**(And We will remove whatever is in their breasts of resentment)**
Meaning: We will uproot whatever jealousy or hidden grudges were in their hearts—an enmity that existed due to human nature regarding affairs that occurred between them in this world. Ibn Jarir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and Abu al-Shaykh narrated from al-Suddi, who said: "When the people of Paradise are led to Paradise and reach its gate, they will find a tree at the base of its trunk two springs. They will drink from one, and what is in their breasts of resentment will be removed—this is the 'purifying drink.' They will bathe from the other, and the radiance of bliss will flow over them, such that they will never thereafter become disheveled or weary."
Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from al-Hasan, who said: "It has reached me that the Prophet (ﷺ) said: 'The people of Paradise will be detained after crossing the Bridge (al-Sirat) until they settle the grievances they had against one another in the world. Then, they will enter Paradise with no resentment in their hearts toward one another.'"
It is also said: The meaning is that We have purified their hearts and protected them from envying one another regarding the degrees of Paradise and the stations of proximity, so that the one in a lower degree does not envy the one in a higher degree. This stands in contrast to what He, the Glorified, mentioned regarding the people of Hell cursing one another. Regardless, the intent is "We shall remove," even though the past tense is used to signal its certainty.
It is said: This removal took place in the world, and the meaning is that they were not characterized by it from the beginning. However, the lack of such characterization—despite the occasional presence of what human nature demands—is metaphorically expressed as "removal." Perhaps this refers to the perfected believers, like the Companions of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), for they were merciful among themselves, each loving for his brother what he loved for himself. Or, the meaning is its removal by the success granted by Allah the Exalted before death, after it had been present according to human nature.
It is possible that the narration recorded by more than one source from Ali (may Allah honor his face) applies to both interpretations, where he said regarding this verse: "I hope that I, Uthman, Talha, and al-Zubayr will be among them." Regarding the second view, it is said that what appeared to be resentment was nothing more than the result of ijtihad (striving) to exalt the word of Allah. This meaning is clearly far-fetched, even if the literal form of the verb supports it.
"Of resentment" (min ghill) in all interpretations is a state (hal) of "what." His saying, "rivers flowing beneath them," is also a state, either from the pronoun in "their breasts" (since the possessor is part of the possessed, and the 'amil is the meaning of possession) or the 'amil is in the possessed noun itself. It could also be from the pronoun in "We will remove," and the 'amil is the verb. Some have chosen the view that the clause is an inception (musta'nafa) to inform about the state of their circumstances, meaning: the waters of the rivers flow beneath their chambers as an increase in their pleasure and joy.
(And they will say, "Praise to Allah, who has guided us to this")
Meaning: To this great success and eternal bliss. The guidance here refers—metaphorically—to the actions of the heart and limbs that led them to it, which came about through the success granted by Allah and the removal of obstacles that prevented them from being characterized by those actions.
It is said: The guidance refers to their arrival at the bliss they are in, starting from crossing the Bridge until they reached their destination. Some people link this to the removal of resentment from the breasts, but I do not see that as having any weight.
(And we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us)
Meaning: To this, or to any of the objectives of which this is a part. The letter lam is for emphasizing the negation (the lam of denial/refutation). The response to lawla (had it not been) is omitted because the preceding text points to it; it is not the same as the explicit mention, as the response cannot grammatically precede the condition. The object of "would not have been guided" and "guided us" is omitted due to the clarity of the intended meaning, or to allow for generality. The sentence is either in the state of being a condition (haliyya) or an inception (isti'nafiyya). In the codices of the people of Sham, it appears as "ma kunna" without the waw (as in Ibn Amir’s recitation), making the sentence an explanation of the first. As you can see, anyone who is granted goodness in this world speaks in this manner and cannot help but say it out of joy and yearning.
His saying: (The messengers of our Lord had come with the truth) is an oath-taking clause, not intended as a form of "approaching" (nearness) either. It is an explanation of the truthfulness of the messengers' promise regarding Paradise, as noted by some scholars. Others say it is the cause for their being guided. The ba (in bil-haqq) is either for transitivity (connected to "came") or for accompaniment (connected to an implied state of the messengers).
