Tafsir of Al-Insan 76:16

"(Crystal-clear vessels of silver)" serves as an appositional phrase, and the expression constitutes an eloquent metaphor (tashbīh balīgh). The intended meaning is that they were created combining the clarity and transparency of glass with the luster and whiteness of silver.

‘Abd al-Razzāq, Sa‘īd ibn Manṣūr, and al-Bayhaqī narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās that he said: "If you were to take silver from the silver of this world and hammer it until you made it as thin as a mosquito’s wing, the water would not be visible through it. However, the crystal vessels of Paradise possess the whiteness of silver combined with the clarity of glass."

Ibn Abī Ḥātim also narrated from him that he said: "There is nothing in Paradise but that you have been given its likeness in this world, except for the crystal vessels of silver."

Nāfi‘, al-Kisā’ī, and Abū Bakr recited qawārīrā (in both instances) with nunation (tanwīn) in connected speech, and substituted it with an alif when pausing. Ibn Kathīr leaves the second as a diptote (mamnū‘ min al-ṣarf) and makes the first fully declinable (munṣarif) because it occurs at the end of a verse, and the final word is paused upon with an alif to maintain formal correspondence (mushākalah) with the other words ending the verses. According to al-Zamakhsharī, the tanwīn in the first instance is a substitute for the alif of absolute release (iṭlāq), as in the verse: "O companion, what has stirred the weeping eyes?" And in the second instance, it is for the sake of parallelism (ittibā‘). Note this. The recitation prohibiting their declension is followed by Ḥafṣ, Ibn ‘Āmir, Ḥamzah, and Abū ‘Amr.

Regarding His saying: "They determine them [in] determination" (qaddarūhā taqdīrā): it means they determined those vessels within themselves, and thus they came [to be] exactly as they had envisioned, such that there is no increase upon that, nor is it possible for there to be an increase. In this sense is the saying of the Ṭā’ī [poet]: "And if you were to imagine your own soul, you would not increase it beyond the nobility of character that is already within you." This implies that his soul was created in the most perfect state of noble attributes possible, such that no further increase is conceivable. The pronoun in qaddarūhā refers to the righteous ones being served. Or, they determined their drink according to the measure of their thirst, which is more delicious for the drinker.

Ibn ‘Abbās said: "They are brought to them in exactly the amount needed, such that they leave nothing over and desire nothing after it."

Mujāhid said: "Their 'determination' means they are neither so full that they overflow, nor so lacking that they diminish." In this view, the pronoun refers—as is apparent—to the servers carrying them, indicated by the Almighty’s saying: "They will be served among them." ‘Abd ibn Ḥumayd and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Ibn ‘Abbās that he said: "The servers determined their amount."

It is also said that the meaning is: "They determined them by their righteous deeds," and thus they appeared according to their measure. In this case, the pronoun refers to the angels, or to the servers.

‘Alī (may Allah ennoble his face), Ibn ‘Abbās, al-Sulamī, al-Sha‘bī, Qatādah, Zayd ibn ‘Alī, al-Jaḥdarī, and al-Aṣma‘ī—from Abū ‘Amr—and Ibn ‘Abd al-Khāliq—from Ya‘qūb—and others, recited it in the passive voice: quddirūhā.

There is a difference of opinion regarding the derivation of this. Abū ‘Alī said: The original phrasing was quddira ‘alayhā ("it was determined upon them"), and the meaning underwent an inversion (qalb), because the reality of the expression should be that one says qudirat ‘alayhim ("it was determined for them"). This is similar to the Almighty’s saying: "Whose keys would weigh down a band of men of power," and the saying of the Arabs: "When the Gemini star rises, the lizard ascends the branch."

Al-Zamakhsharī said: The basis for this is qadarta al-shay’a (with lightened consonant), meaning "I specified its measurement," then it was shifted to the intensive form (taf‘īl), so it required two objects: the first being the pronoun representing the subject (nā’ib al-fā‘il), and the second being hā. The meaning is: "They were made capable of having them just as they wished," and they were permitted to determine them according to their desires.

Abū Ḥayyān said: "The vessels were determined according to the measure of their thirst." Some explained this by saying that there is an ellipsis in the speech: it was qadara ‘alā qadri riyyihim iyyāhā (He determined them according to the measure of their thirst), then ‘alā was deleted, so qadara became the nā’ib al-fā‘il, then [the original subject] was deleted, so riyyihim became the nā’ib al-fā‘il, then it was deleted, and the pronoun joined the verb, becoming qaddarūhā.

Abū Ḥayyān (may Allah the Almighty have mercy on him) said: The closest explanation is that the origin was qaddara riyyahum minhā taqdīran, with the omission of the genitive (muḍāf), which is "thirst" (riyy), and the pronoun was established in its place, becoming qaddarū minhā. Then the verb was expanded in its usage, so min was deleted and the verb reached the pronoun directly, becoming qaddarūhā. Thus, it would only contain the omission of a genitive and an expansion in the prepositional phrase. It is not hidden that the view of "inversion" (qalb) is weak, and what some have established is extremely contrived. Furthermore, in the choice made by Abū Ḥayyān being closer than that chosen by Jār Allāh [al-Zamakhsharī], there is room for debate; it is perhaps even more contrived.