُ عَلَيْكُمَا شُوَاظٌ مِنْ نَارٍ وَنُحَاسٌ فَلَا تَنْتَصِرَانِ ٣٥
(55:35) There will be unleashed upon you a flash of fire and a smoke; then you will not be able to help one another.
According to Rāghib al-Iṣfahānī, ‘flash’ (shuwāẓ) refers to a flame without smoke. Majmaʿ al-Bayān offers a similar meaning to this; that it is a green flame separated from fire. Meanwhile, the word used for ‘smoke’ in this verse is nuḥās. Al-Rāghib says: ‘It is a flame without smoke,’ and the meaning is clear.
When God says: you will not be able to help one another, He means you will not be able to come to one another’s aid against the tribulation in which you find yourselves nor help one another escape. This is because the system of cause and effect in the hereafter operates differently from in this world, and there is no protection from God on that day.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٣٦
(55:36) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
فَإِذَا انْشَقَّتِ السَّمَاءُ فَكَانَتْ وَرْدَةً كَالدِّهَانِ ٣٧
(55:37) When the sky is split open, and turns crimson like tanned leather.
The meaning of this verse is clear.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٣٨
(55:38) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لَا يُسْأَلُ عَنْ ذَنْبِهِ إِنْسٌ وَلَا جَانٌّ ٣٩
(55:39) On that day neither humans will be questioned about their sins nor jinn.
This verse and all the verses that follow it until the end of the chapter describe the process of judgement and recompense for one’s deeds on the Day of Resurrection, and they describe the condition of the transgressors, those who feared the station of their Lord, and the ultimate outcomes of both groups.
Then the verse describes the swiftness of God’s judgement, as He says elsewhere: and God is swift at reckoning ().
The meaning of ‘on that day’ is the Day of Resurrection, while the word questioning here is used to denote the conventional sense of asking questions. However, the fact that this verse says they will not be questioned does not contradict what has been said elsewhere, namely: stop them! For they must be questioned () and: by your Lord, We will question them all (). This is because the Day of Resurrection has a variety of stages; in some of them, people will be questioned; in others, some of their mouths will be sealed and their limbs will be made to speak instead; while in others still, some will be known by their mark.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٤٠
(55:40) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
يُعْرَفُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ بِسِيمَاهُمْ فَيُؤْخَذُ بِالنَّوَاصِي وَالْأَقْدَامِ ٤١
(55:41) The guilty will be recognized by their mark, so they will be seized by the forelocks and the feet.
Based on the context, this verse appears to be the answer to an implicit question, namely: ‘If they are not asked about their sins, then what will be done with them?’ The verse answers by saying that these transgressors will be known by their mark. This is why this verse is not joined to the previous one with a connective such as ‘and’ but instead appears to start afresh. The meaning of ‘their mark’ is a sign that is visible upon their faces.
As for when God says: they will be seized by the forelocks and the feet, this follows on from what we have just said. ‘Forelocks’ (nawāṣī, sing. nāsiya) refers to the hair at the front of the head, while feet is a translation of aqdām (sing. qadam). The phrase ‘by the forelocks’ occupies the grammatical position of the doer of the passive verb ‘seized.’
The meaning of this verse reads: ‘None will be asked about their sin. The guilty will be recognized by the visible marks upon their faces. Then, the guilty will be seized by their forelocks and feet and thrown into hellfire.’
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٤٢
(55:42) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
هَٰذِهِ جَهَنَّمُ الَّتِي يُكَذِّبُ بِهَا الْمُجْرِمُونَ ٤٣ يَطُوفُونَ بَيْنَهَا وَبَيْنَ حَمِيمٍ آنٍ ٤٤
(55:43–44) This is the hell which the guilty would deny! They shall circuit between it and boiling hot water.
These verses relate what will be said on the Day of Resurrection. In other words, it means: ‘On that day, they will be told: “This is the hell which the guilty would deny!”’
Al-Ṭabrisī says: ‘It might be the case that when God foretells that the guilty will be seized by their forelocks and feet, He addressed thee words to the Prophet, meaning: ‘This is the hell which the guilty of your people would deny, but they will soon enter it, so do not concern yourself with their fate.’
