Tafseer of The Cow · Al-Baqara · 2:25
And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds that they will have gardens [in Paradise] beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are provided with a provision of fruit therefrom, they will say, "This is what we were provided with before." And it is given to them in likeness. And they will have therein purified spouses, and they will abide therein eternally.
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.
The explanation of the saying of Allah: وَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا وَعَمِلُوا الصَّالِحَاتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ (And give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds, that for them are gardens beneath which rivers flow).
Abū Jaʿfar said: As for His exalted saying "and give good tidings (wa-bashshir)," by it He means: inform them. The root meaning of bishāra (glad tidings) is the report about something at which the one to whom the report is given rejoices, when every other bringer of reports has been preceded by it.
This is a command from Allah, the Exalted, to His prophet Muḥammad ﷺ to convey His good tidings to those of His creatures who have believed in Him and in Muḥammad ﷺ, and in that which he brought from his Lord, and who have made that belief of theirs true and have confirmed it by their righteous deeds. He therefore said to him: O Muḥammad, give good tidings to whoever has confirmed to you that you are My messenger—and that what you have brought of guidance and light comes from Me—and whoever has also made that verbal confirmation true by performing the righteous deeds that I have imposed upon him as a duty, and which I have made obligatory for him in My Book through your tongue, that for him in particular are gardens beneath which rivers flow—not for whoever has denied you and rejected what you brought him of guidance from Me and has opposed you, and not for whoever has outwardly displayed your truth and verbally acknowledged that what you brought comes from Me, but has denied it in his conviction and has not made it true through deeds. For those, the Fire, whose fuel is people and stones, is kept ready with Me. And "the gardens (al-jannāt)" is the plural of jannah, and the jannah is the orchard.
The Exalted, by mentioning the jannah, intended only that which is in the garden of trees, fruits, and plantings, not its ground—and that is why He said, mighty is His mention: "beneath which rivers flow." For it is known that He, exalted is His praise, intended only to give the report about the water of its rivers, that it flows beneath its trees, plantings, and fruits, and not that it flows beneath its ground. For when the water flows beneath the ground, the eyes of whoever is above it have no share in it, except by removing what lies between them and the water. In addition, that by which the rivers of the jannah are described is that they flow without there being channels.
509 — As Abū Kurayb related to us, saying: al-Ashjaʿī related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda, on the authority of Masrūq, who said: The date palms of the jannah stand close together, from their base to their top, and their fruits are like great jars; whenever a fruit is plucked, another returns in its place, and its water flows without a channel.
510 — Mujāhid [ibn Mūsā] related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Misʿar ibn Kidām informed us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Murra, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda, with a similar narration.
511 — And Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Mahdī related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, saying: I heard ʿAmr ibn Murra narrate, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda—and he mentioned the like of it—he said: I said to Abū ʿUbayda: Who related it to you? Then he became angry and said: Masrūq.
Since, then, it is so that its rivers flow without channels, there is no doubt that by "the gardens" is meant: the trees of the gardens, their plantings, and their fruits, not their ground, since its rivers flow above its ground and beneath its plantings and trees, in accordance with what Masrūq mentioned. And that is more fitting for the description of the jannah than that its rivers should flow beneath its ground.
Allah, exalted is His praise, by this verse intended only to encourage His servants to belief and to spur them to His worship, by informing them of what He has prepared with Himself for the people of His obedience and belief in Him, just as in the verse before it He warned them by informing them of what He has prepared—for the people of disbelief in Him, who set up alongside Him gods and equals—of His punishment for ascribing partners to Him, and for exposing themselves to His chastisement by committing disobedience to Him and abandoning obedience to Him.
The explanation of His saying, exalted is His praise: كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ رِزْقًا قَالُوا هَذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ وَأُتُوا بِهِ مُتَشَابِهًا (Whenever they are provided from it with a fruit as provision, they say: This is what we were provided with before—and it is brought to them resembling one another).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, by His saying "whenever they are provided from it (kullamā ruziqū minhā)," means: from the gardens, and the hāʾ (the pronoun of reference) returns to the gardens, but what is meant is their trees. It is as though He said: Whenever they are provided—from the trees of the gardens that Allah has prepared for those who believe and do righteous deeds in His gardens—with a fruit of its fruits as provision, they say: This is what we were provided with before.
Then the exegetes differed concerning the explanation of His saying: "This is what we were provided with before."
