Tafsir of Sad 38:52

This means they restrain their gaze toward their husbands, not looking at anyone else. Alternatively, it means their husbands restrain their gaze toward them, not looking at others due to their extreme beauty. The completion of this discussion has already passed.

This means of the same age, identical in parity and likeness. This is either likened to the tara'ib (the ribs of the chest) or because they fell to the ground simultaneously at birth, touching its dust (turab). Thus, al-tibr comes to mean al-mutarib (the like), just as al-mithl means al-mumathil (the equivalent).

It is apparent that this description pertains to their relationship with one another, thereby signaling their mutual love and friendship. Indeed, women of the same age love and befriend one another, and in that lies immense comfort for their husbands, just as the mutual hatred of co-wives is a great hardship and a grave burden for them—a matter which has been tested and proven true. We ask Allah the Exalted for pardon and well-being.

It has been said that this pertains to their relationship with their husbands; meaning, their ages match the ages of their husbands to achieve perfect love. This view is favored by the argument that a man’s concern for the existence of love between himself and his wife is greater than his concern for it existing between his wives. However, there is hesitation regarding this. Furthermore, the first description, according to the first interpretation, guarantees the indication of their love for their husbands, while according to the second interpretation, it guarantees the indication of the husbands' love for them. When love is attained from one side, it is generally attained from the other; it has been said: "From heart to heart, there is a path." As for the empirical evidence, the fact that wives being younger than their husbands is more desirable to them—not equal in age—is noted.

Some have chosen the view that this equality is between them and their husbands, which necessitates the equality of the wives with one another. This applies if the intent of the Almighty’s saying, "And with them..." refers to each one of them individually. If, however, the intent is collective—that the plural is distributed such that each person of Paradise has one of these Qasirat al-Tarf Atrab—then considering the description as being between them and their husbands becomes almost certain. But this premise contradicts what the traditions have spoken, whether we follow what was narrated from Ibn Abbas—that the verse refers to human women—or what the author of al-Finan stated—that it refers to the Houris. It has also been said, based on the apparent nature of the description, that the equality in age is between the Houris and the women of Paradise, so the verse applies to both.