Boiling hot water is the translation of ḥamīm ānin, where ḥamīm denotes hot water and ānin means extreme hotness.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٤٥
(55:45) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ ٤٦
(55:46) For him who fears his Lord’s standing will be two gardens.
Now the Qur’an turns to the description of the felicitous and their condition in the hereafter, beginning with the fact that they ‘fear their Lord’s standing.’ Standing is a translation of maqām, which is an infinitive verb attached to its doer. Here, this signifies God standing over them with their deeds, which refers to His all-encompassing knowledge of what they did, His preserving of it, and His recompensing them according to it—as He says elsewhere, it is He who stands over every soul with what it earns ().
It is also possible that maqām is a noun of place and that the possessive construct used here signifies that this standing belongs to God. In this case, it denotes God’s standing and position in relation to His servants; that God is their Lord who looks after their affairs, and as part of looking after their affairs, He sent divine messengers who used their tongues to summon them to faith and good deeds. Another part of looking after their affairs is that He decreed that He would recompense them for whatever good or evil they did in this life and told them that His knowledge encompasses their deeds fully, that He is all-hearing of what they say, and that He is all-seeing of what they do, and that He is most-subtle, well-aware.
Fear (khawf) of God might mean fearing His punishment for disbelieving in Him or for disobeying Him, and the logical corollary of this would be that the worship of those who worship Him was intended to protect themselves from His punishment rather than being purely for His sake. This worship is that of a slave serving their master—they obey out of fear of chastisement. Equally, the goal of those who worship God out of desire for His reward is to gratify themselves rather than purely seeking His countenance. This worship is that of a merchant—as we find narrated in tradition, part of which we have already discussed previously.
However, the fear mentioned in this verse appears to be distinct from the kind of fear we have just mentioned, as the fear of punishment is not the same as the fear of God standing over His servant with what they have done or fearing His position in relation to His servant, as this is a special kind of feeling that belongs to those who harbour only humility and submissiveness before God’s greatness and tremendousness, and who display their lowliness and abasement before His absolute might and majesty.
Worshipping God while fearing Him in this sense means humbling oneself before Him because God is the Lord of majesty and honour, not because you are afraid of His punishment or desirous of His reward, but because you are acting out of sincere and heartfelt devotion, seeking only His countenance. This is the meaning of the fear which God attributes to His noble angels, for angels do not sin and are therefore already safe from being punished for disobeying Him or contravening His ordinances: They fear their Lord above them ().
From the above, it becomes clear that those who fear the standing of their Lord in this verse are the truly devoted (ahl al-ikhlāṣ) who submit themselves before His grandeur and worship Him for no other reason than the fact that He is God, not because they are afraid of His punishment or because they desire His reward. It is not unlikely that this group of people are the same that He refers to as ‘the Foremost Ones’ (sābiqūn) in the verses: ‘you will be three groups… and the Foremost Ones are the Foremost Ones: they are the ones brought near’ ().
Why does God say ‘two gardens’ (jannatān)? Some have said it is because one of the gardens is a person’s home and the place in which they are visited by their loved ones, while the other is the home of their spouse and their servants. Others have said that these are the two gardens of a person’s palace: one on its inside and the other on its outside. Some have said that these two gardens are two homes between which an inhabitant of paradise moves back and forth and, in doing so, gains the full enjoyment of paradise. Still others have said that one of these gardens is a garden given in recompense for their beliefs and the other is a garden given in recompense for their good deeds. Some have said that one of the gardens is given for their doing of good deeds and the other is given for their avoidance of sins. Others have said that one of the gardens is corporeal and the other is spiritual. However, as should be obvious, none of these opinions have any evidence to support them.
