Tafsir of Ar-Rahman 55:55-56

It is also said: The pronoun refers to the houses and palaces understood from the two Gardens, or to the two Gardens in view of what is mentioned within them. Others say it refers to the furnishings. Abu Hayyan said: This is a good statement with a close derivation. It was objected that the preposition "in" (fi) is more appropriate for furnishings than "upon." It was answered that their being upon the furnishings is likened to the containment of the contained within a container, and this choice of words serves to signal that their primary state is one of stability upon them. It is also permissible to say that the "containment" (dharfiyya) is to indicate that when one sits upon these furnishings, the place where the sitter is located sinks, and what surrounds them rises until they almost disappear within them, as is observed in the furnishings of luxurious kings, which are stuffed with ostrich feathers and the like.

It is also said: The pronoun refers to the blessings (ala') enumerated from the two Gardens, the two springs, the fruit, the furnishings, and the youths.

"…are women who restrain their glances" (qasirat al-tarf), meaning women who restrict their gazes to their husbands and do not look at others, or who cause the gaze of one who looks at them to be restrained from wandering elsewhere. Ibn Rashiq said: Imru’ al-Qays said regarding "the restrainers of glances": "If a tiny ant were to crawl over the nose of one of them, it would leave a mark." By "restrainers of glances," he meant that she has a lowered eyelid, a downcast gaze, not aspiring to what is beyond, nor looking at anyone other than her husband. It is also permissible that its meaning is that the onlooker’s gaze does not pass beyond them, like the saying of Al-Mutanabbi: "And dark-eyed ones, in whom gazes are fixed, as if upon them is a belt of pupils." So, do not be heedless; the majority favor the first of the two meanings we mentioned. Indeed, some reports indicate that this is a Prophetic interpretation.

Ibn Marduwayh narrated from Ja’far ibn Muhammad, from his father, from his grandfather, from the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace), that he said concerning this: "They do not look at anyone but their husbands." If this is authentic, the restraint of the gaze should be limited to that. In some accounts, one of them says to her husband: "By the might of my Lord, I do not see anyone in Paradise more beautiful than you, so praise be to Allah who made me your wife and you my husband." The word "al-tarf" (the glance) is originally an infinitive, which is why it is used in the singular.

Ibn Abbas said: No man or jinn has deflowered them before their husbands. This contains an indication that the pronoun in "before them" refers to the husbands, and "restrainers of glances" supports this. In Al-Bahr, it is said that it refers back to those whom the pronoun refers to in "reclining." The root of tams (touching/deflowering) is the flowing of blood; hence, menstruation is called tams. It was then applied to the intercourse of virgins because it involves the flowing of blood. It is also said that it was generalized to all intercourse, which is what is narrated here from Ikrimah, and many have inclined toward the first opinion.

It is said that this phrasing is to indicate that they are found as virgins every time they are approached. The negation of their being touched by men is clear. As for the jinn, Mujahid and Al-Hasan said: The jinn may have intercourse with human women along with their husbands if the husband does not mention the name of Allah, so it is negated here for all who engage in intercourse. It is said there is no need for this, as it is sufficient for the negation of tams by jinn that it is merely possible for them, and there is no doubt in the possibility of a jinn having intercourse with a human woman without her being with her husband who did not mention the name of Allah. This is supported by what Abu Uthman Sa’id ibn Dawud al-Zubaydi narrated: "A group of people from Yemen wrote to Malik asking him about marriage to jinn, saying: 'There is a man here from the jinn who claims he wants what is lawful.' He replied: 'I do not see any harm in that in terms of religion, but I dislike it if a woman is found pregnant and is asked: "Who is your husband?" and she says: "A man from the jinn," which would cause much corruption in Islam.'"

Furthermore, the claim that jinn have actual intercourse with human women alongside their husbands when they do not mention the name of Allah is not accepted by all scholars, and His saying, "And share with them in wealth and children," is not a definitive text on the matter, as is not hidden. Damrah ibn Habib said: The jinn in Paradise have "restrainers of glances" of their own kind from the jinn. The meaning is that no one—neither human nor jinn—has touched these women before their husbands. Ibn Abi Hatim narrated something similar from him, and its apparent meaning is that the jinn’s women are not of the Hur (Houris).

Al-Tabarsi reported from him that they are of the Hur, as are the human women, and there is no obstacle to Allah creating Hur in Paradise for humans that resemble them—these are called human Hur—and Hur for the jinn that resemble them—these are called jinn Hur. It is also possible that all the Hur are one species and are given to the jinn, but in that realm, they are different from what they are in this realm. It is said: What is given to the human from them has not been touched by any human before him, and what is given to the jinn has not been touched by any jinn before him. Al-Balkhi interpreted the verse this way. Al-Sha’bi and Al-Kalbi said: Those restrainers of glances are from the women of this world who have not been touched by any creature since they were created for the afterlife. Each is given his believing wife who was his in this world, and he is given others from among the believing women as well. Likewise, the jinn is given his believing wife who was his in this world from among the jinn, and he is given others from the believing jinn women. It is unlikely that a jinn would have human women in the Hereafter.

Al-Awza’i and the majority—as mentioned by Al-Ayni in the commentary on Al-Bukhari—held that they (the jinn) are rewarded for obedience and punished for disobedience and will enter Paradise, for the appearance of this indicates they are like humans on the Day of Resurrection. Regarding Imam Abu Hanifah, there are three narrations: First, they have no reward except salvation from the Fire, then it is said to them, "Become dust," like other animals. Second, they are of the people of Paradise, but have no reward (i.e., nothing in addition to entering it). Third, to withhold judgment. Al-Kurdi said: This is the case in most narrations. In the Fatawa of Abu Ishaq ibn al-Saffar, it is said that the Imam says: They will neither be in Paradise nor in the Fire, but in a place known only to Allah. It is reported from Malik and a group that they will be in the outskirts of Paradise. It is also said that they are the people of the Heights (A'raf). From Al-Dahhak, it is narrated that they are inspired with praise and remembrance, thus attaining from its pleasure what the sons of Adam attain from the bliss of Paradise.

Regarding the opinion of their entry into Paradise, it is said: We see them, but they do not see us—the opposite of their state in the world. Al-Harith al-Muhasibi went with this. In Al-Yawaqit, it is said that the elites among them see us, just as the elites among us see them in the world. Regarding the opinion that they are blessed in Paradise, it is said that their enjoyment is without seeing Him (the Almighty), for they do not see Him, and similarly for the angels (peace be upon them), except for Gabriel (peace be upon him), for he sees Him, the Sublime, once and does not see Him again, according to what Abu Ishaq Ibrahim ibn al-Saffar narrated in his Fatawa from his father. The most correct view is that which the majority hold, which we previously mentioned: there is no difference between them and humans regarding the vision of Allah, and the full discussion is in its proper place.

Talha, Isa, and the companions of Abdullah read yatmithuhunna with a damma on the mim here and subsequently. Some read it with a damma in the first and a kasra in the second, and some the opposite, and some with a choice, and Al-Jahdari with a fatha on the mim in both. The sentence is an adjective for "restrainers of glances" because its annexation is grammatical, or a state from them due to its specification by annexation.