Tafseer of The letter Saad · Saad · 38:52
And with them will be women limiting [their] glances and of equal age.
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 statement, exalted is He: وَعِنْدَهُمْ قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ أَتْرَابٌ (52) ("And with them are women restraining their glances, equal in age")
( وَعِنْدَهُمْ قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ أَتْرَابٌ ) ("And with them are women restraining their glances, equal in age")
He, exalted is His remembrance, says: with these God-fearing ones whom Allah has honored with what He has described in this verse — namely their dwelling in the gardens of ʿAdn (Eden) — there are ( قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ ) ("women restraining their glances"), that is to say: women who have restricted their glances to their husbands, so that they desire none other than them, and do not direct their eyes upon another.
As Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( وَعِنْدَهُمْ قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ ) ("And with them are women restraining their glances"), he said: they have restricted their glances to their husbands, so that they desire none other than them.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: ( قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ ) ("restraining their glances"), he said: they have restricted their glances, their hearts, and their hearing to their husbands, so that they desire none other than them.
And His statement ( أَتْرَابٌ ) ("equal in age") means: of one and the same age.
And in accordance with what we have said concerning this, the scholars of exegesis have spoken, despite differences among them.
* 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: ( قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ أَتْرَابٌ ) ("restraining their glances, equal in age"), he said: equal to one another.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: ( أَتْرَابٌ ) ("equal in age"): of one age.
Muḥammad related to us, saying: Aḥmad related to us, saying: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: ( أَتْرَابٌ ) ("equal in age"), he said: equal to one another. He said: and some said: bonded together in brotherhood, harboring no aversion toward one another, not hostile to one another, not envious of one another, and not begrudging one another.
