Wabashshiri allatheena amanoo waAAamiloo alssalihati anna lahum jannatin tajree min tahtiha alanharu kullama ruziqoo minha min thamaratin rizqan qaloo hatha allathee ruziqna min qablu waotoo bihi mutashabihan walahum feeha azwajun mutahharatun wahum feeha khalidoona
English
Ahmed Ali
Announce to those who believe and have done good deeds, glad tidings of gardens under which rivers flow, and where, when they eat the fruits that grow, they will say: "Indeed they are the same as we were given before," so like in semblance the food would be. And they shall have fair spouses there, and live there abidingly.
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Tafseer
'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : then he mentioned the favours enjoyed by the believers in paradise, saying: (and give glad tidings unto those who believe) in muhammad (pbuh) and in the qur'an (and do good works) of obedience that bind to their lord; and it is also that this refers to doing any righteous deeds; (that theirs are gardens beneath which), trees and habitations, (rivers flow) rivers of wine, milk, honey and water; (as often as they are provided with food), whenever they are fed in paradise (of the fruit thereof) with different kinds of fruit, (they say: this is what was given us before), this is what we ate before, (and it is given to them) i.e. the food (in resemblance) as far as the colour is concerned but not the taste which is different. (there for them) in paradise (are pure spouses), pure from menses or any kind of filth, (therein), in paradise, (forever they abide) dwelling forever: never to die or be banished from it.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : and give good tidings to, inform, those who believe, who have faith in god, and perform righteous deeds, such as the obligatory and supererogatory [rituals], that theirs shall be gardens, of trees, and habitations, underneath which, that is, underneath these trees and palaces, rivers run (tajrī min tahtihā’l-anhāru), that is, there are waters in it (al-nahr is the place in which water flows [and is so called] because the water carves [yanhar] its way through it; the reference to it as ‘running’ is figurative); whensoever they are provided with fruits therefrom, that is, whenever they are given to eat from these gardens, they shall say, ‘this is what, that is, the like of what we were provided with before’, that is, before this, in paradise, since its fruits are similar (and this is evidenced by [the following statement]): they shall be given it, the provision, in perfect semblance, that is, resembling one another in colour, but different in taste; and there for them shall be spouses, of houris and others, purified, from menstruation and impurities; therein they shall abide: dwelling therein forever, neither perishing nor departing therefrom. and when the jews said, ‘why does god strike a similitude about flies, where he says, and if a fly should rob them of anything [q. 22:73] and about a spider, where he says, as the likeness of the spider [q. 29:41]: what does god want with these vile creatures? god then revealed the following:
Sahl al-Tustari
تفسير : …they shall be given it [the fruits] in perfect semblance; …and there for them shall be spouses, purified…,he replied:in paradise there are no carpets, vessels, clothes, perfume, birds or plants, nor any fruits [as we know them]. thus the semblance that the things of this world bear to those [mentioned in the verse] is no more than a coincidence in their names. so the pomegranate of this world does not in the least resemble the pomegranate in paradise, except in name. the same is the case with resemblance of the date, the jujube and other such fruits [to those of paradise]. what is intended in his saying in [perfect] semblance is only a likeness in colour, for there is a differencein taste. when in paradise the angels bring an apple to the friends of god (awliyāʾ) during the day, and then they bring them another during the night, and they ask, ‘is this one [like the other]?’ they are told, ‘taste it’, and on tasting it they experience a different taste to that of the first one. it should not be discounted from god’s ability, exalted is he, that he could make an apple taste like a pomegranate, almond or quince.’sahl continued:indeed i know one of the friends of god (awliyāʾ) who saw on the seashore a man who had before him the biggest pomegranate that there ever was. the friend of god (walī) asked him what he had before him, to which he replied, ‘it is a pomegranate that i saw in paradise. i desired it so god granted it to me, but when he placed it before me i regretted my haste for having it while still in this world.’ that man [the walī] asked, ‘may i eat some of it?’ and the man responded, ‘if you have the capacity to eat it, then do so’; upon which he grabbed the fruit from him and ate most of it. when the man saw him eating the fruit he it was astounded and said, ‘receive glad tidings of paradise, for i did not know your [spiritual] rank before you ate it; no one eats of the food of paradise in this life except the people of paradise.’then abū bakr asked sahl if the one who had eaten the pomegranate had informed him of its taste, to which he replied:he did, and its taste brings together the tastes of all fruits, and in addition it has a smoothness and coolness which is unlike any of the tastes [experienced] in this world.then abū bakr commented, ‘i have no doubt, nor does anyone who heard this story from sahl, that he himself was in fact both the possessor of that pomegranate and the one who ate it.’sahl was asked about his words:
