Tafseer of The Beneficent · Ar-Rahmaan · 55:60
Is the reward for good [anything] but good?
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.
And His word: هَلْ جَزَاءُ الإحْسَانِ إِلا الإحْسَانُ ("Is the recompense for good anything but good?"). The Exalted, whose mention is exalted, says: Is the reward for fearing the place where one stands before Allah, Mighty and Sublime — for whoever feared Him and therefore performed good works in this worldly life and obeyed his Lord — anything other than that his Lord will do good to him in the Hereafter, by rewarding him for that good in the worldly life with that which is described in these verses, in His word: "And for whoever feared the standing-place of his Lord there are two gardens" ... up to His word: كَأَنَّهُنَّ الْيَاقُوتُ وَالْمَرْجَانُ ("as though they were rubies and coral").
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken, even though their wordings differed in the manner of expression.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Marwān related to us, saying: Abū al-ʿAwwām related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning هَلْ جَزَاءُ الإحْسَانِ إِلا الإحْسَانُ , he said: They performed good, and they were therefore rewarded with good.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to us, saying: ʿUbayda ibn Bakkār al-Azdī related to us, saying: Muḥammad ibn Jābir related to me, saying: I heard Muḥammad ibn al-Munkadir saying concerning the word of Allah, whose praise is exalted, هَلْ جَزَاءُ الإحْسَانِ إِلا الإحْسَانُ , he said: Is the recompense for whoever I have favored with Islam anything other than Paradise?
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His word: هَلْ جَزَاءُ الإحْسَانِ إِلا الإحْسَانُ , he said: Do you not see that He has mentioned them, as well as their dwelling-places, their wives, and the rivers that He has prepared for them? And He said: هَلْ جَزَاءُ الإحْسَانِ إِلا الإحْسَانُ : when they performed good in this worldly life, We did good to them, We admitted them into Paradise.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Sālim ibn Abī Ḥafṣa, on the authority of Abū Yaʿlā, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥanafiyya, concerning هَلْ جَزَاءُ الإحْسَانِ إِلا الإحْسَانُ , he said: This is established, valid for both the righteous and the sinner.
