Verse 21

18:32; 55:55; 76:14.

44:55; 56:23.

Important Words:

زوجنا (We shall consort). زوج الشیء بالشیء (zawwaja) means, he paired or coupled a thing with a thing; united it as its fellow or like. یزوجھم ذکرانا واناثاً means, He mixes them as males and females; He makes them pairs, males or females; He makes them in different sorts or sexes (42:51). اذا النفوس زوجت means, when the souls shall be united or when people are brought together. زوج means, any sort of thing; sort or species; a woman’s husband or a man’s wife; mate, consort, comrade; class. أزواج (plural) means, species; classes or groups; mates; pairs; etc. (Lane, Aqrab, Taj & Mufradat). احشروا الذین ظلموا و أزواجھم means, assemble those who acted wrongly along with their companions (37:23).

حور is the plural of both أحور and حوراء which are derived from حار. They say حار الثوب i.e. he washed the cloth and made it white. أحور (fem. حوراء) means, a man whose eyes are characterized by the quality termed حور (hawarun), i.e. intense whiteness of the white of the eye and intense blackness of the black thereof, with intense whiteness or fairness of the rest of the person. أحور also means, pure or clear intellect. مایعیش بأحور is said of a person whose affairs are not clean (Lane, Mufradat & Taj).

عین is the plural of both أعین (a‘yan) and عیناء which are derived from عین (‘ayina) which means, he had wide black eyes. أعین and عیناء respectively mean, man and woman having black, wide and large eyes. عیناء also means, a good or beautiful saying or word (Lane, Mufradat & Taj).

Commentary:

Description of the rewards and punishments of Heaven and Hell as given in some Quranic Surahs, particularly in Ar-Rahman, Al-Waqi‘ah and in the present Surah call for an explanatory note. The following points may be borne in mind for an appreciation of life after death:

1. According to the Quran, God’s handiwork as manifested in the creation of the universe, and in that of man placed at its centre, shows that man’s life on earth has a purpose higher and nobler and beyond mere eating and drinking or leading a more or less circumscribed existence (23:115-116).

2. There is a life after death and that life is the continuation of the life which man leads in this world. One’s heaven or hell begins from this very world; death only opening up vast and unknown vistas of ever-expanding spiritual progress.

3. As soon as the human soul leaves this tabernacle of clay, it is given a new body, because the soul can make no progress or enjoy no bliss or feel no pain without a body. Its development and progress depend upon its permanent connection with a body. The new body is as fine and delicate as the soul was in this world. In fact, it is the very soul in a new transformation which after having passed through certain experiences develops a new soul which possesses far higher and finer and more delicate faculties and perception than the soul from which it emanates. To this new soul the old soul serves as a body and man is able to perceive things through his new senses which he could perceive formerly only through the soul, and is able to partake of the pains and pleasures of the next world—the present body of clay being quite unfit for the new experience. That is why the Quran says, "And no soul knows what joy of the eyes is kept hidden for them, as a reward for their good works" (32:18). And the Holy Prophet explained this Quranic verse in a well-known saying. viz. "No eye has seen the blessings of Paradise, nor has any ear heard of them nor can human mind conceive of them" (Bukhari, Kitab bad’ul-khalq).

4. Life after death is only an image and manifestation of the present life and the rewards and punishments of the next world would be only embodiments and images of the actions done in this life. Heaven and Hell are not new material worlds which come from outside. It is true that they shall be visible and palpable, call them material, if you please, but they are only embodiments of the spiritual facts of this life. The spiritual torture of this world has been represented in the Quran as a physical punishment in the next. The chains to be put round the necks of disbelievers, for instance, represent the desires of this world which keep a man’s head bent upon the earth, and it is these desires that shall assume the shape of chains. Similarly, the entanglements of this world shall be seen as fetters on the feet in the next. The heart-burning of this world shall likewise be clearly seen as flames of burning fire, and the love which a believer feels for his Lord and Creator will appear embodied as wine in the life to come, etc. Thus there will be gardens, streams, milk, honey, flesh of birds, wine, fruits, thrones, companions and many other things in Paradise; but they will not be the things of this world but the embodiments of spiritual facts of the life of this world.

5. There will be no sin, levity, or vain talk in Paradise, no pleasures of the flesh as we understand them, but all-pervading peace and pleasure of God (56:26-27). In view of this Quranic conception of Paradise, it is the height of ignorance or blind prejudice to suggest that the Quran promises a sensuous Paradise to its followers.

Moreover, the words زوجنا and عین and as explained under Important Words above, present no difficulty and, in view of these explanations, the verse may mean that in Paradise the righteous servants of God will be made to live with pure and clean companions whose faces will be shining with radiant spiritual beauty; or they will have as companions fair maidens, i.e. their wives.

Besides, the promise, made to the righteous in this ands the following verses, was literally fulfilled when the Muslims conquered vast territories of the Byzantine and Iranian Empires, and all these things fell into their hands and thus the promise constituted an incontrovertible testimony to the fact that the promise about the next life is also true.