It has also been suggested that one of these gardens is given as a reward (thawāb) and the other as a grace (faḍl), and this could be deduced from the verse: There they will have whatever they wish, and with Us there is yet more (), as we have already discussed in our commentary on it.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٤٧
(55:47) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
ذَوَاتَا أَفْنَانٍ ٤٨
(55:48) Both abounding in branches
Branches is a translation of afnān, which can be read as either the plural of fann or the plural of fanan. In the first instance, fann signifies ‘species’ or ‘variety,’ in which case the verse means that these gardens abound in different varieties of fruit and the like thereof. In the latter instance, fanan refers to ‘a supple and pliant branch,’ which would signify that these gardens are full of trees with supple branches.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٤٩
(55:49) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
فِيهِمَا عَيْنَانِ تَجْرِيَانِ ٥٠
(55:50) In both of them will be two flowing springs’
The fact that the phrase ‘two flowing springs’ is left indefinite and ambiguous serves to magnify the importance of these springs.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٥١
(55:51) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
فِيهِمَا مِنْ كُلِّ فَاكِهَةٍ زَوْجَانِ ٥٢
(55:52) In both of them will be two kinds of every fruit
This means two types. Some have suggested this means one type that was known to people while they were alive in this world and a type they have never seen before during their worldly lives. Other interpretations have been offered as well. However, none of these have any evidence to support them.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٥٣
(55:53) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
مُتَّكِئِينَ عَلَىٰ فُرُشٍ بَطَائِنُهَا مِنْ إِسْتَبْرَقٍ ۚ وَجَنَى الْجَنَّتَيْنِ دَانٍ ٥٤
(55:54) Reclining on beds lined with green brocade. And the fruit of the two gardens will be near at hand.
Beds is a translation of furush (sing. firāsh); lined is a translation of baṭāʾin (sing. baṭāna), literally signifying the interior or inside of something as opposed to its exterior (zahāra, pl. zahāʾir); brocade is a translation of istabraq, meaning thick silk. According to Majmaʿ al-bayān, this verse mentions the interior but not the exterior of these beds because the fact that they have an interior indicates that they must also have an exterior, and if the interior is made with brocade, then the exterior must be made of something even more luxurious.
Fruit is a translation of janā, signifying fruit that has been harvested. Near at hand is a translation of dānin, which is the active participle of danuww, meaning close at hand. In other words, the fruit harvested from the two gardens will be close by.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٥٥
(55:55) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
فِيهِنَّ قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنْسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلَا جَانٌّ ٥٦
(55:56) In them are maidens of restrained glances, whom no human has touched before, nor jinn.
The pronoun hinna (feminine plural) is used in the phrase ‘in them’ (fī hinna) to refer to these beds. However, it could also refer to the gardens of paradise, as each and every one of God’s friends has two of them. Ṭarf literally means ‘eyelid’ and their being ‘of restrained glances’ is that they are satisfied with their spouses and do not desire anyone else.
Whom no human has touched before, nor jinn means that they have never been married or had intercourse with anyone before their spouses in paradise.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٥٧
(55:57) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
كَأَنَّهُنَّ الْيَاقُوتُ وَالْمَرْجَانُ ٥٨
(55:58) As though they were rubies and corals
Meaning in their purity of their color, splendor, and brightness.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٥٩
(55:59) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ ٦٠
(55:60) Is the requital of goodness anything but goodness?
This is a rhetorical question that is intended to illustrate why God has given each of the inhabitants of paradise two gardens filled with all manner of blessings and bounties. It shows that God grants them this goodness as a recompense for the goodness they did because they feared the standing of their Lord.
This verse shows that whatever they have been given of paradise and its blessings is a recompense for their deeds. As for what is gleaned from other verses, namely that God grants them blessings in excess (faḍl) of their just desserts, this is not addressed in the present verse unless we were to say that goodness (iḥsān) is only complete if it exceeds the goodness done by the doer of good. In this case, goodness in the phrase but goodness automatically includes this excess.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٦١
(55:61) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
وَمِنْ دُونِهِمَا جَنَّتَانِ ٦٢
(55:62) Beneath these two, there will be two other gardens.
The phrase these two refers to the two gardens already described in the above verses of this chapter. ‘Beneath these two’ (min dūnihimā) means at a lower level to them and at a lesser degree of divine grace and nobility, even if they are similar to the two aforementioned gardens in terms of their blessings and bounties. As we have already mentioned, the first pair of gardens were for the people of devotion and sincerity to God who feared the standing of their Lord. Therefore, the two gardens referenced in this verse are for believers of a lower rank, for example those who worshipped God out of fear of hell or out of desire for paradise, and these are known as the Companions of the Right (aṣḥāb al-yamīn).
