Ruku 468 ع

79:41-42.

Commentary:

The foregoing verses have dealt with the very important subject, viz. that progress and advance in material sciences which makes man devote his whole attention and effort to the pursuit of physical pleasures and comforts and leads him away from God, results in loss of mental poise and peace which in the Quranic terminology is also called Hell—another name for international conflicts and wars. In the present and the following few verses we are told that pursuit of spiritual knowledge and higher moral values gives man perfect contentment and equanimity in this life and in the Hereafter.

The "two Gardens" referred to in the present verse may signify peace of mind which is the result of leading a good life and freedom from gnawing cares and anxieties which come in the wake of life spent in the pursuit of material pleasures and comforts. One Paradise consists in giving up one’s desires for the sake of God in this world and the other in being blessed with God’s pleasure in the next. A true believer perpetually basks in the sun of God’s grace in this life which cares cannot disturb. This is Paradise upon earth which is granted to a God-fearing man and in which he constantly dwells; the promised Heaven in the next world is only an image of the present Paradise, being an embodiment of the spiritual blessings which such a man enjoys in this life. It is to this paradisiacal state of a true believer that the two Quranic verses refer, viz. "We are your friends in this life and in the Hereafter," (41:32) and "for them are glad tidings in the present life and also in the Hereafter" (10:65).

The "two Gardens" may also refer to the mighty Byzantine and Iranian Empires of which the conquest was promised to the Muslims. The Holy Prophet in a vision was given the keys of the palaces of the Emperors of Constantinople and Iran. The vision was literally fulfilled during the Caliphate of ‘Umar when these countries were conquered by Muslim armies. The fact that in a hadith, Saihan and Jaihan, the two rivers of Iran; and Furat (the Euphrates) and Nil (the Nile) have been spoken of as the rivers of Paradise (Muslim), lends powerful support to the view that the "Gardens" spoken of in the verse were the fertile valleys watered by these two sets, each of two rivers.

Commentary:

Just as in the present life true believers had undergone many kinds of sacrifice for the sake of their Lord and had done all sorts of good and righteous deeds, so in the next life those sacrifices and good works will assume the form of flowers and fruits of various hues and tastes. This seems to be the meaning of this verse.

Commentary:

The "two fountains running freely" may be the spiritual embodiments of حقوق اللّٰه (the obligations owed to God) and حقوق العباد (the obligations a Muslim owes to his fellow beings) which the believers had fully and faithfully discharged in this life. The discharge of these two obligations would assume the form of two fountains in the Hereafter. As a true believer ceaselessly continues to discharge these obligations, the fountains have been depicted as constantly flowing.

44:56; 52:23; 56:21.

Commentary:

Again the word زوجان (pairs) may spiritually represent two kinds of righteous works of the believers—(1) those they had done for their own spiritual advancement and (2) those services which they had rendered to their fellow beings.

18:32; 52:21; 76:14; 83:24.

Important Words:

جنا (ripe fruits) is derived from جنی. They say جنی الثمرة i.e. he gathered or plucked the fruit from the tree while it was fresh.جنی العلیٰ means, he acquired eminence or nobility. جنا means, whatever is gathered or plucked from the tree while fresh; fruit just gathered or plucked; fruit ready to be plucked; ripe fruit (Lane).

Commentary:

Three times the words "two Gardens" have been used in this Surah. This is to emphasize that apart from the great blessings and boons of Paradise in the next world, true believers will have all the good things of this world also. The Surah was revealed early at Mecca when only a few persons had accepted Islam and even those few were very poor and without worldly means and were being harried and harassed and most of them had to take refuge in Abyssinia from the bitter persecution of the Quraish. It was then that the promise was made to them that one day they would recline on couches placed on rich carpets. This Divine promise was literally fulfilled in the lifetime of the very Muslims who, while at Mecca, did not know where to lay their heads.

The "inner linings being of thick brocade" implies a beautiful hint that the inner-self of a believer is purer and more beautiful than his outer-self.

37:49; 38:53.

Commentary:

In the foregoing verses mention was made of gardens, couches, fruits, etc. that believers will get in the "two Gardens." In order to complete their peace and happiness, they will also enjoy the company of good companions. And there can be no better companion for a person than a beautiful and virtuous wife. The Quranic Paradise is not conclusively reserved for righteous men. Righteous women will be equally entitled to it.

It will be noticed that purity of heart of the companions of believers is given precedence over the beauty of their persons referred to in v.59. The expression قاصرات الطرف signifies that their whole attention would be devoted to God and they would not even cast a look at any other thing beside their Lord and Creator, and far from their bodies being touched by any man, even impure thoughts will not find access to their hearts, the word جن also signifying those invisible things that excite carnal passions in the mind. It is relevant to state here again that according to Islamic conception the blessings of Paradise would resemble the pleasures of the life on earth. There will be palaces, gardens, rivers, trees, fruits, wives, children, friends, etc., only the nature of these things would be different from that of the things of this world. They would be so highly spiritual that the human mind cannot conceive of them. But their existence cannot be denied. See also 32:18 & 52:21.

Incidentally, the verse repudiates the false idea that women will not go to Paradise.

56:24.

Commentary:

Whereas in v.57 above purity of mind and heart of the consorts of believers in Paradise has been mentioned, the verse under comment speaks of the beauty of their persons. That women mentioned in these verses are the virtuous wives of believers in this life, is apparent from a well-known saying of the Holy Prophet, viz. نساء الدنیا أفضل من الحور العین i.e. the believing women of this world are superior to the huris of the next.

