Tafseer of The Heights · Al-A'raaf · 7:43
And We will have removed whatever is within their breasts of resentment, [while] flowing beneath them are rivers. And they will say, "Praise to Allah, who has guided us to this; and we would never have been guided if Allah had not guided us. Certainly the messengers of our Lord had come with the truth." And they will be called, "This is Paradise, which you have been made to inherit for what you used to do."
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: وَنَزَعْنَا مَا فِي صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ غِلٍّ تَجْرِي مِنْ تَحْتِهِمُ الأَنْهَارُ
(And We removed whatever rancor was in their breasts; rivers flow beneath them.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and We have removed from the hearts of these, whose attribute He has described and of whom He reported that they are the inhabitants of Paradise (janna), all that was therein of rancor, hatred, and enmity that some of them had harbored against others in this world. Thus He placed them in Paradise, when He had admitted them into it, upon couches facing one another, without any of them envying another for anything with which Allah had favored the one and preferred him above the other out of His honoring; rivers of Paradise flow beneath them.
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And in accordance with what we have said concerning that, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
14658 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Abū Khālid al-Aḥmar related to us, on the authority of Juwaybir, on the authority of al-Ḍaḥḥāk: (and We removed whatever rancor was in their breasts), he said: the enmity.
14659 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Ḥumayd ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān related to us, on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Bashīr, on the authority of Qatāda: (and We removed whatever rancor was in their breasts), he said: those are the feelings of rancor.
14660 — Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, he said: Ibn al-Mubārak related to us, on the authority of Ibn ʿUyayna, on the authority of Isrāʾīl Abū Mūsā, on the authority of al-Ḥasan, on the authority of ʿAlī, who said: by Allah, concerning us, the people of Badr, was revealed: وَنَزَعْنَا مَا فِي صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ غِلٍّ إِخْوَانًا عَلَى سُرُرٍ مُتَقَابِلِينَ (And We removed whatever rancor was in their breasts, as brothers, upon couches facing one another) [Surah al-Ḥijr: 47].
14661 — al-Ḥasan ibn Yaḥyā related to us, he said: ʿAbd al-Razzāq informed us, he said: Ibn ʿUyayna informed us, on the authority of Isrāʾīl, who said: I heard him say: ʿAlī, peace be upon him, said: by Allah, concerning us, the people of Badr, was revealed: وَنَزَعْنَا مَا فِي صُدُورِهِمْ مِنْ غِلٍّ إِخْوَانًا عَلَى سُرُرٍ مُتَقَابِلِينَ (And We removed whatever rancor was in their breasts, as brothers, upon couches facing one another).
14662 — Muḥammad ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of Qatāda, who said: ʿAlī, may Allah be pleased with him, said: verily, I hope that I, together with ʿUthmān, Ṭalḥa, and al-Zubayr, will be among those of whom Allah the Exalted said: (and We removed whatever rancor was in their breasts), may Allah's good pleasure rest upon them.
14663 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (and We removed whatever rancor was in their breasts; rivers flow beneath them), he said: when the inhabitants of Paradise are led to Paradise and reach it, they find at its gate a tree, at the foot of whose trunk two springs gush forth. Then they drink from the one, and thereby is removed whatever rancor was in their breasts — and that is "the pure drink" — and they wash themselves with the other, and thereby flows over them "the radiance of bliss," so that thereafter they never become disheveled nor defile themselves.
14664 — Yaʿqūb ibn Ibrāhīm related to me, he said: Ibn ʿUlayya related to us, on the authority of al-Jurayrī, on the authority of Abū Naḍra, who said: the inhabitants of Paradise are held back before Paradise until retaliation (qiṣāṣ) has been carried out among some of them against others, so that they enter Paradise at the moment they enter it without any of them having any claim against another, even were it but a nail-paring for a wrong that was done to him. And the inhabitants of the Fire are held back before the Fire until retaliation has been carried out among some of them against others; thus they enter the Fire at the moment they enter it without any of them having any claim against another, even were it but a nail-paring for a wrong that was done to him.