It is said that ‘beneath these two’ (min dūnihimā) means ‘close to them,’ in which case the context suggests that these two gardens also belong to the owners of the two gardens described above. In fact, some have claimed that these two gardens are actually superior to the ones just mentioned and that the qualities assigned to them are more praiseworthy.
If you ponder on what we presented above regarding the meaning of fear the station of his Lord and the verses showing the people of paradise are of two varieties— Those Brought Near (al-muqarrabūn), who are the people of devotion and sincerity, and the Companions of the Right (aṣḥāb al-yamīn)—you will see the strength of our interpretation of these verses.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٦٣
(55:63) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
مُدْهَامَّتَانِ ٦٤
(55:64) Dark green
This denotes a deep green color, approaching black, which reflects the verdancy of the trees.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٦٥
(55:65) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
فِيهِمَا عَيْنَانِ نَضَّاخَتَانِ ٦٦
(55:66) In both of them will be two gushing springs
Meaning, they rush forth forcefully from their source.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٦٧
(55:67) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
فِيهِمَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَنَخْلٌ وَرُمَّانٌ ٦٨
(55:68) ‘In both of them will be fruits, date palms and pomegranates.’
The words ‘fruits’ and ‘pomegranates’ mean ‘fruit trees’ and ‘pomegranate trees,’ as indicating by the use of the word nakhl (‘date palm,’ rather than ‘date’).
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٦٩
(55:69) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
فِيهِنَّ خَيْرَاتٌ حِسَانٌ ٧٠
(55:70) In them are maidens good and lovely
The use of the plural pronoun hinna (instead of the dual, humā) in them (fī hinna) refers to the gardens insofar as these two gardens are one pair among many. Some have said the plural reflects the fact that this refers to all four gardens, while others have said that it refers to the fruit and pomegranate trees and date palms.
The word khayr (good) is usually used for abstract ideas, while ḥasan (‘lovely’) tends to be used for tangible forms. Therefore, referring to these maidens as khayrāt ḥisān (‘good and lovely’) means that they are beautiful in their manners and beautiful in their appearance.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٧١
(55:71) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
حُورٌ مَقْصُورَاتٌ فِي الْخِيَامِ ٧٢
(55:72) Houris secluded in pavilions
Khiyām (pavilions) is the plural of khayma (tent) and denotes an encampment. The fact that the houris are described as ‘secluded’ (maqṣūrāt) indicates that they are chaste and not licentious; none have access to them save their partners.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٧٣
(55:73) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنْسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلَا جَانٌّ ٧٤
(55:74) Whom no human has touched before, nor jinn
The meaning of this has already been discussed, above.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٧٥
(55:75) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
مُتَّكِئِينَ عَلَىٰ رَفْرَفٍ خُضْرٍ وَعَبْقَرِيٍّ حِسَانٍ ٧٦
(55:76) Reclining on green cushions and lovely carpets
In the dictionary al-Ṣiḥāḥ, we read: ‘Rafraf (translated as ‘cushions’) is a green fabric used for seating.’ It is also said that rafraf refers to pillows, and there are other possible meanings offered besides these. Khuḍr (green) is the plural of akhḍar and is an adjective for rafraf. As for ʿabqarī (translated as ‘carpets’), it is said to mean a carpet, a pile rug, woven fabric, or brocade.
فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ ٧٧
(55:77) So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?
See the explanation of verse 13.
تَبَارَكَ اسْمُ رَبِّكَ ذِي الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَامِ ٧٨
(55:78) Blessed is the name of your Lord, the Lord of majesty and honour!
This verse praises God for the blessings and bounties with which He has filled the two creations of this world and the hereafter, and the boons sent that come down from His divine presence through His all-encompassing mercy. From the above, it is clear that the ‘name’ (ism) meant here is All-beneficent (al-Raḥmān), with which this chapter begins. ‘Blessed’ (tabāruk) means to abound in good things and to overflow with blessings.
Therefore, Blessed is the Name of your Lord means ‘Blessed is God, who is named the All-beneficent, for His abundant blessings.’