Commentary:

How adequately and beautifully the blessings of Paradise have been summed up in this brief verse! The word "goodness" is inclusive and fully expressive of all the conceivable favours that will be bestowed upon believers in the next life, and what greater good there could be than the pleasure of God (رضوان اللّٰه) which believers will get in Paradise. (3:16)

According to a saying of the Holy Prophet, أحسان means, "worship God as if you are seeing Him or at least He is seeing you" (Mishkat). This means that in all his deeds and actions God is constantly before the eyes of a believer and as a reward for his actions he receives God’s pleasure—the sum total of all the blessings of Heaven.

Commentary:

The "two Gardens" mentioned in v.47, may be the Gardens of Paradise; the "two Gardens" referred to in this verse may be the gardens of this world. The Muslims were promised gardens in the next world and as a proof of the fulfilment of this Divine promise they were also promised the gardens of this world which indeed they came to possess when they conquered the fertile valleys of Syria and Iraq. But the description of the "two Gardens" mentioned in v.47 being different from that in the present verse shows that two categories of believers have been mentioned in this Surah; the believers to whom "Gardens" mentioned in v.47 have been promised seem to be of a higher spiritual status than those to whom "Gardens" mentioned in the verse under comment have been promised. A careful study of the re1evant verses clearly brings out this fact. These two classes of believers have been mentioned in the next Surah, in vv.11 and 28, respectively.

Important Words:

مدھامتان (dark green with foliage) is derived from ادھام. They say ادھام الزرع i.e. the seed produce became of a dark green colour by reason of abundance of moisture or irrigation. ادھامت الروضة means, the meadow became of a dark green colour. حدیقة مدھامة means, a walled garden, having its green inclining to black (Lane & Aqrab).

Commentary:

Whereas the "Gardens" mentioned in v. 47 above are described as "having many varieties of trees" which points to the vast variety of the good works of the believers to whom they are promised, the "Gardens" mentioned in the verse under comment are described as "dark green with foliage" which indicates the intensity of the goodness of their works.

Important Words:

نضاختان (gushing forth with water) is derived from نضخ. They say نضخ الماء i.e. the water gushed forth from the fountain or boiled forth vehemently. عین نضاخة means, a copious spring of water or a spring that gushes forth or boils forth copiously (Lane).

Commentary:

In the present verse and in v. 51۱ above two different descriptions of the fountains and springs promised to believers have been given. In v. 51 fountains promised to believers have been described as flowing freely and ceaselessly while in the present verse these springs are described as gushing forth with water. This signifies that believers to whom springs mentioned in v. 51 have been promised are of a higher spiritual status than believers to whom springs mentioned in the present verse have been promised; since believers of former category are engaged in doing good to others ceaselessly and freely without any idea or expectation of reward while those of the latter class do good works out of natural impulse but the doing of good is mainly confined to themselves.

36:58; 38:52; 43:74.

Commentary:

Whereas in the "Gardens" referred to in v. 47 are to be found fruits of every kind in pairs (v. 53) fruits in the "Garden" mentioned in this verse are of a limited variety, especially dates and pomegranates.

Commentary:

As compared with the words "good and beautiful" used with regard to the maidens in the present verse which possess only a general connotation, the words "rubies and pearls" used in v.59 above have a particular significance and are expressive of beauty of special excellence.

Commentary:

The words قاصرات الطرف (restraining their glances) in v. 57 evidently are expressive of chastity and modesty of a higher degree than the expression مقصورات فی الخیام (confined to pavilions) in the verse under comment.

See 55:55.

Commentary:

عبقری is relative noun from عبقر, a place which the Arabs asserted to be the land of the jinn; hence it is applied as an epithet to anything wondered at or admired, for the skillfulness which it exhibits, or the excellence of its manufacture and its strength; or to any work great in estimation, and delicate. It is both singular and plural and the feminine is عبقریة. They say ثیاب عبقریة i.e. clothes or garments of admirable manufacture, so called in relation to a certain town عبقر in Yemen in which clothes or garments and carpets are figured and variegated and are of the utmost beauty. Thus عبقری means, a kind of carpet variously dyed and figured; perfect or complete applied to anything; a lord or chief of men; one who has none above him and is strong. ھذا عبقری قومmeans, this is a chief or Lord of a people. The word is also applied as an epithet denoting superlativeness of any quality. ظلمعبقری means, an excessive tyranny. The Holy Prophet is reported to have related a dream, mentioning ‘Umar and said: فلم أر عبقریا یفری فریه i.e. I have not seen a chief of a people do his wonderful deed. عبقری حسان means, beautiful variegated carpets (Lane & Aqrab).

Again the words used in v. 55 about believers show that they possess a greater dignity, respect and authority than those to whom the present verse refers. With this verse the comparison between the two categories of believers specifically mentioned in the next Surah, i.e. "the foremost" (56:11) and "those on the right hand" (56:28) comes to an end.

Commentary:

It is not without significance that this verse has been used as many as 31 times in the present Surah. The Surah seems particularly to refer to the great favours and blessings which God has bestowed upon him. In view of these multifarious and multitudinous favours the repeated use of the verse seems quite appropriate. But the Surahalso speaks of the unprecedentedly destructive Divine punishment in the form of atomic wars which will overtake man if he does not repent and mend his ways. This repeated warning of an imminent danger is also a blessing in disguise.

Commentary:

The verse signifies that those who benefit by the great favours that God has bestowed upon them and walk in the path of truth and righteousness will be granted more favours by the Lord of Honour but those who, on the contrary, defy Divine laws and adopt evil ways will be punished by the Lord of Majesty.