Some of them said: The explanation of it is: This is what we were provided with before, in the life of this world.
* Mention of who said that:
512 — Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to me, saying: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī in a report he mentioned, on the authority of Abū Mālik, and on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās—and on the authority of Murra, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, and on the authority of some people among the companions of the Prophet ﷺ, they said concerning "This is what we were provided with before": They are brought the fruit in the jannah, and when they look at it, they say: This is what we were provided with before, in the life of this world.
513 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda: "They say: This is what we were provided with before," that is to say: in the life of this world.
514 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā ibn Maymūn, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "They say: This is what we were provided with before," they say: how much this resembles it.
515 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
516 — Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said: "They say: This is what we were provided with before," in the life of this world; he said: "and it is brought to them resembling one another," they recognize it.
Abū Jaʿfar said: And others said: The explanation of it is rather: This is what we were provided with before of the fruits of the jannah, on account of the strong resemblance of one to another in color and taste. And among the arguments of those who make this statement is: that of the fruits of the jannah, whenever something of it is plucked, another like it returns in its place.
517 — As Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Ibn Mahdī related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, saying: I heard ʿAmr ibn Murra narrate, on the authority of Abū ʿUbayda, he said: The date palms of the jannah stand close together, from their base to their top, and their fruits are like great jars; whenever a fruit of it is plucked, another returns in its place.
They said: It thus resembled one another for the inhabitants of the jannah, because that which returned is, in all its meanings, the likeness of that which was plucked and eaten. They said: And that is why Allah, exalted is His praise, said: "and it is brought to them resembling one another," on account of the resemblance of the whole of it in all its meanings.
And some of them said: Rather they said: "This is what we were provided with before," on account of the resemblance to what came before it in color, even though it differs from it in taste.
* Mention of who said that:
518 — Al-Qāsim ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn ibn Dāwūd related to us, saying: a shaykh from al-Miṣṣīṣa related to us, on the authority of al-Awzāʿī, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Abī Kathīr, he said: To one of them is brought the dish and he eats from it, then another is brought to him and he says: This is what was brought to us before. Then the angel says: Eat, for the color is one but the taste is different.
And this explanation is the view of whoever explains the verse in this way. But the plain wording of the recitation refutes its correctness. And that to which the plain meaning of the verse points and what confirms its correctness is the statement of those who say: that its meaning is: This is what we were provided with before, in the life of this world. For Allah, exalted is His praise, said: "Whenever they are provided from it with a fruit as provision," and by it He, exalted is His praise, informed that it is among the sayings of the inhabitants of the jannah that, whenever they are provided with a provision of the fruits of the jannah, they say: This is what we were provided with before. And He did not restrict it to being their saying in some cases and not in others. Since He, mighty is His mention, informed concerning them that this is among their sayings at everything that is provided to them of its fruits, there is no doubt that this is among their sayings at the first provision of its fruits that was given to them, brought to them after their entry into the jannah and their dwelling in it, before which none of its fruits had preceded with them. And since there is no doubt that this is among their sayings at the first of it, just as it is among their sayings at the middle of it and what follows it—then it is known that it is impossible for it to be among their sayings at the first provision that was given to them of the fruits of the jannah: This is what we were provided with before of the fruits of the jannah! And how would it be permissible for them, at the first provision that was given to them of its fruits, without anything else having preceded it with them, to say: This is what we were provided with before? Unless someone full of error and delusion ascribes to them the uttering of a falsehood from which Allah has purified them, or unless an objector denies that this is among their sayings at the first provision that was given to them of its fruits, and thereby refutes the correctness of that whose correctness Allah has made binding by His saying "whenever they are provided from it with a fruit as provision," without an indication having been set up that by this is meant the one state and not the other.
It has thus become clear by what we have clarified, that the meaning of the verse is: Whenever those who believe and do righteous deeds in the jannah are provided with a fruit of the fruits of the jannah as provision, they say: This is what we were provided with before, in the life of this world.
And if a questioner were to ask us and say: How do those people say: This is what we were provided with before, while that which was provided to them before has already vanished by their having eaten it? And how is it permissible for the inhabitants of the jannah to say something that has no truth?