And the Lord of majesty and honour refers to the fact He is also known by the Beautiful Names, which stem from His divine attributes that describe His beauty and His majesty. This is because the attributes of an agent are visible in their actions and cause those actions. In this way, these attributes are bound to the agent through the act. Hence, God created the creation and instituted the cosmic order because He is the originator (badīʿ), the creator (khāliq), and the initiator (mubdiʾ); and He did all of this proficiently because He is all-knowing (ʿalīm) and most-wise (ḥakīm). He requites the obedient with good things because He is loving (wadūd), appreciative (shakūr), forgiving (ghafūr), and merciful (raḥīm), while he punishes the sinners because He is the avenger (muntaqim) and severe in punishment (shadīd al-ʿiqāb).
Therefore, the Lord—who is praised for His all-encompassing mercy—is described as the Lord of majesty and honour in order to highlight His Beautiful Names (asmāʾ al-ḥusnāʾ) and lofty attributes (ṣifāt al-ʿulyāʾ) and the fact that these play a role in the sending down of blessings and good things from Him, and that the gifts and bounties He bestows emanate from these beautiful names and lofty attributes.
Examining Narrations
- In Majmaʿ al-bayān, we read a report which says: ‘He will surround the creation with the angels and with a tongue of flame, then they will be told: “O company of jinn and humans… there will be unleashed upon you a flash of fire”’ ().
Author’s comments: A tradition with the same meaning has also been narrated from Masʿada b. Sadaqa, from Kulayb, from Abī ʿAbd Allāh (Imām al-Ṣādiq).
- In al-Kāfī, al-Kulaynī narrates via a chain of narrators leading to Dāwūd al-Raqqī, from Abū ʿAbd Allāh (Imām al-Ṣādiq), concerning the verse: ‘For him who fears his Lord’s standing will be two gardens’ (). He says: ‘Whoever knows that God sees them, hears what they say, and knows whatever they do, whether good or evil, and that knowledge prevents them from doing immoral deeds, that is someone who fears their Lord’s standing and forbids themselves from following desire.’
- In al-Durr al-manthūr, Ibn Abī Shayba, Aḥmad, Ibn Manīʿ, and al-Ḥakīm in Nawādir al-uṣūl, and al-Nasāʾī, al-Bazzār, Abū Yaʿlā, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, Ibn al-Mundhir, al-Ṭabarānī, and Ibn Mardawayh all narrate the following account from Ibn Abī Dardāʾ: The Prophet recited the verse: “For him who fears his Lord’s standing will be two gardens,” and I asked: “Even if they fornicate or steal, O Messenger of God?” The Prophet recited again: “For him who fears his Lord’s standing will be two gardens,” I asked again: “Even if they fornicate or steal?” He said: “Yes, however much Abū Dardāʾ might disagree!”’
Author’s comments: There is an issue with this narration, for fear (khawf) of God’s standing is incompatible with the commission of these mortal sins. In fact, a tradition that runs directly contrary to this narration is transmitted from the very same Abū al-Dardāʾ in al-Durr al-manthūr. Ibn Jarīr and Ibn al-Mundhir relate from Yasār, a freedman of Muʿāwiya’s family, from Abū al-Dardāʾ, concerning the verse ‘For him who fears his Lord’s standing will be two gardens.’ He said: ‘Someone asked: “O Abū al-Dardāʾ! Even if they fornicate and steal?” He said: “Someone who fears the standing of their Lord does not fornicate and they do not steal.”’
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, concerning the verse ‘of restrained glances’ (), we read: ‘Gazes are restrained from the houris because of the brilliance of their luminance.’
- In al-Durr al-manthūr, Ibn Mardawayh narrates from Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad, from his father, from his grandfather, from the Prophet, concerning the verse ‘of restrained glances’: ‘They do not look except to their spouses.’
- In Majmaʿ al-Bayān, regarding the verse ‘As though they were rubies and corals’ (), there is a tradition which states that the marrow of a damsel of paradise’s leg can be seen beneath seventy layers of silk.
Author’s comments: There are a number of narrations that convey a similar meaning.
