Salaam and welcome to another episode of our weekly series titled “Path towards Enlightenment” which is an endeavour to make you and us familiar with an easy and fluent explanation of God’s Final Scripture to all mankind, the holy Qur’an that was revealed to the Last and Greatest of all Messengers, Prophet Mohammad (blessings of God upon him and his progeny).

As you know, we are currently explaining “Surah Rahman, which is considered the crown of the Holy Qur’an since it opens with the word “Ar-Rahman” or the “All-Beneficent”, thus proclaiming one of the most beautiful attributes of the Almighty Creator. This Surah highlights the All-Merciful Lord’s wonders of creation, describes the end of the material world, and paints an evocative picture of the delights of Paradise. Hell is briefly contrasted in Ayah 43 with the joys that await the righteous. The refrain فبای آلاء ربکما تکذبان     which means “So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both (mankind and jinn) deny?” runs throughout the Surah.

We continue from where we left you last week and here are Ayahs 46 and 47, of the said Surah:

“And for him who stands in awe of his Lord will be two gardens.

“So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?

If you might recall, in our explanation of the previous Ayahs of this Surah last Friday we referred to the horrendous events that will occur at the end of the world when celestial bodies and galaxies will veer from their orbits, turning into a flood of molten substances, beyond our imagination, before emergence of a new order of existence.

We also said that on the Day of Judgement, the faces of the guilty will reflect their deeds. Those who had committed abominable sins and disobeyed Divine Commandments will be cast into Hellfire since they died in the state of atheism, polytheism, and all sorts of disbelief, or were habitual sinners who never bothered to repent of their evil deeds despite the long respite given by the All-Merciful Lord.

The Ayahs that we recited to you now mean to say that in contrast to the terrible fate of the people of Hell, the righteous persons who were always cognizant of God Almighty and obeyed His commandments, will be immune from the horrors of that day, and will be rewarded for their correct beliefs. As Ayah 46 means to say there will be two gardens (or more) in Paradise for any believer who was in awe of the Exalted Creator, since such a state prevents a person from committing sins. A hadith in this regard from the Prophet’s 6^th Infallible Heir, Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS), means to say: The one who believes that God is All-Seeing and All-Hearing, will be in awe of standing before God, and thus will not commit evil deeds.

From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. God is All-Merciful and His Glory inspires awe, but this does not mean He is the source of fear for His creature.
2. The proper cognizance of the Almighty Creator and adherence to the path of the Prophet and the Imams, make the faithful to be always wary of their deeds and fear disobeying Him.
3. God should not be worshipped for the desire of Paradise or the fear of Hell, but should be worshipped out of gratitude as the Only One deserving of worship.
4. Rewards for the people of Paradise are beyond imagination, and the reference to the awarding of two gardens, with all their bounties for a righteous person, is an indication in this regard.

Let us now listen to Ayahs 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, and 53 of Surah Rahmān:

“Both (the gardens) abounding in branches (of a variety of fresh fruits);

“So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?

“In both of them will be two flowing springs.

“So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?

“In both of them will be two kinds of every fruit.

“So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?”

These Ayahs speak about the infinite bounties of Paradise, where a variety of fruits are available on branches of the two gardens granted to a believer, and unlike the trees in this world, these branches are perennially fresh with fruits always available, and not seasonal, as part of Divine Blessings in Paradise.

These gardens will have two springs of fresh flowing water to provide a pleasant atmosphere of unending bliss for the faithful to enjoy these favours and give thanks to the All-Merciful Lord.

In both the gardens, every fruit will be of two kinds – perhaps a variety that was available in this world and another which is special to Paradise with more delicious taste.

These Ayahs are interspersed with the rhetorical question: “So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both (that is, mankind and jinn) deny?”

 From these Ayahs we learn that:

1. In the gardens of Paradise there is an infinite variety of fresh fruits and shady trees of verdant branches, beyond human imagination.
2. The gardens have two fresh flowing springs and two kinds of each and every fruit – delightful to the eye and delicious in taste.
3. The people of Paradise will never be tired or bored of the bounties granted by God Almighty.

Now let us listen to Ayahs 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, and 59, of the same Surah:

“[They will be] reclining on beds lined with green silk and the fruit of the two gardens will be near at hand.

“So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?

“In them are maidens of restrained glances, whom no human or jinn has touched before.

“So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?

“As if they were rubies and corals;

“So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?

These Ayahs refer to the other blessings of Paradise, where the virtuous will recline in peace and perfect serenity upon couches of indescribable tapestry and lined with brocade, more precious than any worldly fabric, while the ripe fruits of the two gardens will always be available at hand without the need to take the trouble of going after them. The carpets will be of the finest material with the most exquisite lining.

Among the rewards for the people of Paradise are chaste, very beautiful and spotlessly clean spouses whom no human or jinn has ever touched, and whose glances are solely for their husbands. It is indeed one of the best merits of a wife to think only of her husband and to love only him. It is proof of the fact that Paradise is not the place of illicit relations.

When Imam Ja’far as-Sadeq (AS) was asked whether a pious pair of husband and wife will remain united in Paradise? He replied: “If the quality of piety and faith of husband is better, he will have the option, and if the quality of the piety and faith of the wife is better, she will have the option. If one desires the other, they will certainly live together."

Ayah 58 further depicts the beauty of the spouses in Paradise comparing them to rubies in terms of rosiness and coral in terms of whiteness, since the intermingling of these two colours, namely red and white, presents a very beauteous complexion.  

These Ayahs teach us the following points:

1. Anyone who avoids forbidden pleasures in this world, God will provide him/her with the unending legitimate pleasures in Paradise.
2. Chastity and loyalty are the characteristics of virtuous women, and the believing women who made their homes paradise for their husband and children, will indeed be granted the eternal bliss of heavenly Paradise.
3. Those who enter Paradise, whether man or woman, will glow with astounding beauty even if they were not attractive in the mortal world.

In conclusion of this week’s episode, we present you Ayahs 60 and 61 of Surah Rahmān:

“Is the requital of goodness anything but goodness?

“So which of your Lord’s bounties will you both deny?”

Here, although the general principle is mentioned that goodness by anyone should be returned with goodness, the Divine Promise is that those who obeyed Lord Most High and strove to do good for His sake will definitely be granted unimaginable rewards in Paradise.

Thus, how can the human beings or the jinn deny the bounties of God Almighty?

These Ayahs teach us the following points:

1. God commands us to compensate goodness with goodness.
2. The All-Merciful will grant unimaginable rewards in Paradise to the believers.

RM/AS/SS