Then it is answered: The matter is other than that to which you have gone in it. Its meaning is only: This is of the kind that we were provided with before of fruits and provision. Just as a man says to another: So-and-so has prepared for you such-and-such of food, of various kinds of cooked dishes, roasts, and sweets. Then the one to whom that is said says: This is my food in my house. By it he means: that the kind which his companion mentioned to him that he had prepared for him of food is his food—not that the exact things of which his companion informed him that he had prepared them for him are his food. Rather, that is among that which it is not permissible for a hearer who hears him say it to suppose that he meant or intended it, because that would be contrary to the manner in which the speaker utters his words. The words of every speaker are directed only at what is well-known among people of his expressions, not at the unknown of his meanings. And so it is also in His saying "They say: This is what we were provided with before," since that which was provided to them before has already perished and vanished. It is thus known that by it they meant: This is of the kind that we were provided with before, and of its genus in characteristics and colors—in accordance with what we have set forth on this matter in this book of ours.
The explanation of His saying: وَأُتُوا بِهِ مُتَشَابِهًا (and it is brought to them resembling one another).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The hāʾ in His saying "and it is brought to them resembling one another (wa-utū bihi mutashābihan)" returns to the provision (al-rizq). Its explanation is: and that which is provided to them of its fruits is brought to them resembling one another.
The exegetes differed concerning the explanation of "that which resembles one another (al-mutashābih)" herein:
Some of them said: Its resembling one another means that the whole of it is excellent, without there being anything inferior in it.
* Mention of who said that:
519 — Khallād ibn Aslam related to us, saying: al-Naḍr ibn Shumayl informed us, saying: Abū ʿĀmir informed us, on the authority of al-Ḥasan concerning His saying "resembling one another," he said: it is all excellent, without anything inferior in it.
520 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ: al-Ḥasan recited verses from al-Baqarah, and he came to this verse: "and it is brought to them resembling one another." He said: Have you not seen the fruits of the world, how you set some of them aside as inferior? But in this there is nothing inferior.
521 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, saying: al-Ḥasan said concerning "and it is brought to them resembling one another": one resembles the other, there is nothing inferior in it.
522 — Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda: "and it is brought to them resembling one another," that is to say excellent, without anything inferior in it; and indeed, of the fruits of the world one is selected and another is set aside as inferior, whereas the fruits of the jannah are all excellent, and nothing of it is set aside as inferior.
523 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, he said: Of the fruits of the world there is what is set aside as inferior, and there is what is excellent; and the fruits of the jannah are all excellent, one resembling the other in its excellence, there is nothing inferior among them.
And some of them said: Its resembling one another is in color, while it differs in taste.
* Mention of who said that:
524 — Mūsā related to me, saying: ʿAmr related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī in a report he mentioned, on the authority of Abū Mālik, and on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās—and on the authority of Murra, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, and on the authority of some people among the companions of the Prophet ﷺ: "and it is brought to them resembling one another," in color and appearance, but it does not resemble one another in taste.
525 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "and it is brought to them resembling one another," like the cucumber.
526 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: and it is brought to them resembling one another, alike in color but differing in taste, like the excellent among cucumbers.
527 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥasan, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas: "and it is brought to them resembling one another," one resembles the other but the taste differs.
528 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying "resembling one another," he said: resembling one another in color, and differing in taste.
529 — Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid: "and it is brought to them resembling one another," like the cucumber.
And some of them said: Its resembling one another is in color and taste.
* Mention of who said that:
530 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of a man, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His saying "resembling one another," he said: the color and the taste.
531 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq related to us, on the authority of al-Thawrī, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid and Yaḥyā ibn Saʿīd: "resembling one another," they both said: in color and taste.
And some of them said: Its resembling one another is the resemblance of the fruits of the jannah and the fruits of the world in color, even though their tastes differ.
* Mention of who said that:
532 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda: "and it is brought to them resembling one another," he said: it resembles the fruits of the world, except that the fruits of the jannah are more excellent.
533 — Al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ḥafṣ ibn ʿUmar said, he said: al-Ḥakam ibn Abān related to us, on the authority of ʿIkrima concerning His saying "and it is brought to them resembling one another," he said: it resembles the fruits of the world, except that the fruits of the jannah are more excellent.
And some of them said: Nothing of what is in the jannah resembles what is in the world, except the names.
* Mention of who said that:
534 — Abū Kurayb related to me, saying: al-Ashjaʿī related to us—ḥ—and Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muʾammal related to us, they both said: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū Ẓabyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās—Abū Kurayb said in his narration on the authority of al-Ashjaʿī: Nothing of what is in the jannah resembles what is in the world, except the names. And Ibn Bashshār said in his narration on the authority of Muʾammal, he said: In the world there is nothing of what is in the jannah, except the names.
