Ar-Rahman: (54) Reclining on couches...

There are grammatical, linguistic, and conceptual issues concerning this verse.

Issue 1 (Grammatical)

The common view is that {متكئين} (reclining) is a hal (circumstantial adverb), and its dhū al-ḥāl (the subject of the circumstance) is the implied pronoun in {ولمن خاف مقام ربه} (And for him who feared the standing before his Lord) [Ar-Rahman: 46]. The operative factor is what the preposition lām (for) implies, meaning: "Gardens for them in the state of reclining."

Al-Kashshāf suggests it could be in the accusative case as an expression of praise (madḥ). He favored this interpretation because the view that it is a ḥāl presents a difficulty: the Gardens are not exclusively for them only when they are reclining; they are theirs in every state, even before entering.

Another possibility is that it is a ḥāl, and the dhū al-ḥāl is implied by the mention of the fruits. The verse {فيهما من كل فاكهة زوجان} (In both of them are every kind of fruit in pairs) [Ar-Rahman: 52] suggests people enjoying them, as if saying: "The enjoyers enjoy them, reclining." This carries a subtle meaning: If eating is done in a state of humiliation (like servants, slaves, or young boys), one eats standing. If one is honored, and eats merely to satisfy hunger, one sits. One only reclines while eating when one is an honored person enjoying leisure, not driven by hunger, and with no one to restrain them. Thus, enjoyment (tafakkuh) is appropriate for reclining.

Issue 2 (Grammatical)

What is {على فرش} (on couches) related to?

1. If it relates to the verb implied in {متكئين} (reclining), as in "So-and-so reclined on his stick or his thighs," this is unlikely because one does not recline upon a couch.
2. If it relates to something else, what is it? We say it relates to something else, implying: "The inhabitants, who are reclining on couches, enjoy [the fruits]." This leaves unspecified what they are reclining upon. It is possible that their reclining is upon the couches, but the former interpretation is stronger, making the couches an explanation of what is beneath them, upon which their entire bodies rest—which is more comforting and honorable for them.

Issue 3 (Grammatical)

The apparent meaning is that each person has many couches, not that each person has only one couch. Rather, they are situated upon couches.

Issue 4 (Linguistic)

{الإستبرق} (Istabraq) is thick brocade. Just as dībāj (brocade) is an Arabized word because Arabs did not possess it except from non-Arabs, they adapted this foreign term. Its Persian name is stibrk, meaning thick (a diminutive of stabr). They added an initial hamza and changed the kāf to a qāf.

The addition of the hamza is because vowel markings at the beginning of foreign words are often indeterminate, making the initial sound akin to a sukun (vowel cessation). Thus, they affixed a hamza, similar to how they affix the hamzat al-waṣl when the beginning of a word is quiescent. Some made it hamzat al-waṣl and said {من إستبرق} (from Istabraq). The majority made it hamzat al-qaṭʿ because the initial sound was originally vocalized, albeit with an improper vowel. The hamza removes this improper vowel, allowing them to impose a sukun on the first letter. When the vowel and sukun are equally possible, reverting to sukun is closer to the norm. Endings of words are vocalized with sukun upon stopping, and vowels are not substituted for other vowels.

As for the qāf, if they had kept the kāf, stibrk might be confused with words like masjiduk (your mosque) or dāruk (your house). So, they dropped the kāf (which is common in Arabic word endings) and replaced it with a qāf.

This raises a famous question: The Qur'an was revealed in clear Arabic, yet this word is not Arabic. The correct answer is that the word was not originally among the Arabs' vocabulary. The intent is not that it was revealed in a language whose fundamental structure was not Arabic, but that it was revealed in a language whose meaning was not obscure to any Arab, and it did not employ a language that Arabs did not speak, which would make it difficult for them, rendering their inability to pronounce it a miracle.

Issue 5 (Conceptual)

The state of reclining {متكئين} is a posture indicating physical well-being and freedom from worry. The recliner's body is in order, and his heart's condition is sound. A sick person lies down or leans on something for rest, but reclining with the hand under the head, the elbow on the ground, and the sides away from the ground—this is a state one cannot achieve unless one is well. As for one preoccupied with seeking something, their movement is restless.

Issue 6 (Conceptual)

The commentators state that {بطائنها من إستبرق} (their linings of Istabraq) indicates their utmost nobility, because if their linings are of Istabraq, their exteriors must be even better. Perhaps the exteriors are of sundus (fine, soft silk), which the eye cannot perceive.

Another conceptual view: People of this world display outward adornment but cannot make the linings like the exteriors because their goal is outward display, and linings are not seen. If the cause (the need for display) is absent, the effect (making the lining beautiful) is also absent. In the Hereafter, however, the matter is based on honor and pleasure, so the linings will be like the exteriors, hence the mention of the linings.

Issue 7 (Conceptual)

The phrase {وجنى الجنتين دان} (and the fruits of the two gardens will be near) points to their difference from the Garden of this world in three ways:

1. In this world, fruit is at the tops of the trees, and a person must move away from them when reclining. In the Hereafter, while reclining, the fruit descends to him.
2. In this world, one fruit is far from another tree, but in the Hereafter, everything is near simultaneously and in one place. Furthermore, the resident of one Garden will have access to another Garden.
3. All wonders are specific to Paradise. Its trees will encircle them, coming close to them while they remain still, unlike the situation in this world where humans move while their desired objects are stationary.

The reality behind this is that whoever does not become lazy or cease striving in obedience to God and seeking good deeds in this world will end up in a state of stillness where nothing necessitates movement. The people of Paradise, if they move, do so not out of need or desire. If they are still, it is not for rest after fatigue.

Moreover, for a saint (walī), this world might become a model of Paradise: he remains still in his house, and his sustenance comes to him, moving around him. This is indicated by the verse: {كلما دخل عليها زكريا المحراب وجد عندها رزقا} (Whenever Zechariah entered the sanctuary to [find] her, he found provision with her) [Al 'Imran: 37].

Issue 8 (Conceptual)

If the two Gardens are physical entities, they will always be on his right and left, and he will reach for their fruits. If one Garden is spiritual and the other physical, each person will have fruits and couches appropriate to that state.

Then God Almighty said: