Tafsir

The Reward of those Who believe and do Righteous Deeds

When Allah mentions the state of those who are doomed, He follows that by mentioning the blessed who believed in Allah and believed what His Messengers brought, those who did the righteous deeds that they commanded them to do. They will have Jannatu `Adn. `Adn means lasting.تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهِمُ الاٌّنْهَـرُ(wherein rivers flow beneath them,) means, from beneath its rooms and dwellings. Fir`awn said:وَهَـذِهِ الاٌّنْهَـرُ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِى(and these rivers flowing beneath me...) 43:51يُحَلَّوْنَ(they will be adorned) means, with jewelry.فِيهَا مِنْ أَسَاوِرَ مِن ذَهَبٍ(with bracelets of gold,) Allah says elsewhere:وَلُؤْلُؤاً وَلِبَاسُهُمْ فِيهَا حَرِيرٌ(and pearls and their garments therein will be of silk) 22:23.

This is explained in more detail here, where Allah says:وَيَلْبَسُونَ ثِيَابًا خُضْرًا مِّن سُنْدُسٍ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٍ(and they will wear green garments of Sundus and Istabraq.) Sundus refers to a fine garment, like a shirt and the like, and Istabraq is thick and shiny velvet.مُّتَّكِئِينَ فِيهَا عَلَى الاٌّرَائِكِ(They will be Muttaki'in therein on Ara'ik.) The word Muttaki'in implies lying down, or it was said that it means sitting with one's legs crossed, which is closer to the meaning here. In a Sahih Hadith, the Prophet said:«أَمَّا أَنَا فَلَا آكُلُ مُتَّكِئًا»(As for me, I do not eat sitting with legs crossed (Muttaki'an)). Ara'ik is the plural of Arikah, which is a bed under a canopy. And Allah knows best.نِعْمَ الثَّوَابُ وَحَسُنَتْ مُرْتَفَقاً(How good is the reward, and what an excellent place of rest (Murtafaq)!) means, how blessed is Paradise as a reward for their good deeds. And what an excellent Murtafaq means, and how good a place to dwell and rest and stay.

Previously, Allah had said of Hell,بِئْسَ الشَّرَابُ وَسَآءَتْ مُرْتَفَقًا(Terrible is the drink, and an evil place of rest (Murtafaq)!) 18:29. In a similar way, He contrasts the two (Paradise and Hell) in Surat Al-Furqan, where He says:إِنَّهَا سَآءَتْ مُسْتَقَرّاً وَمُقَاماً (Evil indeed it (Hell) is as an abode, and as a place to rest in.) 25:66. Then He mentions the qualities of the believers, then says:أُوْلَـئِكَ يُجْزَوْنَ الْغُرْفَةَ بِمَا صَبَرُواْ وَيُلَقَّوْنَ فِيهَا تَحِيَّةً وَسَلَـماً - خَـلِدِينَ فِيهَا حَسُنَتْ مُسْتَقَرّاً وَمُقَاماً (Those will be rewarded with the highest place because of their patience. Therein they shall be met with greetings and the word of peace and respect. Abiding therein excellent it is as an abode, and as a place to rest in.) 25:75-76

At this point, someone may doubt that this advice was reasonably practicable. A separate gathering for them would have not hurt. In fact, it would have made it easier to convey the message of Islam to them and equally easier for them to accept it. But, the creation of such a division would have amounted to seating the rebellious rich on a pedestal of honor, an action that could have broken the hearts of poor Muslims or dampened their courage. Allah Ta` ala, in His ultimate wisdom, would not put up with anything like this. Instead of that, the ground rule of Da'wah and Tabligh given by Him was that there should be no discrimination or distinction against or for anyone in it. Allah knows best.

Ornaments for the People of Jannah

It has been mentioned in verse 31: يُحَلَّوْنَ فِيهَا (They will be adorned therein) that men inmates of Jannah will also be adorned with bracelets of gold. The question it may bring up is that wearing ornaments is neither becoming for men, nor can these be called beauty and embellishment in any relative sense. If bracelets were put on them in Jannah, may be they make them look awful.

The answer is that embellishment and beauty are subservient to practice or custom as recognized in a society. What is considered to be embellishment and beauty in one country or region could more than often be detested in other countries and regions. And this could be the other way round as well. Similarly, something is taken to be an embellishment in a given period of time. Comes another time and it becomes a blemish. When ornaments and silk dresses will come to be established as embellishment and beauty for men of Jannah too, no one is going to feel strange with it there. That which puts restraints on us here is a law of this world which stipulates that it is not permissible for men to wear any ornament of gold, even a ring or chain for watch made of gold. Similarly, silk clothes are not permissible for men. This will not be the law of Jannah. That is a universe of existence separate from this entire universe of our experience. It cannot be imagined on the analogy of anything in and around us on this basis alone.

أولئك الذين آمنوا لهم جنات يقيمون فيها دائمًا، تجري من تحت غرفهم ومنازلهم الأنهار العذبة، يُزَيَّنون فيها بأساور الذهب، ويَلْبَسون ثيابًا ذات لون أخضر نسجت من رقيق الحرير وغليظه، يتكئون فيها على الأسِرَّة المزدانة بالستائر الجميلة، نِعْمَ الثواب ثوابهم، وحَسُنتِ الجنة منزلا ومكانًا لهم.

( تجري من تحتهم الأنهار ) أي : من تحت غرفهم ومنازلهم ، قال [ لهم ] فرعون : ( وهذه الأنهار تجري من تحتي ) [ الزخرف : 51 ] .( يحلون ) أي : من الحلية ( فيها من أساور من ذهب ) وقال في المكان الآخر : ( ولؤلؤا ولباسهم فيها حرير ) [ الحج : 23 ] وفصله هاهنا فقال : ( ويلبسون ثيابا خضرا من سندس وإستبرق ) فالسندس : ثياب رفاع رفاق كالقمصان وما جرى مجراها ، وأما الإستبرق فغليظ الديباج وفيه بريق .وقوله : ( متكئين فيها على الأرائك ) الاتكاء قيل : الاضطجاع وقيل التربع في الجلوس . وهو أشبه بالمراد هاهنا ومنه الحديث [ في ] الصحيح : " أما أنا فلا آكل متكئا " فيه القولان .والأرائك : جمع أريكة ، وهي السرير تحت الحجلة ، والحجلة كما يعرفه الناس في زماننا هذا بالباشخاناه ، والله أعلم .قال عبد الرزاق : أخبرنا معمر ، عن قتادة : ( على الأرائك ) قال : هي الحجال .

قال معمر : وقال غيره : السرر في الحجالوقوله : ( نعم الثواب وحسنت مرتفقا ) [ أي : نعمت الجنة ثوابا على أعمالهم ( وحسنت مرتفقا ) أي : حسنت منزلا ومقيلا ومقاما ، كما قال في النار : ( بئس الشراب وساءت مرتفقا ) [ الكهف : 29 ] ، وهكذا قابل بينهما في سورة الفرقان في قوله : ( إنها ساءت مستقرا ومقاما ) [ الفرقان : 66 ] ثم ذكر صفات المؤمنين فقال : ( أولئك يجزون الغرفة بما صبروا ويلقون فيها تحية وسلاما خالدين فيها حسنت مستقرا ومقاما ) [ الفرقان : 76 ، 75 ] .