Al-Qamar: (54) Indeed, the righteous are in...

Since the exposition of the wretched state of the disbelievers with the words of the Exalted, "Indeed, the criminals [are in error and madness]," necessitates the exposition of the blessed state of the believers so that intimidation and inducement may be balanced, He—Glory be to Him—described their blessed state in a general way, saying, "Indeed, the righteous"—that is, those who are righteous against disbelief and sins; and it is said: [righteous against] disbelief alone—"are in gardens" of great significance, "and a river [nahar]."

That is, rivers [anhār]. The singular form is used to suffice with the generic noun, in consideration of the rhyming endings [fawāsil].

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that he interpreted it as "abundance" [sa'ah]. He cited as evidence the words of Labid ibn Rabi'ah—as mentioned in al-Durr al-Manthur—or Qays ibn al-Khatim—as in al-Bahr—describing a spear-thrust: "My hand possessed it, then I caused its aperture to flow [fanhartu], so that one standing before it could see what was behind it." That is, I widened its aperture. The intended meaning of "abundance" here is the spaciousness of their dwellings, as is the apparent meaning. It is also said that it means abundance of provision and livelihood, and it is said that it encompasses both.

Al-Hakim and al-Tirmidhi narrated in Nawadir al-Usul from Muhammad ibn Ka'b that he said: "and a river [nahar]" means in light and radiance. This is metaphorical, by likening the spreading light to water flowing from its source. It is also permitted that it refers to "daytime" [nahār] in its literal sense, the intended meaning being that for them in the Gardens, there is neither darkness nor night.

Al-A'raj, Mujahid, Humayd, Abu al-Summal, and al-Fayyād ibn Ghazwan recited it as "nahrun" with a vowelless ha [sukun], which carries the same meaning as "nahar" with an open ha. Al-A'mash, Abu Nahik, Abu Mijlaz, and al-Yamani recited it as "nuhrun" with a damma on both the nun and the ha, which is the plural of "nahar"—whether the ha is open or vowelless—like the plural of asad (lion) as usud, or rahn (pledge) as ruhun. It is also said that it is the plural of nahār (daytime), and the intended meaning is that for them there is no darkness nor night, as was narrated previously. It is also reported that it was recited with a damma on the nun and a vowelless ha.