Tafsir of An-Naba' 78:16

"And gardens" (jannāt): The plural of jannah (garden), which refers to every orchard containing trees that conceal the ground with their foliage, derived from al-jinn (concealment). Al-Farra’ stated: "A jannah is that which contains date palms, while firdaws is that which contains grapevines." Trees that provide shade and cover are sometimes called a jannah; the statement of Zuhayr is interpreted in this sense: "Watered by irrigation camels, a distant garden..." This is the intended meaning here.

His saying, the Exalted, "thick foliage" (alfāfan): That is, intertwined, with some parts overlapping others. It is said that it has no singular form, similar to awzā‘ and akhyāf used for scattered and diverse groups; this was the choice of Al-Zamakhshari. Ibn Qutaybah said: "It is the plural of liff (with a damma on the lam), which is the plural of laffā’," making it a plural of a plural. This was deemed unlikely, as there are no analogous forms for it. Indeed, khuḍr is the plural of khaḍrā’ and ḥumr is the plural of ḥamrā’, yet there is no akhḍār as a plural of khuḍr, nor aḥmār as a plural of ḥumr. The plural of a plural is not regular, and the existence of an analogy in singular forms is insufficient, or so it is said.

Al-Kisa’i said: "It is the plural of lafīf, meaning 'wrapped' (malfūf)." The pattern fa‘īl is pluralized as af‘āl, like sharīf and ashrāf. The grammarians only differed regarding whether it is the plural of fā‘il. In Al-Kashshāf, it states: "If it were said to be the plural of multaffah (intertwined), assuming the deletion of the extra letters, it would be a sound opinion." This is the end of the quote. The deletion of extra letters is assumed here—what grammarians call 'tarkhīm' (apocope) in such cases—because the standard plural of multaffah is multaffāt, not alfāf. This was objected to in Al-Kashf, which states that there is no analogy for it, as apocope applies to diminutives, but not to plurals. However, it is said that this is not accepted, as it has occurred in their speech without objection. The truth is that it is a forced interpretation.

The majority of linguists hold that it is the plural of liff (with a kasra on the lam), which is a sifah mushabbahah (resembling adjective) meaning 'wrapped'. The pattern fi‘l is regularly pluralized as af‘āl, like jidh‘ and ajdhā‘. From the author of Al-Iqlīd, it is reported that he said: "Al-Hasan ibn Ali Al-Tusi recited to me: 'A dense (laff) garden and abundant life, and companions who are all radiant and fair.'" The Qāmūs allows for it to be the plural of laff (with a fatha on the lam).

Regarding what has been mentioned of His actions—Exalted is His Majesty—there is evidence for the validity and reality of the Resurrection from three perspectives, as has been stated:

1. Regarding His Power, the Almighty: For He who is capable of creating these marvelous things without a prior model to follow or a rule to constrain Him, is more capable and powerful regarding [their] re-creation.
2. Regarding His Knowledge and Wisdom: For He who fashioned these creations according to a magnificent pattern that serves noble ends and beautiful benefits returning to creation, it is impossible—in His wisdom—that He would not assign to them an ultimate consequence.
3. Regarding the action itself: For the awakening after sleep is a prototype of resurrection after death, which everyone witnesses. Likewise, the bringing forth of vegetation and plants from the earth is something witnessed at every moment. It is as if He said: "Have We not performed these cosmic actions, which demonstrate through various forms of evidence the truth of the Resurrection and necessitate belief in it? Why then do you dispute it in denial, and ask about it in mockery?"