Tafsir of Fatir 35:35

Surah Fatir (35)

{الذى أحلنا دار المقامة من فضله}

This means: "Who has settled us in the Abode of Permanence out of His grace."

When Allah mentioned the joy and honor of the inhabitants of Paradise—their adornment and entry into the Gardens—He followed it by informing them of their permanence therein, as they say: {الذى أحلنا دار المقامة} (Who has settled us in the Abode of Permanence).

• "Al-Maqāmah" means permanence or staying. The object (the noun functioning as the object) sometimes comes in place of the verbal noun (Masdar) from every root. For example, "Mā lahu maʿqūl" means "He has no sense" (ʿaql). Similarly, Allah says: {مدخل صدق} (a place of truth/sincere entry) and {ومزقناهم كل ممزق} (and We scattered them in every direction). Likewise, mustakhraj (a place of extraction) stands for the act of extraction. This is because the verbal noun is essentially the object, as it is what is truly done, so it is permissible for the object to stand in its place.

• In the phrase {دار المقامة} (Abode of Permanence), there is an indication that the world (Dunyā) is a station that the accountable person stops at, from which he departs to the station of the graves, and from there to the plain of gathering, and from there to separation. For some, Hellfire may be another station, while Paradise is the Abode of Permanence, and similarly, Hell is the abode of permanence for its people.

• Their statement {من فضله} (out of His grace) means by the decree of His promise, not by any obligation incumbent upon Him.

{لا يمسنا فيها نصب ولا يمسنا فيها لغوب}

"No fatigue shall touch us therein, nor shall any weariness touch us therein."

• Al-Laghūb means exhaustion or weariness. Al-Naṣb (fatigue/toil) is the cause of exhaustion.

• If someone asks: If He stated that {لا يمسهم فيها نصب} (no fatigue shall touch them therein), then it is known that {لا يمسهم فيها لغوب} (no weariness shall touch them therein). Why would the Wise Speaker negate the cause and then negate its effect using a conjunction? One would not say, "I did not eat, nor did I feel full," or "I did not stand up, nor did I walk." However, the reverse is common: "I did not feel full, nor did I eat," because the negation of fullness does not necessarily imply the negation of eating.

• Given the context, one might expect the statement to be: "No exhaustion nor hardship shall touch us therein." We say that what Allah has stated is of the utmost majesty, and the Word of Allah is more sublime, and its explanation more beautiful.

• The wisdom here is that Allah distinguishes Paradise from the abode of the world (Dunyā). The places in the world are of two types:
  1. Places where toil and hardship are encountered, such as wildernesses, deserts, roads, and fields.
  2. Places where exhaustion manifests, such as houses and inns encountered during journeys. A person engaged in work does not feel exhausted until after resting.

• Therefore, Allah said: {لا يمسنا فيها نصب} (No fatigue shall touch us therein), meaning Paradise is not like those places in the world that are sources of hardship. Rather, it is superior to those places that are the source of weariness. Then He said: {ولا يمسنا فيها لغوب} (nor shall any weariness touch us therein), meaning we will not leave it for places where we exert ourselves and then return, thus being afflicted by exhaustion.

• It has also been recited as {لغوب} (with a fatḥa on the lām). The arrangement is clear with this reading: it is as if He said, "We will not be tired, nor shall that which leads to tiredness touch us." This is because a strong, healthy person saying, "I was not tired today," is not understood to mean he did nothing, as he might have done something that was not tiring for him at that moment. But if he says, "Nothing that could cause fatigue touched me," it is understood that he did nothing, because the very act of working might be tiring for someone weak or tiring due to its sheer volume. Al-Laghūb is that which overwhelms.

• It is also said that Al-Naṣb is debilitating fatigue (illness-inducing toil). Under this interpretation, the sequence is clear: "No sickness shall touch us therein, nor anything less than that, which is the direct cause of exhaustion."

{والذين كفروا لهم نار جهنم لا يقضى عليهم فيموتوا ولا يخفف عنهم من عذابها كذلك نجزى كل كفور}

"And those who disbelieve will have the Fire of Hell. It will not be decreed for them that they should die, nor will the torment be lightened for them. Thus do We recompense every ungrateful one."