Tafseer of Yaseen · Yaseen · 36:55
Indeed the companions of Paradise, that Day, will be amused in [joyful] occupation -
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 statement concerning the interpretation of His word, the Exalted: إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ الْيَوْمَ فِي شُغُلٍ فَاكِهُونَ ("Indeed, the inhabitants of Paradise (janna) this Day are occupied with something and rejoicing") (55)
And His word إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ الْيَوْمَ فِي شُغُلٍ فَاكِهُونَ : the scholars of interpretation differed concerning the meaning of the occupation (shughul) with which Allah, exalted be His praise, described the inhabitants of Paradise as being engaged on the Day of Resurrection. Some said: it is the deflowering of the virgins.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Yaʿqūb related to us, on the authority of Ḥafṣ ibn Ḥumayd, on the authority of Shamir ibn ʿAṭiyya, on the authority of Shaqīq ibn Salama, on the authority of ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd, concerning his word إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ الْيَوْمَ فِي شُغُلٍ فَاكِهُونَ , he said: their occupation is the deflowering of the virgins.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: al-Muʿtamir related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Abū ʿAmr, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ الْيَوْمَ فِي شُغُلٍ فَاكِهُونَ , he said: the deflowering of the virgins.
ʿUbayd ibn Asbāṭ ibn Muḥammad related to me, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of his father, &; 20-535 &; on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ الْيَوْمَ فِي شُغُلٍ فَاكِهُونَ , he said: the deflowering of the virgins.
Al-Ḥasan ibn Zurayq al-Ṭuhawī related to me, saying: Asbāṭ ibn Muḥammad related to us, on the authority of his father, on the authority of ʿIkrima, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, something similar.
Al-Ḥusayn ibn ʿAlī al-Ṣudāʾī related to me, saying: Abū al-Naḍr related to us, on the authority of al-Ashjaʿī, on the authority of Wāʾil ibn Dāwūd, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn al-Musayyab, concerning his word إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ الْيَوْمَ فِي شُغُلٍ فَاكِهُونَ , he said: in the deflowering of the virgins. And others said: no, what is meant by it is that they are in bliss (naʿīm).
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his word إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ الْيَوْمَ فِي شُغُلٍ , he said: in bliss.
ʿAmr ibn ʿAbd al-Ḥamīd related to us, saying: Marwān related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of Abū Sahl, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, concerning the word of Allah إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ ... the verse, he said: bliss occupied them, turned away from the punishment in which the inhabitants of the Fire are.
And others said: no, the meaning of it is: that they are occupied, turned away from that in which the inhabitants of the Fire are.
* Mention of who said that:
Naṣr ibn ʿAlī al-Jahḍamī related to us, saying: my father related to us, on the authority of Shuʿba, on the authority of Abān ibn Taghlib, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, concerning إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ ... the verse, he said: occupied, turned away from that which the inhabitants of the Fire undergo.
And the most correct of the statements concerning this is that one says as Allah, exalted be His praise, has said إِنَّ أَصْحَابَ الْجَنَّةِ ("Indeed, the inhabitants of Paradise") — and they are its people — فِي شُغُلٍ فَاكِهُونَ ("are occupied, rejoicing") with favors that come to them, in an occupation; and that occupation in which they are is bliss, the deflowering of virgins, amusement and delight, and an occupation turned away from that which the inhabitants of the Fire undergo.
The Qurʾān reciters differed concerning the reading of his word فِي شُغُلٍ . Most of the reciters of Medina and some of the reciters of Basra — with a difference of transmission concerning him — read it as (فِي شُغْلٍ) with ḍamma on the shīn and sukūn on the &; 20-536 &; ghayn. And from Abū ʿAmr is transmitted both the ḍamma on the shīn with sukūn on the ghayn, and the fatḥa on both the shīn and the ghayn in "shaghal." And some of the people of Medina and Basra and most of the reciters of Kūfa read it as (فِي شُغُلٍ) with ḍamma on both the shīn and the ghayn.
And the correct of it in my view is the reading with ḍamma on the shīn and the ghayn, or with ḍamma on the shīn and sukūn on the ghayn; with whichever of these the reciter recites, he does what is correct, for that is the well-known reading among the reciters of the cities, and the two meanings are close to one another. As for the reading with fatḥa on the shīn and the ghayn, that is not permissible in my view, on account of the consensus of the authoritative reciters against it.
And they also differed concerning the reading of his word فَاكِهُونَ . Most of the reciters of the cities read it as فَاكِهُونَ with the alif. And from Abū Jaʿfar the reciter it is reported that he read it as (فَكِهُونَ) without the alif.
And the correct of the reading in it is in my view the reading of the one who read it with the alif, for that is the well-known reading.
And the scholars of interpretation differed concerning its interpretation. Some said: its meaning is: glad (fariḥūn).
* Mention of who said that:
ʿAlī related to me, saying: Abū Ṣāliḥ related to us, saying: Muʿāwiya related to me, on the authority of ʿAlī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning his word فِي شُغُلٍ فَاكِهُونَ , he says: glad.
And others said: its meaning is: marveling, full of wonder (ʿajibūn).
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning his word فَاكِهُونَ , he said: marveling.
Al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us, both on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning فَكِهُونَ , he said: marveling.
And the scholars of the Arabic language differed concerning this. Some of the Basrans said: al-fakih is the one who indulges himself (yatafakkah). He said: the Arabs say of the man who indulges himself in food, or in fruit, or in the honor of people: indeed so-and-so indulges himself in the honor of people (fakih bi-aʿrāḍ al-nās). He said: and whoever read it فَاكِهُونَ made it mean "one who has much fruit (fawākih), a possessor of fruit," and he adduced as proof for his statement the verse of al-Ḥuṭayʾa:
"And you invited me and claimed that you are in summer one possessing milk and possessing dates." (1)
That is to say: with him is much milk and many dates; and likewise ʿāsil (one possessing honey), lāḥim (one possessing meat) and shāḥim (one possessing fat). And some of the Kūfans said: that is like ḥādhirūn and ḥadhirūn. And this second statement is more fitting for the word.
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The footnotes:
(1) The verse is by al-Ḥuṭayʾa, and it belongs to the testimonia of Abū ʿUbayda in Majāz al-Qurʾān (university photocopy, p. 207-1). He said, in the interpretation of His word, the Exalted (fī shughulin fākihūn): al-fakih is the one who indulges himself (yatafakkah); the Arabs say of the man, when he indulges himself in food, fruit or the honor of people: indeed so-and-so indulges himself in the honor of people. And whoever read it "fākihūn" made it mean one who has much fruit, a possessor of fruit; al-Ḥuṭayʾa said: "and you invited me ..." the verse, that is to say: with him is much milk and many dates. Likewise ʿāsil, lāḥim and shāḥim. End of quotation. And in (al-Lisān: fakih): a man who is fakih: he eats fruit, and fākih: with him is fruit. Both are on the basis of attribution (nasab). Abū Muʿādh the grammarian: al-fākih is the one who has much fruit, and al-fakih is the one who attacks the honor of people. End. And in Maʿānī al-Qurʾān of al-Farrāʾ (university photocopy, p. 270): and his word "fākihūn" with the alif, and it is also read "fakihūn." And it is like "ḥadhirūn" and "ḥādhirūn." And in the reading of ʿAbd Allāh it is "fākihīn" with the alif. And the author has taken it from him and given it preference.
