Tafseer of The Family of Imraan · Aal-i-Imraan · 3:198
But those who feared their Lord will have gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding eternally therein, as accommodation from Allah. And that which is with Allah is best for 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.
The explanation of His word: لَكِنِ الَّذِينَ اتَّقَوْا رَبَّهُمْ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٌ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهَا الأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا نُزُلا مِنْ عِنْدِ اللَّهِ وَمَا عِنْدَ اللَّهِ خَيْرٌ لِلأَبْرَارِ (198) (But those who fear their Lord, for them there are gardens beneath which the rivers flow, abiding therein eternally, as a welcome from Allah. And what is with Allah is better for the righteous — 3:198)
Abū Jaʿfar said: He — exalted is His praise — means by His statement "but those who fear their Lord": but those who fear Allah by obeying Him and seeking His good pleasure, by acting upon what He has commanded them and abstaining from what He has forbidden them — "for them there are gardens," that is to say: orchards — "beneath which the rivers flow, abiding therein eternally," He says: remaining therein forever. "As a welcome from Allah (nuzul)," that is to say: a lodging by Allah of them therein, wherein they are lodged.
The word "nuzul" is in the accusative (naṣb) as an explicatory specification (tafsīr) of His word: "for them there are gardens beneath which the rivers flow," just as one says: "for you there are with Allah gardens beneath which the rivers flow, as a reward (thawāban)," and as one says: "it is for you as alms (ṣadaqatan)" and "it is for you as a gift (hibatan)."
And His word "from Allah" means: from the side of Allah, and as part of the honour that Allah bestows upon them and the gifts that He grants them.
And His word "and what is with Allah is better for the righteous" — He says: and what is with Allah of life, honour, and a good return, "is better for the righteous" than that in which those who disbelieve move about, for that in which they move about is perishable and passing away, and it is a paltry, contemptible form of enjoyment. But what is with Allah of honour for the righteous — and they are the people of His obedience — is abiding, neither perishable nor passing away.
8373 – Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: I heard Ibn Zayd say concerning His word "and what is with Allah is better for the righteous," he said: for whoever obeys Allah.
8374 – Al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, saying: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, saying: al-Thawrī informed us, on the authority of al-Aʿmash, on the authority of Khaythama, on the authority of al-Aswad, on the authority of ʿAbdallāh, who said: There is no soul, righteous or wicked, but that death is better for it. Then ʿAbdallāh recited: "and what is with Allah is better for the righteous," and he recited this verse: وَلا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ لأَنْفُسِهِمْ (And let not those who disbelieve think that the respite We grant them is good for themselves) [Surah Āl ʿImrān: 178].
8375 – Al-Muthannā related to me, saying: Isḥāq related to us, saying: Ibn Abī Jaʿfar related to us, on the authority of Faraj ibn Faḍāla, on the authority of Luqmān, on the authority of Abū l-Dardāʾ, that he used to say: There is no believer but that death is better for him, and there is no disbeliever but that death is better for him. And whoever does not believe me: Allah indeed says "and what is with Allah is better for the righteous," and He says: وَلا يَحْسَبَنَّ الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا أَنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ خَيْرٌ لأَنْفُسِهِمْ إِنَّمَا نُمْلِي لَهُمْ لِيَزْدَادُوا إِثْمًا (And let not those who disbelieve think that the respite We grant them is good for themselves; We only grant them respite that they may increase in sin).
