Tafsir of Surah Ar-Rahman - Verse 46

The Delight of Those Who have Taqwa in Paradise

Allah the Exalted said,

وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ

(But for him who fears the standing before his Lord,) on the Day of Resurrection,

وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَى

(And restrained himself from the desires.) (79:40), and does not indulge nor prefer this worldly life. He who knows that the Hereafter is better and more lasting, so he fulfills what his Lord ordered him and stays away from His prohibitions, then he will earn two gardens from his Lord on the Day of Resurrection. Al-Bukhari recorded that `Abdullah bin Qays said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said,

«جَنَّتَانِ مِنْ فِضَّةٍ آنِيَتُهُمَا وَمَا فِيهِمَا، وَجَنَّتَانِ مِنْ ذَهَبٍ آنِيَتُهُمَا وَمَا فِيهِمَا، وَمَا بَيْنَ الْقَوْمِ وَبَيْنَ أَنْ يَنْظُرُوا إِلَى رَبِّهِمْ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ إِلَّا رِدَاءُ الْكِبْرِيَاءِ عَلَى وَجْهِهِ فِي جَنَّةِ عَدْن»

(There are two gardens made of silver -- their vessels and all that they contain. And there are two gardens made of gold -- their vessels and all that they contain. And nothing stands between the people in the `Adn Garden and looking at their Lord, the Exalted and Most Honored, but the covering of pride before His Face.) The Group, with the exception of Abu Dawud, collected this via the Hadith of `Abdul-`Aziz. This Ayah is general and applies to both humans and Jinns, providing proof that those among the Jinns who believe and have Taqwa will enter Paradise, for Allah is reminding the Ath-Thaqalayn of this favor, as He says;

وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ جَنَّتَانِ فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

(But for him who fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens. Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny) Then He describes these two gardens, by saying,

ذَوَاتَآ أَفْنَانٍ

(With Afnan.) their trees have beautiful young branches that hold and produce every type of ripened beautiful fruit,

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

(Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny) `Ata' Al-Khurasani and several others said that Afnan means spreading branches of trees that reach the branches of other trees,

فِيهِمَا عَيْنَانِ تَجْرِيَانِ

(In them (both) will be two springs flowing.) free to water these trees and branches that produce all kinds of fruits,

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

(Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny) Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that one of these springs is called Tasnim, and the other called As-Salsabil. `Atiyah said that the water of one of these springs is from non-standing water and the other from wine that gives delight to those who drink it. Allah's statement,

فِيهِمَا مِن كُلِّ فَـكِهَةٍ زَوْجَانِ

(In them (both) will be every kind of fruit in pairs.), of every type and kind of fruit, that which they knew before, and better, and that which they did not know before. Therein, there are delights that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard and no heart has ever imagined,

فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ

(Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny) Ibrahim bin Al-Hakam bin Aban said that his father narrated from `Ikrimah that Ibn `Abbas said, "There is not a fruit that exists in this life, sweet or bitter, but it exists in Paradise, even the colo- cynth." Ibn `Abbas also said, "There is nothing in the world that is in the Hereafter except in name." Meaning there is such an enormous difference and contrast between the two in enjoyment and value.

The Delight of the Righteous in Paradise

The foregoing verses spoke of the horrible punishments to be faced by the disbelievers. In the current set of verses we are told about the rewards and bounties reserved for the righteous believers. The verse 46 speaks of two Gardens that are exclusively reserved 'for those who are fearful of having to stand before their Lord'. This phrase refers to those fortunate believers who are, at all times, concerned about reckoning on the Day of Judgment and, as a result, keep away from all sorts of sins under all circumstances. Obviously, these are the people who enjoy special nearness to Allah. In verse [ 62] below we read: وَمِن دُونِهِمَا جَنَّتَانِ (And lesser than these two, there are two other gardens... 55:62) This verse does not specify the class of righteous believers who will receive these gardens. However, the phrase مِن دُونِهِمَا min dunihima ('and lesser than these two' ) indicates that the Gardens mentioned in verse [ 62] are for the general body of believers who are lesser in their spiritual attainment than the foremost believers who are granted special nearness to Allah.

The Qur'anic exegetes have explained the two sets of pairs of Gardens in other ways as well. Here we have adopted the most plausible and preferable explanation: that is, the first two Gardens are reserved exclusively for the foremost believers who are granted special nearness to Allah; and the second two Gardens are reserved for the general body of believers. That the two Gardens mentioned in Verse 62 are inferior to the first two is supported by authentic Traditions. Bayan-ul-Qur'an cites the Prophetic Tradition from Ad-Durr-ul-Manthur to the effect that while interpreting verses [ 46] and [ 62] the Holy Prophet ﷺ said: جَنَّتَانِ مِن ذَھَبِ لِلمُقَرَّبِینَ وَ جَنَّتَانِ مِن وَرَقِ لِاَصحٰبِ الیَمِینِ "There are two Gardens made of gold for believers who are granted special nearness to Allah; and there are two Gardens made of silver for the People of the Right [ that is, for general body of righteous believers ]." Also, it is recorded in Ad-Durr-ul-Manthur that Sayyidna Bara' Ibn ` Azib ؓ said, اَلعَینَانِ الَّتِی تَجرِیَان ٰخَیرُ مِّنَ النَّضَّخَتَین . The two springs that are flowing freely [ in the first two Gardens ] are better than the two other springs that are mentioned as 'gushing forth' (in the second two gardens). In verse [ 50] springs (in the first two gardens) promised to the believers have been described as flowing freely and ceaselessly تَجرِیَان [ tajriyan ] while in verse [ 66] the springs (in the second two gardens) are described as 'gushing forth' نَّضَّخَتَین [ nadakhatan ]. The quality of 'gushing forth' is the characteristic of all springs, but the quality of 'flowing' is an additional characteristic of specific springs. This is the concise description of all four springs that the inmates of Paradise will be given.

Related Considerations

In Verse 46, the phrase, وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَ‌بِّهِ (for the one who is fearful of having to stand before his Lord...55:46) refers, according to most exegetes of the Qur'an, to standing before Allah on the Day of Resurrection to give the account of one's deeds. The word 'fearful' signifies that he is mindful under all conditions, whether in public or in private, that one day he has to appear in the Court of Allah to give an account of his deeds. Evidently such a person will never go near the sinful acts.

Other exegetes, like Qurtubi and others, interpret this to mean: 'the one who is fearful of the Station of His Lord'. That is, he is mindful of the High Station of Allah whereby He is watchful and keeps guard over his words and deeds, overt or covert. All his movements and activities are known to Him. This explanation is close to the previous explanation, in that Allah's keeping guard over him will keep him away from sins.

There are two classes of paradise. The Paradise with two gardens mentioned in these verses is that of the first category. In this Paradise, royal fare will be provided. Such bounties will be available to those who were so overwhelmed by thoughts of God that in the present world itself they made themselves stand, as if in the august presence of God. They related to God on the level of Ehsan, that is, experiencing the presence of God in this world itself.