It is clear how this verse provides a manifest refutation of the Qadariyyah, who claim that every guided person creates his own guidance and that Allah the Exalted did not create it for him. Behold and consider the argument of the Mu'tazilah: "In the world, the guided person is the one who guided himself," against the word of Allah narrating the speech of the monotheists in the "Seat of Truth": "And we would not have been guided had Allah not guided us." Choose for yourself which of the two factions to follow; I do not see you, O sensible one, equating what Allah has exalted with the speech of a stray who wavers with his whims and prejudices.
When al-Zamakhshari saw this verse, he struggled against it in the faces of his people, interpreting "guidance" as a "grace" (lutf) by which the servant creates guidance for himself. This, by my life, is the speech of one who has been denied the lutf (divine favor)—we ask Allah the Exalted for pardon and safety.
(And they will be called)
Meaning: The angels will call out to them. Some allowed the possibility that the caller is Allah, but the traditions support the first view.
(That is Paradise)
The an (that) is explanatory, clarifying the meaning of "speech" contained in the call. It may also be a lightened form of anna, with a preposition implied, and its noun is an omitted pronoun of state (dameer al-sha'n), i.e., "that it is [Paradise]." Some have made the latter mandatory, arguing that the pronoun of state must be feminine if the predicate in the explanatory clause is feminine, but the correct view—as stated by Ibn al-Hajib and Ibn Malik—is that it is not mandatory.
The meaning of "remoteness" in the demonstrative pronoun (tilkum) is either to elevate its status and rank, or because they were called from a distance upon seeing it, or to signify that it is "that" Paradise which they were promised in the world; this is what the words of al-Zajjaj point to. The outward meaning is that "tilkum" is the subject and "Paradise" is the predicate. His saying (which you have been made to inherit) is a state from "Paradise," and the 'amil is the meaning of the demonstration. It is also possible that "Paradise" is an adjective for "tilkum" or an appositive, and "you have been made to inherit" is the predicate. It is not permissible for it to be a state from the subject nor from the kum (you), as Abu al-Baqa' said. Some have insisted in justifying the "remoteness" that "tilkum" is the predicate of an omitted subject (i.e., "This is that Paradise promised to you before") or a subject with an omitted predicate (i.e., "That Paradise you were told about... is this"). There is no need for this.
The primary and essential intent of the caller is that it is inherited by them, and what precedes it is a preparation for that. Inheritance here is a metaphor for being granted—meaning, you have been given it (because of what you used to do) in the world of righteous deeds. The ba is for causality, and inheritance is used metaphorically for being granted to indicate that the cause is not the source of the reward, even if it appears to be so outwardly—just as inheritance is ownership without earning, even if a relationship (like kinship) is a cause for it. The ba in the saying of the Prophet (ﷺ), according to some books: "None of you will enter Paradise by his deed," and similarly in his saying in the Sahihayn from the hadith of Abu Hurayrah and Jabir: "No one among you will be saved by his deeds," refers to the complete cause. Thus, there is no contradiction. It is also allowed that the ba here is for exchange (i.e., in return for your deeds).
It is said: "That" refers to the dwellings in Paradise that belonged to the people of Hell had they obeyed; Allah made them an inheritance for the believers. For Ibn Jarir and Abu al-Shaykh narrated from al-Suddi, who said: "There is no believer and no disbeliever but that he has a dwelling in Paradise and in Hell. When the people of Paradise enter Paradise and the people of Hell enter Hell, and they enter their dwellings, the Paradise is raised for the people of Hell, and they look at their dwellings in it, and it is said, 'These are your dwellings had you obeyed Allah.' Then it is said, 'O people of Paradise, inherit them because of what you used to do.' So the people of Paradise divide their dwellings." You know that invoking this strange "inheritance" does not remove the need for metaphor.
The Mu'tazilah claimed that entry into Paradise is by deeds, not by favor, based on this verse. It is clear that no believer can escape the favor of Allah, because the idea that deeds by their very essence demand entry into Paradise—or that Allah must admit those who perform them—is something that can hardly be comprehended. The furthest one can comprehend is that Allah the Exalted favored [us] and ordained entry into Paradise upon them; so had it not been for His favor, that would not have been. I do not see anyone more daring than the Mu'tazilah in this matter, just as in many other matters; for the conclusion of their speech is that Paradise and its infinite bliss are their entitlement as a right upon Allah, Who does not benefit from anything and is not harmed by anything, and that He has no favor upon them in that, but that it is like a debt paid to its owner. Glory be to You, this is a great slander and a denial of more than one authentic report.
