Tafsir of Al Imran 3:133

“And hasten” is conjoined to “obey” or “fear.” Nafi’ and Ibn ‘Amir read it without the waw (and) as an initiation of speech—this is the reading of the people of Medina and Syria. The famous reading is that of the people of Mecca and Iraq, meaning: hasten and race. It is also read as the latter.

“Toward forgiveness from your Lord and a garden”—that is, toward the causes thereof, which are righteous deeds. From Ali (may God honor his face), it is said: "Hasten to perform the obligatory acts (fara'id)." From Ibn Abbas: "To Islam." From Abu al-'Aliyah: "To the migration (hijrah)." From Anas bin Malik: "To the takbir (first prayer in congregation)." From Sa'id bin Jubayr: "To perform acts of obedience." From Yaman: "To the five prayers." From al-Dahhak: "To jihad." From 'Ikrimah: "To repentance." The apparent meaning is generality, and all types are included therein.

Forgiveness is placed before the garden because clearing (of sins) precedes embellishing (with rewards). It is also said: because it is like the cause for entering the garden. “From” is connected to a suppressed element that serves as an adjective for forgiveness. Exposure to the title of Lordship, while adding it to the pronoun of the addressed, serves to show increased kindness toward them. Describing forgiveness as being from the Lord—rather than describing the garden as such—is to exalt its matter and elevate its status.

The occasion for the revelation of the verse, according to what ‘Abd ibn Humayd and others narrated from ‘Ata’ ibn Abi Rabah, is that the Muslims said: "O Messenger of God, the Children of Israel were more honored by God than we; when one of them committed a sin, the expiation for his sin would be found written at the threshold of his house: 'Cut off your nose, cut off your ear, do such and such.'" The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) remained silent, and then these verses were revealed up to the Almighty’s saying: “And those who, when they commit an immorality or wrong themselves...” (3:135). The Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) then said: "Shall I not inform you of someone better than that?" and he recited them to them.

The tanwin (indefinite marking) in maghfirah (forgiveness) is for magnification, and the description supports this; likewise in jannah (a garden), which is also supported by the description in His saying: “whose width is the heavens and the earth.” The intended meaning is "like the width of the heavens and the earth." It is on the order of the saying: "I reckoned the braying of my mount to be a 'anaq (a specific vocalization), but it was not the 'anaq of anyone other than you," for he intended "like the sound of an 'anaq." Width is the shorter of the two dimensions (length and width), and mentioning it rather than the length is a form of hyperbole. He increased the hyperbole by omitting the particle of comparison and implying the genitive construction. The intent is not to define its width such that it would be impossible for it to be in the heavens; rather, the statement is a metonymy for extreme vastness in a way the listeners can visualize. The Arabs often describe a thing by its width when they want to describe its vastness. From this is their saying: "He became 'wide' (arada) in nobility," meaning he expanded therein.

The meaning of “the heavens and the earth” is the seven heavens and the seven earths. From Ibn Abbas, by way of al-Suddi, it is said: "The seven heavens and seven earths are joined together as clothes are joined to one another; that is the width of the garden." Most maintain that it is above the seven heavens and below the Throne, which is what is narrated from Anas bin Malik. It is said: It is in the fourth heaven, a view held by a group. It is said: It is outside this world, wherever God Almighty wills. The meaning of it being in heaven is that it is in the direction of the heights, and there is no impediment for us in God Almighty creating in the heights things like the heavens and the earth many times over. This does not contradict the report that it is in the fourth heaven, if it be authentic, nor what is related from the majority, for that is like your saying: "In the house there is a garden," if it has a door opening into it, for instance; this does not contradict the garden being outside the house. According to this interpretation, the report also does not contradict that the width of the garden is "like the width of the heavens and the earth" without the need to say that the intent of "the heavens" is not the seven heavens, as has been said.

Some people hold the view that it is in the heavens below the Throne, or in the fourth, but this width will only be on the Day of Resurrection, when God Almighty increases in it what He increases. This is narrated from Abu Bakr Ahmad bin Ali. It is said: Through this, the question is deflected: if the width of the garden is "like the width of the heavens and the earth," then where is the Fire? The way of deflection is that this is on the Day of Resurrection. As for now, it is much less than that, and on the day that status is established for it, the heavens and earth will not be like these heavens and earth whose width is being compared to its width. It is not hidden that the claim of "increase in vastness on the Day of Resurrection," even if conceded, does not allow for the current state to be much less than these heavens and earth; that is in the realm of denial and is hardly accepted. The aforementioned question was answered by the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) in a different way.

Ibn Jarir narrated from al-Tanukhi, the messenger of Heraclius, that he said: "I came to the Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) with a letter from Heraclius, in which it was written: 'You have written inviting me to a garden whose width is the heavens and the earth, so where is the Fire?' The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) replied: 'Glory be to God! So where is the night when the day comes?'" Perhaps the intent of the response is to dismiss the question and to declare that the One who is able to take the night wherever He wills is able to create the Fire wherever He wills. To this, the report of Abu Hurayrah (may God be pleased with him) points.

Abu Muslim al-Isfahani took the view that "width" ('ard) here is not the opposite of length, but rather from your saying: "I offered ('aradtu) the goods for sale," meaning: its price, if it were sold, would be like the price of the heavens and the earth. The intent is its immense magnitude and the majesty of its worth, and that nothing, no matter how great, is equal to it. So 'ard is in the sense of what is offered as a price against the goods sold. With this, one might dispense with implying that genitive construction. It is not hidden, however, that despite its distance, it contradicts what is transmitted from the righteous predecessors: that the intent is to describe it as being vast.

“Prepared for the righteous”—that is, readied for those who obey God Almighty and His Messenger (may God bless him and grant him peace). It is attributed to them to signal that they are the ones intended in essence, even if the entry of others—such as sinful believers, children, and the mentally disabled—is by way of consequence. If piety (taqwa) is interpreted in other places [as avoiding all sins], here it would be distant; rather, it refers to piety regarding polytheism, not that which encompasses it and all other prohibitions. We do not dispense with this statement because the mentally disabled, for example, are not characterized by piety in reality, even if it were only regarding polytheism, as is not hidden.

It is permitted that there are various gardens, and that this garden is for the righteous characterized by these attributes, and no one shares it with them, neither in essence nor by consequence. Perhaps it is the Firdaws (Paradise) confirmed in his saying (may God bless him and grant him peace): "If you ask God for Paradise, ask Him for the Firdaws." There is contemplation regarding this. The verse is apparent that the garden is created now, as indicated by the past tense verb. To make it of the type of "the Trumpet shall be blown" (future tense) is contrary to the apparent meaning, and there is no need for it, as has been explained in its place. The same applies to "prepared" mentioned before regarding the Fire. As for the indication of the verse that the garden is outside this world based on it requiring that the garden be greater than it and thus it cannot be encompassing it, there is consideration in that, as looking into what preceded will guide you.

The sentence is in the position of a genitive as an adjective for the garden. It is permitted that it be in the position of an accusative as a state (hal) from it, because it has been described. It is also permitted that it be initiating a new sentence. Abu al-Baqa' said: "It is not permissible for it to be a hal from the possessor of the noun (the mudaf ilayh) for three reasons: first, that it (the mudaf) has no operational power (to govern), and what has come of that is interpreted as weak; second, that 'width' here does not mean the true verbal noun but distance; and third, that it necessitates separation between the hal and its owner."