Tafsir of Ar-Rahman 55:75-76

"So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?"

75. His statement—Glorified is He—: "Reclining" (Muttaqi’in). It is said: it is based on the estimation of "they are enjoying themselves, reclining," or "I mean, reclining." The pronoun refers to the people of the two gardens indicated by their mention. "On green cushions" (Rafraf): This is a generic noun or a collective noun, the singular of which is rafrafah. In both interpretations, the statement of the Exalted, "Green" (Khudr), is valid as its adjective. Some have made it a plural of this description, but it is not hidden that the status of the description does not depend on that determination.

Ali—may God behead him with honor—, Ibn Abbas, and Ad-Dahhak interpreted it in the verse as the "surpluses of the hangings" (fudul al-maharib), which are what is thrown over the back of the bedding to sleep upon. Al-Jawhari said: The rafraf are green garments from which hangings are made, and its derivation is from raff (to rise/flourish) when it is elevated. Al-Hasan said, in what was recorded by Ibn al-Mundhir and others from him: They are carpets.

It was recorded from Asim al-Jahdari that they are pillows; this was also narrated from Al-Hasan and Ibn Kaysan. Al-Jubba’i said: They are elevated mattresses. It is said: It is what dangles from the beds made of expensive fabrics. Al-Raghib said: A type of garment similar to gardens. Ibn Jarir and a group recorded from Sa’id ibn Jubayr that he said: The rafraf are the gardens of Paradise. Abd ibn Humayd recorded the same from Ibn Abbas, and it is—as stated in Al-Bahr—from the raf (flourishing/greenness) of the plant. Yes, it is fine. It is said that rafraf applies to every wide fabric, to the thinness of silk garments, and to the edges of tents and pavilions that rest upon the ground, excluding the guy-ropes and pegs. The apparent meaning of the words of some is that it refers to this meaning here, but there is some doubt in that.

"And rich carpets" (Abqari): This is attributed to Abqar, which the Arabs claim is the name of a land of the jinn; they attribute to it every wondrous and strange thing among mattresses and others. Thus, its meaning is a wondrous, rare thing. From this is what was said regarding Umar al-Faruq—may God be pleased with him—: "I have never seen an abqari (masterful, wondrous man) performing his feat." To avoid that attribution, it is said: It is not a relative adjective, but rather a chair or a rug, as was reported from Qutrub; and the intention is the genus, which is why it is described with the plural "fine" (hissan).

76. "Fine" (Hissan): Carrying this on the meaning. It is said: It is a collective noun or a plural, the singular of which is abqariyyah. Most have interpreted it as being carpets/rugs (zarabi). From Abu Ubaydah: It is like kalah and something of the carpets. Multiple narrations from Mujahid state it is thick brocade (dibaj). From Al-Hasan: They are carpets upon which there are images. You have already heard what was reported from him regarding rafraf, so do not be heedless of what the conjunction (conjunction between the two descriptions) entails.

Uthman ibn Affan—may God be pleased with him—, Nasr ibn Asim al-Jahdari, Malik ibn Dinar, Ibn Muhaysin, and others read it as rafarif (plural, diptote) and abqari (with kasrah on the qaf and a shadda on the ya). Others also narrated a damma on the dad, and others a fatha on the qaf, as stated by the author of Al-Lawamih. He then said: As for the prohibition of declension (diptote) for abaqari, it is due to its proximity to rafarif for the sake of rhyme; otherwise, there is no justification for prohibiting declension with the relative ya except in the necessity of poetry. End quote.

Ibn Khalawayh said: "On green rafarif and abaqari," the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—, Al-Jahdari, and Ibn Muhaysin read. It was also narrated from those we mentioned: "On green rafarif and abaqari" as fully declined (triptote). The same was narrated from Malik ibn Dinar. Abu Muhammad al-Marwazi—who was a grammarian—read rafaf (as fa’al weight). The author of Al-Kamil said: Ibn Mus’if, Ibn Miqsam, and Ibn Muhaysin read rafarif (plural), and it was chosen by Shibl, Abu Haywah, Al-Jahdari, and Al-Za’farani; this is the preferred reading due to the statement of the Exalted, "Green" (khudr).

Ibn Atiyyah said: Zuhayr al-Qurqabi read rafarif (plural) and left it as a diptote. Abu Tu’mah al-Madani and Asim—in one narration—read rafarif as a triptote. Uthman—may God be pleased with him—did the same. And abaqari (plural and triptote). And from him: abaqari with fatha on the qaf and ya, on the basis that the place name is Abaqar with fatha on the qaf, whereas the correct form is Abqar. Al-Zamakhshari said: Abaqari was read like madaini.

Abu Hatim narrated abaqari with fatha on the qaf and prohibition of declension, but this has no basis for its correctness. Al-Zajjaj said: This reading has no exit, because what exceeds three letters is not pluralized with a relative ya. If you were to pluralize abqari, you would say abaqirah like muhallabi and muhallabah, and you would not say muhallabi. Ibn Jinni said: As for leaving abaqari as a diptote, it is anomalous in analogy, despite its usage. Ibn Hisham said: That it is from the attribution to the plural, like madaini, is false; for whoever said that read rafarif khudr with the intention of homogenization. If it were as mentioned, it would be singular, and it would not be correct to prohibit its declension like madaini. The report of its prohibition of declension is authentic from the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—so it is from the category of kursi and karasi (plural). It is from the form of the "utmost plural," but it violates analogy in the addition of what follows the alif, beyond what is known, as Al-Suhayli mentioned. The author of Al-Kashf said: There is no basis for the fatha on the qaf. What is mentioned in Al-Muntaqa from the Prophet—may God bless him and grant him peace—is the kasrah.

As for the prohibition of declension, it is not fixed such that it must be refuted, but rather its aspect is that it is an accusative on the place of rafraf, similar to "they go to Najd and go towards the valley" (yadhhabuna fayanjiduna wa yaghuru), and its annexation to "fine" (hissan) is like the annexation of hur (dark-eyed) to ’in (wide-eyed) in the reading of Ikrimah. It is as if it were said: abaqari (are) mattresses or cushions. It is from the category of akhlaq thiyab (worn-out clothes), because one of the two descriptions stands in place of the described. Perhaps Abqar and Abaqar are like Arafah and Arafat. End quote. So grasp the answer to the discourse and do not be heedless. Ibn Hurmuz read "green" (khudr) with a damma on the dad, which is a rare dialect.

The description with the statement of the Exalted, "Reclining on green cushions", etc., as opposed to the description with His statement—Glorified is He—: "Reclining on beds whose linings are of brocade" (referring to the two previous gardens), is according to those who prefer the two previous gardens, because in this description there is an indication that the covers (the outer linings) are beyond description. Those who prefer the latter two say: The rafraf is what is thrown over the back of the mattress, and the mattresses upon which the rafraf are thrown are not mentioned; so it is permissible that their omission is to indicate that description cannot encompass them, neither the outer nor the inner, and this is more eloquent than the first. It is not accepted that those mattresses are the abqari, or they say the rafraf are the elevated mattresses, and the omission of discussing anything other than their color—which is greenness, to which the dispositions incline most strongly, and which collects the foundations of the three primary colors, as the Imam explained—indicates that they are of those whose reality words can hardly encompass. Other things might be said, so contemplate.