Tafsir of Maryam 19:63

This is an initiation brought forth to magnify the status of Paradise and to specify those entitled to it. The demonstrative pronoun is the subject (mubtada'), and "the Paradise" (al-jannah) is its predicate (khabar). The relative pronoun (allati) is an adjective for it, and the sentence following it is its relative clause (silah), with the pronoun referring back to the antecedent omitted—that is: "we bequeath it" (nurithuha).

Al-A‘mash read it this way. Al-Hasan, al-A‘raj, Qatadah, Ruways, Humayd, Ibn Abi ‘Ablah, Abu Haywah, and Mahbub (from Abu ‘Amr) read nuwarrithu with a fatha on the waw and a shadda on the ra’. The intended meaning is: "We preserve it for whoever was pious, as the fruit of their piety, and we let them enjoy it, just as we preserve for an heir the wealth of the deceased and let them enjoy it." Thus, "bequeathing" (irath) is a metaphor for preservation. It was preferred over other terms that might indicate the same meaning—such as sale or gifting—because it is the most complete form of ownership, in that it is not followed by annulment, reclamation, or invalidation.

It has been said: The pious will inherit from Paradise the dwellings that would have belonged to the people of the Fire had they believed. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ibn Shawdhab that he said: "There is no one who does not have a house and spouses in Paradise. When the Day of Resurrection comes, Allah, the Exalted, causes the believer to inherit such-and-such dwellings of the dwellings of the disbelievers." This is the meaning of His saying: "That is the Paradise which We bequeath..."

It is not hidden that if this is supported by a narration from the Messenger of Allah (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), then it is to be accepted willingly. Otherwise, it has been objected to on the grounds that it is weak; for it implies that only some of Paradise is inherited, whereas the noble text indicates that the entirety of it is such. Furthermore, inheritance implies prior ownership [by another], even if only hypothetically, yet there is no call for this hypothesis here. However, this was countered by the argument that for inheritance, it suffices that the bequeathed object existed—provided that piety is the condition—based on the view of some regarding the Almighty’s saying: "Gardens of Eden, which the Most Merciful has promised His servants" (Maryam: 61). They argued that "servants" here includes both the pious believer and others, and that the promise to the non-pious believer is conditional upon faith and piety. Yes, the majority chose the view that "servants" there refers to the pious, while "servants" here is more general. "The pious" is taken to mean the one who believes and performs righteous deeds, as has been said. There is no evidence in the verse that others cannot enter Paradise at all. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Dawud ibn Abi Hind that it [the pious] refers to the monotheist (al-muwahhid). So remember this and do not be heedless.