Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:31
Gardens of perpetual residence, which they will enter, beneath which rivers flow. They will have therein whatever they wish. Thus does Allah reward the righteous -
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted be His praise, means by His word جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ : gardens of perpetual abode. We have already set forth the disagreements of the exegetes concerning the meaning of ʿadn in what has passed, so that repetition is not needed. يَدْخُلُونَها — that is to say: they enter the gardens of ʿadn. As for the nominative case of "gardens" — there are three possibilities for it: First, that it stands as the subject of a new sentence; second, that it is governed by the back-reference in يَدْخُلُونَها ; third, that it is the predicate of "how excellent" (niʿma). When it is the predicate of niʿma, then the meaning is: How excellent is the abode of the godfearing — gardens of ʿadn. And يَدْخُلُونَها then stands as a circumstantial clause (ḥāl), as one says: "How excellent is the house — a house that you yourself inhabit." It is also possible, on this interpretation, that يَدْخُلُونَها is a further specification of "gardens of ʿadn."
His word تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ — that is to say: the rivers flow beneath her trees. لَهُمْ فِيهَا مَا يَشَاءُونَ — that is to say: for those who have acted well in this world there is, in the gardens of ʿadn, whatever they wish of that which their souls desire and that which delights their eyes. كَذَلِكَ يَجْزِي اللَّهُ الْمُتَّقِينَ — that is to say: just as Allah recompenses those who have acted well in this world with what He has described to you, O people, that He will recompense them with in the world and in the Hereafter, so does He recompense those who fear Him by fulfilling His obligations and avoiding His transgressions.
