Tafseer of Those drawn up in Ranks · As-Saaffaat · 37:48
And with them will be women limiting [their] glances, with large, [beautiful] eyes,
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 discourse on the explanation of His statement, the Exalted: wa-ʿindahum qāṣirātu al-ṭarfi ʿīnun (48) ("and with them are those who restrain their gaze, with large eyes")
The Exalted, whose renown is sublime, says: and with these sincere servants of Allah in the Garden (janna) are women who restrain their gaze (qāṣirātu al-ṭarf); these are the women who confine their gazes to their husbands, desiring none other than them, and not extending their eyes toward any other than them.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (tafsīr) have spoken.
* 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, wa-ʿindahum qāṣirātu al-ṭarfi ʿīnun: he says: turned away from any other than their husbands.
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, wa-ʿindahum qāṣirātu al-ṭarfi ʿīnun: he said: to their husbands; al-Ḥārith added in his narration: they desire none other than them.
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His statement wa-ʿindahum qāṣirātu al-ṭarfi: he said: they confined their gazes and their hearts to their husbands, and they desire none other than them.
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, he said: it is also related from Manṣūr, on the authority of Mujāhid, the same.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, wa-ʿindahum qāṣirātu al-ṭarfi: he said: they confined their gaze to their husbands, and they desire none other than them.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning the statement of Allah qāṣirātu al-ṭarfi: he said: they look only at their husbands; they have confined their gazes to their husbands; they are not like the women of the people of this world.
And His statement ʿīnun: by "al-ʿīn" are meant the wide-open, large eyes; it is the plural of "ʿaynāʾ", and the "ʿaynāʾ" is the woman with wide, large eyes, and that is the most beautiful that eyes can be.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the people of interpretation (tafsīr) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, concerning His statement ʿīnun: he said: large eyes.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His statement ʿīnun: he said: the "ʿaynāʾ": she with the large eye.
Aḥmad ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Wahb related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn al-Faraj al-Ṣadafī al-Dimyāṭī related to us, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn Hāshim, on the authority of Ibn Abī Karīma, on the authority of Hishām ibn Ḥassān, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Umm Salama, the wife of the Prophet ﷺ, that she said: I said: O Messenger of Allah, tell me about the statement of Allah ḥūrun ʿīnun. He said: "Al-ʿīn: the very large eyes; the eyelid-rim of the ḥawrāʾ is like the wing of the eagle."
