Tafseer of The Believers · Al-Muminoon · 23:11
Who will inherit al-Firdaus. 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.
Allah, exalted is His praise, says: الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ the garden with grapevines — that is the Firdaws among the Arabs. Mujāhid used to say that it is a Greek word.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Husayn related to us, saying: Hajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الْفِرْدَوْسَ — he said: al-Firdaws is a garden, in Greek.
He said: Hajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: ʿAdn is an orchard (hadīqa) in the Paradise (janna); its palace stands therein in ʿAdn. Allah planted it with His own hand. Every daybreak it is opened and He looks into it, then He says: قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ. He said: that is also the Firdaws, that orchard. Mujāhid said: Allah planted it with His own hand; when it had come to full growth, He said: قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ, then He commanded it to be closed. No creature and no angel brought near may look into it. Then it is opened every night before daybreak, and He looks into it and says: قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ, after which it remains closed until a comparable time.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: Hāritha ibn Surāqa was killed on the Day of Badr. His mother said: O Messenger of Allah, if my son is among the people of Paradise, I shall not weep for him; but if he is among the people of the Fire, I shall weep abundantly. He said: "O mother of Hāritha, they are two gardens within Paradise, and your son has attained the very highest Firdaws of Paradise."
Al-Hasan related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: Maʿmar informed us, on the authority of Qatāda — the same.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Husayn related to us, saying: Abū Sufyān related to me, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, on the authority of Kaʿb, who said: Allah created the Paradise of the Firdaws with His own hand and planted it with His own hand. Then He said: Speak! It spoke: قَدْ أَفْلَحَ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ.
He said: al-Husayn related to us, saying: Hajjāj related to me, on the authority of Husām ibn Misk, on the authority of Qatāda likewise — the same. Except that this one said: it spoke: blessedness be upon the God-fearing (ṭūbā lil-muttaqīn).
He said: al-Husayn related to us, saying: Muhammad ibn Yazīd related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Abū Dāwūd Nafīʿ, who said: when Allah created it, He said to it: adorn yourself — and it adorned itself. Then He said to it: speak — and it spoke: blessedness be upon him with whom You are pleased.
And as for His word هُمْ فِيهَا خَالِدُونَ — that is to say: abiding therein. He says: those who inherit the Firdaws are in it forever; they never remove from it.
