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.