535 — ʿAbbās ibn Muḥammad related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn ʿUbayd related to us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Abū Ẓabyān, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, he said: In the world there is nothing of the jannah, except the names.
536 — Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd said concerning His saying "and it is brought to them resembling one another," he said: They recognize its names as they knew them in the world, the apple by the name apple and the pomegranate by the name pomegranate; they say in the jannah: "This is what we were provided with before," in the world, "and it is brought to them resembling one another," they recognize it, but it is not equal to it in taste.
Abū Jaʿfar said: And the most fitting of these explanations for the explanation of the verse is the explanation of whoever said: and it is brought to them resembling one another in color and appearance, while the taste differs. By it he means the resemblance of the fruits of the jannah and the fruits of the world in appearance and color, differing in taste and smell, on account of the argument that we previously presented in the explanation of His saying كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا مِنْهَا مِنْ ثَمَرَةٍ رِزْقًا قَالُوا هَذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ (Whenever they are provided from it with a fruit as provision, they say: This is what we were provided with before), and that its meaning is: Whenever they are provided from the gardens with a fruit of its fruits as provision, they say: This is what we were provided with before, in the life of this world. Allah, exalted is His praise, thus informed concerning them that they said that, and that only because that which was brought to them of it in the jannah was brought resembling one another. By it He means the resemblance between what was brought to them of it in the jannah and that which was provided to them in the world, in color, appearance, and form, even though the two differ in taste and smell and are different in that, so that for nothing of what is in the jannah of it is there a likeness in the world.
We have already pointed out the invalidity of the statement of whoever claimed that the meaning of His saying قَالُوا هَذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ (They say: This is what we were provided with before) is only a saying of the inhabitants of the jannah in which they compare some fruits of the jannah with others. And that indication of the invalidity of that statement is at the same time the indication of the invalidity of the statement of whoever contradicts our statement in the explanation of His saying "and it is brought to them resembling one another," because Allah, exalted is His praise, has informed only about the meaning for the sake of which those people said هَذَا الَّذِي رُزِقْنَا مِنْ قَبْلُ (This is what we were provided with before), by His saying "and it is brought to them resembling one another."
And to whoever denies that and claims that it is impossible for anything of what is in the jannah to be in any way the likeness of anything of what is in the world, it is asked, and to him it is said: Is it permissible that the names of what is in the jannah of its fruits, foods, and drinks be the likenesses of the names of what is of that in the world?
If he denies that, he contradicts the text of the Book of Allah, for Allah, exalted is His praise, has made known to His servants in the world that which is with Him in the jannah only by means of the names by which in the world those things are named.
And if he says: That is permissible, yes, so it is—
then it is said: What, then, prevents you from acknowledging that the colors of what is of that in the jannah are the likenesses of the colors of what is of that in the world, in the sense of the white, the red, the yellow, and the remaining kinds of colors, even though they differ and one surpasses the other in the excellence of the beauty of form and appearance, so that to what is of that in the jannah of splendor, beauty, and fineness of form and appearance belongs something other than to what is of that in the world—just as that was permissible with the names, despite the difference of the named things in the excellence of their bodies? Then the reasoning in it can be turned back against him, for he will not be able to say anything about the one thing without the same being made binding upon him with respect to the other.
And Abū Mūsā al-Ashʿarī used to say concerning that what:
537 — Ibn Bashshār related to me concerning that, he said: Ibn Abī ʿAdī, and ʿAbd al-Wahhāb, and Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of ʿAwf, on the authority of Qasāma, on the authority of al-Ashʿarī, he said: When Allah expelled Adam from the jannah, He provided him with provision from the fruits of the jannah, and taught him the making of all things. These fruits of yours, then, are among the fruits of the jannah, except that these change and those do not change.
And some of the linguists have claimed that the meaning of His saying "and it is brought to them resembling one another" is that it resembles one another in excellence, that is to say: each of it has, of the excellence in its kind, the like of what the other has in its kind.
Abū Jaʿfar said: This is not a statement with which we consider it permissible to occupy ourselves in demonstrating its invalidity, on account of its deviation from the statement of all the scholars among the exegetes. And it suffices as an indication of the incorrectness of a statement that it deviates from the statement of all the people of knowledge.
