Tafsir of Al-Hajj 22:24

"And they have been guided to good speech" (i.e., their saying: "Praise be to Allah, who has fulfilled His promise to us and made us inherit the Garden"). This is as narrated from Ibn Abbas. It is also said that it refers to what encompasses this and everything else that occurs in the discourse of the people of Paradise among themselves. Others say that this guidance occurs in the worldly life, and the "good speech" is the statement "There is no god but Allah." In another narration from Ibn Abbas, it is that along with the addition of "Praise be to Allah," and Ibn Zayd added "And Allah is the Greatest." According to Al-Suddi, it is the Quran. Al-Mawardi reported that it is enjoining good and forbidding evil. It is also said to encompass all of that and all other forms of remembrance (dhikr).

"And they have been guided to the path of the Praised One" (i.e., the One who is Most Praised). As for the annexation (idafa) of the "path" to Him, it is said to be bayaniyyah (explanatory), and the intended meaning is Islam, for it is a path praised by those who follow it, or it is praised in itself, or its outcome is praised. It is also said that it refers to Paradise, and the term "path" is applied to it because it is a road to attaining what no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and has not occurred to the heart of any human being. It is also said that "The Praised One" refers to Paradise, and the annexation is according to its literal meaning, while "its path" refers to Islam or the tangible path that leads to it on the Day of Resurrection.

The most sound view is that the "Praised One" is Allah—Exalted is His Majesty—who is inherently deserving of ultimate praise, and that "His path" is Islam, for it is the way to His pleasure. It is also said that it is Paradise, for it is a path to attaining what was previously mentioned, and it was annexed to Him for the sake of honor.

The sum of what they have said here is that the guidance may be in the Hereafter or in this world, and that the "Praised One" is either the Truth—Exalted is His state—or Paradise, or the path itself. As for the "path," it is either Islam, or Paradise, or the tangible path leading to it on the Day of Resurrection.

They addressed the postponement of this sentence after the first sentence by saying sometimes it is to observe the endings of the verses, and other times because the mention of "praise" included in the first sentence necessitates the mention of the "One who is praised." It is not far-fetched to say that the guidance in both sentences is in the Hereafter after entering Paradise, that the annexation here is bayaniyyah, that the "good speech" is the speech that souls find delightful occurring in the discourse of the people of Paradise among themselves, and that the "path of the Praised One" is the conduct that the people of Paradise follow in their interactions with one another—the actions for which they are praised, or something more encompassing than that.

Thus, the sum of the first sentence is describing the people of Paradise as having good speech, and the sum of the second is describing them as having good actions, or something that encompasses both. It is as if, after He mentioned their beautiful dwelling, ornaments, and clothing, He followed this by mentioning the beauty of their treatment of one another in speech and action, an allusion to the fact that their state does not lead them into harshness of speech or ugliness of actions, which would shame the beauty of their state and disturb the pleasure of their gathering. The reason for the ordering and the sequence in this regard is not hidden to the insightful.

What I have chosen is that the "good speech" is their saying after entering Paradise: "Praise be to Allah, who has removed all sorrow from us. Indeed, our Lord is Forgiving and Appreciative. Who has settled us in the home of duration out of His bounty. There, no toil touches us, nor does fatigue touch us," due to the saying of the Exalted in Surah Fatir, after His saying—Exalted be He— "They will be adorned therein with bracelets of gold and pearl, and their garments therein will be silk. And they will say, 'Praise be to Allah, who has removed all sorrow from us'..." and so on, for the Quran interprets itself. And that the "path of the Praised One" refers to what encompasses the speech and actions occurring among the people of Paradise, that which is praised in its conduct during social interaction in those places, avoiding the taint of redundancy, as is not hidden to one of sound mind. So reflect, for you have been guided to the path of the Praised One.