* * *
The explanation of His word: وَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي هَدَانَا لِهَذَا وَمَا كُنَّا لِنَهْتَدِيَ لَوْلا أَنْ هَدَانَا اللَّهُ
(And they will say: all praise belongs to Allah, Who guided us to this; and we would not have been guided, had Allah not guided us.)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and these whom He, exalted is His praise, has described — and they are those who believed and performed righteous deeds — will, when they have been admitted into Paradise and have beheld that with which Allah has honored them of His honoring, and what He has turned away from them of the humiliating punishment (ʿadhāb) with which the inhabitants of the Fire are afflicted on account of their disbelief in their Lord and their denial of His messengers, say: (all praise belongs to Allah, Who guided us to this). He says: all praise belongs to Allah, Who graced us with the deed that caused us to attain this in which we now find ourselves of Allah's honoring and favor, and the turning away of His punishment from us — (and we would not have been guided, had Allah not guided us). He says: and we would not have found the straight path thereto, had Allah not guided us thereto and graced us through His benefaction and His abundance, just as:
14665 — Abū Hishām al-Rifāʿī related to us, he said: Abū Bakr ibn ʿAyyāsh related to us, he said: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of Abū Ṣāliḥ, on the authority of [Abū Saʿīd], who said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said: every inhabitant of the Fire sees his dwelling place in Paradise, and then they say: "Would that Allah had guided us"; and this becomes for them a source of regret. And every inhabitant of Paradise sees his dwelling place in the Fire, and then they say: "Had Allah not guided us"; and this is their thankfulness.
14666 — Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, he said: Muḥammad ibn Jaʿfar related to us, he said: Shuʿba related to us, he said: I heard Abū Isḥāq relating on the authority of ʿĀṣim ibn Ḍamra, on the authority of ʿAlī, who said: he mentioned ʿUmar — concerning something I do not recall — and then he mentioned Paradise and said: they enter, and there is a tree beneath which, from below its trunk, two springs gush forth. He said: then they wash themselves from the one, and thereby flows over them the radiance of bliss, so that their hair does not become disheveled nor their skin becomes dusty. And they drink from the other, and thereby every filth, every impurity, and every ailment disappears from their bellies. He said: then the gate of Paradise is opened for them, and it is said to them: سَلامٌ عَلَيْكُمْ طِبْتُمْ فَادْخُلُوهَا خَالِدِينَ (Peace be upon you; you were good, so enter it to abide therein eternally). He said: then the youths come to meet them and surround them, as the youths surround the beloved kinsman when he returns from his absence. Then they go to their wives and proclaim to them the glad tidings, and they name them by their names and the names of their fathers. Then they say: have you seen him! He said: then joy overcomes them. He said: then they come, until they stand upon the threshold of the door. He said: then they come and enter, and there is the foundation of their houses of blocks of pearl, and there are palaces, yellow, green, red, and of every color, and elevated couches, and goblets set ready, and cushions arranged in rows, and carpets spread out. And were it not that Allah had apportioned it to them, their eyesight would be taken away by that which they behold therein. Then they embrace the wives and seat themselves upon the couches, and they say: (all praise belongs to Allah, Who guided us to this; and we would not have been guided, had Allah not guided us; verily, the messengers of our Lord came with the truth), the entire āya.
* * *
The explanation of His word: لَقَدْ جَاءَتْ رُسُلُ رَبِّنَا بِالْحَقِّ وَنُودُوا أَنْ تِلْكُمُ الْجَنَّةُ أُورِثْتُمُوهَا بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ (43)
(Verily, the messengers of our Lord came with the truth. And it was called out to them: this is Paradise that you have been given as an inheritance on account of what you used to do.) (7:43)
Abū Jaʿfar said: The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says, reporting about these who believed and performed righteous deeds, that upon their entry into Paradise, and upon beholding Allah's honoring with which He has honored them — while the enemies of Allah are in the Fire — they say: by Allah, verily, in this world there came to us, and to these who are in the Fire, the messengers of our Lord with the truth concerning the reports about Allah's promise to the people of His obedience and of belief in Him and in His messengers, and His threat to the people of His disobedience and of disbelief in Him.
* * *
As for His word: (and it was called out to them: this is Paradise that you have been given as an inheritance on account of what you used to do) — its meaning is: and a herald called out to these whose attribute Allah has described and of whom He reported concerning what He has prepared for them of honoring: O you these, this is that Paradise of which My messengers informed you in this world; Allah has given it to you as an inheritance from those who denied His messengers, on account of your confirmation of them and your obedience to your Lord. And that is the meaning of His word: (on account of what you used to do).