The explanation of His saying: وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا أَزْوَاجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ (and for them therein are purified spouses).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The hāʾ and the mīm in "for them (lahum)" return to those who believe and do righteous deeds, and the hāʾ and the alif in "therein (fīhā)" return to the gardens. Its explanation is: and give good tidings to those who believe and do righteous deeds, that for them are gardens wherein are purified spouses.
And "spouses (al-azwāj)" is the plural of zawj, and that is the wife of the man. One says: So-and-so is the zawj of so-and-so, and his spouse.
As for His saying "purified (muṭahhara)," its explanation is that they are purified of every impurity, filth, and defect, of that which occurs in the women of the inhabitants of the world, of menstruation, postpartum bleeding, excrement, urine, mucus, saliva, semen, and what resembles that of impurity, filth, defects, and repugnant things.
538 — As Mūsā ibn Hārūn related to us concerning that, he said: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī in a report he mentioned, on the authority of Abū Mālik, and on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās—and on the authority of Murra, on the authority of Ibn Masʿūd, and on the authority of some people among the companions of the Prophet ﷺ: As for "purified spouses," they do not menstruate, do not have bodily evacuation, and do not spit out phlegm.
539 — Al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: ʿAbd Allāh ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya ibn Ṣāliḥ related to us, on the authority of ʿAlī ibn Abī Ṭalḥa, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His saying "purified spouses." He says: purified of filth and impurity.
540 — Muḥammad ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Yaḥyā al-Qaṭṭān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: "and for them therein are purified spouses," he said: they do not urinate, do not have bodily evacuation, and do not secrete prostatic fluid (madhy).
541 — Aḥmad ibn Isḥāq al-Ahwāzī related to us, saying: Abū Aḥmad al-Zubayrī related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it—except that he added to it: and they do not secrete semen, and they do not menstruate.
542 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, on the authority of ʿĪsā, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the saying of Allah, exalted is His mention: "and for them therein are purified spouses," he said: purified of menstruation, excrement, urine, mucus, saliva, semen, and the bearing of children.
543 — Al-Muthannā ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, saying: Suwayd ibn Naṣr related to us, saying: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, the like of it.
544 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: they do not urinate, do not have bodily evacuation, do not menstruate, do not bear children, do not secrete semen, and do not spit.
545 — Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, comparable to the narration of Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr on the authority of Abū ʿĀṣim.
546 — Bishr ibn Muʿādh related to us, saying: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd, on the authority of Qatāda: "and for them therein are purified spouses," yes, by Allah, of sin and impurity.
547 — Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda concerning His saying "and for them therein are purified spouses," he said: Allah has purified them of all urine, excrement, and filth, and of every sin.
548 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥasan, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Qatāda, he said: purified of menstruation, pregnancy, and impurity.
549 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār ibn al-Ḥasan, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Layth, on the authority of Mujāhid, he said: the purified one is of menstruation and pregnancy.
550 — Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, on the authority of ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Zayd: "and for them therein are purified spouses," he said: the purified one is she who does not menstruate. He said: and the spouses of the world are not purified; do you not see that they bleed and abandon the prayer and the fasting? Ibn Zayd said: and so Eve was created, until she disobeyed; and when she disobeyed, Allah said: I created you purified, and I shall make you bleed just as I have made this tree bleed.
551 — It was related to me on the authority of ʿAmmār, he said: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ, on the authority of al-Ḥasan concerning His saying "and for them therein are purified spouses," he said, he says: purified of menstruation.
552 — ʿAmr ibn ʿAlī related to us, saying: Khālid ibn Yazīd related to us, saying: Abū Jaʿfar al-Rāzī related to us, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas, on the authority of al-Ḥasan concerning His saying "and for them therein are purified spouses," he said: of menstruation.
553 — ʿAmr related to us, saying: Abū Muʿāwiya related to us, saying: Ibn Jurayj related to us, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ concerning His saying "and for them therein are purified spouses," he said: of the bearing of children, menstruation, excrement, and urine, and he mentioned some more matters of this kind.
The explanation of His saying: وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ (and they will abide therein eternally) (25).
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted by it means: and those who believe and do righteous deeds will abide eternally in the gardens. The hāʾ and the mīm in His saying "and they (wa-hum)" return to those who believe and do righteous deeds. And the hāʾ and the alif in "therein (fīhā)" refer to the gardens. And their abiding eternally in it is the continuance of their existence in it, with that which Allah has granted them therein of joy and lasting bliss.
