Tafseer of Man · Al-Insaan · 76:13
[They will be] reclining therein on adorned couches. They will not see therein any [burning] sun or [freezing] cold.
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.
His statement: ( muttakiʾīna fīhā ʿalā al-arāʾik ) ("reclining therein upon couches") means: in Paradise, reclining upon the couches within the canopied pavilions — these are the arāʾik (couches), the singular of which is arīka. We have already explained this earlier, with its supporting proof-texts, and likewise what the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have said about it, in a manner that absolves us from repeating it. Nevertheless, in this place we shall mention some narrations that we did not cite before, if Allah the Exalted wills.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His statement: ( muttakiʾīna fīhā ʿalā al-arāʾik ): he means: the canopied pavilions.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning ( muttakiʾīna fīhā ʿalā al-arāʾik ): we were told that these are the canopied pavilions in which the couches stand.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Sufyān, on the authority of al-Ḥuṣayn, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning ( muttakiʾīna fīhā ʿalā al-arāʾik ): he said: the couches within the canopied pavilions. And ( muttakiʾīna ) here stands in the accusative as a circumstantial qualifier (ḥāl) of the [pronouns] "hā" and "mīm."
And His statement: ( lā yarawna fīhā shamsan wa-lā zamharīran ) ("they will see therein neither sun nor bitter cold"): the Exalted, praised be His mention, says: they will see therein no sun whose heat torments them, nor zamharīr — that is the severe cold — that would torment them with its chill.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the people of interpretation have spoken.
* Mention of those who said that:
Ziyād ibn ʿAbd Allāh al-Ḥasānī related to us, saying: Mālik ibn Suʿayr related to us, saying: al-Aʿmash related to us, on the authority of Mujāhid, who said: al-zamharīr is the terrible cold.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: Allah said: ( lā yarawna fīhā shamsan wa-lā zamharīran ): He knows that the severity of heat torments and the severity of cold torments, so Allah has shielded them from the torment of both.
Muḥammad ibn al-Muthannā related to us, saying: Wahb ibn Jarīr related to us, saying: Shuʿba related to us, on the authority of al-Suddī, on the authority of Murra ibn ʿAbd Allāh, who said concerning al-zamharīr: it is a form of punishment (ʿadhāb); Allah said: lā yadhūqūna fīhā bardan wa-lā sharāban ("they will taste therein neither coolness nor drink").
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Zuhrī, on the authority of Abū Salama, on the authority of Abū Hurayra, on the authority of the Prophet ﷺ, who said: "The Fire complained to its Lord and said: 'Lord, a part of me has devoured another part of me, so grant me relief.' Then He permitted it two breaths each year; and the most severe cold you experience comes from the bitter cold (zamharīr) of Hell (jahannam), and the most severe heat you experience comes from the heat of Hell."