- In Tafsīr al-ʿAyyāshī, with a chain of narration going back to ʿAlī b. Sālim, who said: ‘I heard Abū ʿAbd Allāh say: “There is a verse in the Book of God that decides every judgement.” I said: “What is it?” He said: “God’s saying: ‘Is the requital of goodness anything but goodness?’ (). It applies to the disbeliever and the believer, the virtuous and the wicked. Whoever does good to another should be requited with goodness, but to requite goodness does not mean to merely do what the other person has done, for if you do as they did, then they have done more than you by virtue of going first.”’
- And in Majmaʿ al-bayān, regarding the verse ‘Is the requital of goodness anything but goodness?’, there is a narration in which Anas b. Mālik says: ‘The Messenger of God recited this verse and said: “Do you know what your Lord says?” The people said: “God and His Messenger know better!” He said: “Surely your Lord says: ‘Is the recompense of those We have blessed with divine unity (tawḥīd) anything but paradise?’”’
- And in Tafsīr al-Qummī, regarding the same verse, we read: ‘Is the recompense of those I have blessed with knowledge (maʿrifa) anything but paradise?’
Author’s comments: The narration is transmitted from the Prophet and the Imams of the Prophet’s Family and in the Tawḥīd it is traced to Jaʿfar b. Muḥammad, from his forefathers, from ʿAlī, from the Prophet. It is worded thus: ‘Surely God almighty says: “The reward of those I have blessed with divine unity is nothing but paradise.”’ In ʿIlal al-sharāʾiʿ it is traced back to al-Ḥasan b. ʿAlī from the Prophet, and it is worded as follows: ‘Is the recompense of the one who says “there is no god but God” anything but paradise?’
The narration appears with a variety of wordings in al-Durr al-manthūr via different chains of narration from the Prophet, but all of them reproduce the wording of ‘those I have blessed,’ which shows that even the good done by the servant is, in reality, another form of good done by God for them.
- In Majmaʿ al-bayān, concerning the verse ‘Beneath these two, there will be two other gardens,’ it is narrated from al-ʿAlāʾ b. Sayyāba, who told Abū ʿAbd Allāh: ‘People are amazed by our belief that people will come out of hell and enter paradise, and they ask us: “Will these inmates of hell really be in the company of God’s friends in paradise?”’ He said: ‘O ʿAlī, God says: “Beneath these two, there will be two other gardens.” So they will not be with God’s friends.’
- In al-Durr al-manthūr, Ibn Jarīr, Ibn Abī Ḥātim, and Ibn Mardawayh narrate from Abū Mūsā from the Prophet, concerning the verses: ‘For him who fears his Lord’s standing will be two gardens’ and ‘Beneath these two, there will be two other gardens,’ that he said: ‘Two gardens of gold for Those Brought Near, and two gardens of greenery for the Companions of the Right.’
Author’s comments: These two narrations above confirm what we have said previously about these verses.
- Also in al-Durr al-manthūr, al-Ṭabarānī and Ibn Mardawayh narrate from Abū Ayyūb: ‘I asked the Prophet about the verse: “Dark green” () and he said: “Two verdant gardens.”’
- In Tafsīr al-Qummī, with a chain of narrators going back to Yūnus b. Ẓibyān, from Abū ʿAbd Allāh, concerning the verse: two gushing springs (), he said: ‘Flowing copiously.’
- And also in Tafsīr al-Qummī, concerning the verse In them are maidens good and lovely, () he says: ‘Maidens who sprout like plants around the pool of Kawthar; whenever one of them is picked, another sprouts in her place.’
- In Majmaʿ al-bayān, concerning the verse In them are maidens good and lovely, we read: ‘Meaning women of good manners and beautiful faces,’ narrated by Umm Salama from the Prophet.
- And in Man lā yaḥḍuruh al-faqīh, it is narrated from al-Ṣādiq: ‘Good and lovely women of this world, and they are even more beautiful than the houris.’
- In Rawḍat al-Kāfī, it is narrated with a chain going back to al-Ḥalabī: ‘I asked Abū ʿAbd Allāh about God’s saying In them are maidens good and lovely, and he told me: “They are the righteous believing women with spiritual knowledge.”’
Author’s comments: Based on the context of the verse, there is some ambiguity about how the meaning of these two narrations can be reconciled with it.