* * *
And in accordance with what we have said in the explanation of that, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
14667 — Muḥammad ibn al-Ḥusayn related to me, he said: Aḥmad ibn al-Mufaḍḍal related to us, he said: Asbāṭ related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī: (and it was called out to them: this is Paradise that you have been given as an inheritance on account of what you used to do), he said: there is no disbeliever (kāfir) nor believer but he has in Paradise and in the Fire a dwelling place. So when the inhabitants of Paradise enter Paradise and the inhabitants of the Fire enter the Fire, and they enter their dwelling places, Paradise is raised up for the inhabitants of the Fire, so that they behold their dwelling places therein, and it is said to them: "These would have been your dwelling places, had you acted in obedience to Allah." Then it is said: "O inhabitants of Paradise, inherit them on account of what you used to do," and thus their dwelling places are distributed among the inhabitants of Paradise.
14668 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: ʿAmr ibn Saʿd Abū Dāwūd al-Ḥafarī related to us, [on the authority of Saʿīd ibn Bukayr], on the authority of Sufyān al-Thawrī, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Agharr: (and it was called out to them: this is Paradise that you have been given as an inheritance on account of what you used to do), he said: it was called out to them that you shall be healthy and never fall ill, that you shall live eternally and never die, and that you shall be in bliss and never be in misery.
14669 — Ibn Wakīʿ related to us, he said: Qabīṣa related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of Abū Isḥāq, on the authority of al-Agharr, on the authority of Abū Saʿīd: (and it was called out to them: this is Paradise), the āya, he said: a herald calls out: verily, it is given to you that you shall be healthy and never again fall ill.
* * *
The Arabic language scholars differed concerning the "an" (أنْ) that stands by "tilkum" (تلكم).
Some of the grammarians of Basra said: it is the "anna" (أنّ) with doubling (tashdīd), which is lightened and in which a [pronoun] is concealed; and it is not correct to make it the light [an], for after it stands a noun (substantive), and the light [an] is not followed by nouns. The poet [al-Aʿshā] said:
In a band of youths like the swords of India, who knew that mortal is everyone who goes barefoot and who wears footwear.
And another said:
I show him a smiling face, while I know that the two of us are enamored of that which harms the other.
He said: its meaning is: "annahu kilānā" (that it is so: the two of us). He said: and it is like His word: أَنْ قَدْ وَجَدْنَا (that we have indeed found), in the place of "ay" (that is to say); and His word: أَنْ أَقِيمُوا (that: uphold) [Surah al-Shūrā: 13]. And it is not the "an" that operates upon the verbs, for you say: "it angered me an qāma (that he stood up)" and "an dhahaba (that he went away)," wherein it falls upon the verbs, although it does not operate upon them. And in the Book of Allah there is: وَانْطَلَقَ الْمَلأُ مِنْهُمْ أَنِ امْشُوا (And the chiefs among them went forth, [saying]: go on) [Surah Ṣād: 6], that is to say: go on.
* * *
And some of the scholars of Kufa rejected this statement of his and said: it is not permissible that with the "an" in this place there should be a concealed "hāʾ" (pronoun), for the "an" is included in the sentence to safeguard that which comes after it. He said: and this "an" that stands by "tilkum" is the "an" that is in circulation, upon which falls that which resembles the quotation, without being the wording of the quotation, such as: "I called out annaka qāʾim (that you are standing)," and "an zaydun qāʾim (that: Zayd is standing)" and "an qumta (that you stood up)"; it is followed by all kinds of speech, and the "an" is made into a safeguard, for the calling out falls upon that which comes after it, and that which comes after "an" remains unaffected, just as that remains unaffected which comes after "the saying." Do you not see that you say: "I said: Zayd is standing," and "I said: he stood up," so that it is followed by whichever kind of speech you wish? So when the calling out had the meaning of "the supposing" and of that which resembles it of "the saying," that which comes after "an" remained unaffected, and the "an" entered as a safeguard. He said: and as for "ay" (that is to say) — it cannot take the place of "an," since "ay" is not an answer of speech, whereas "an" is sufficient in place of the noun.
