Tafsir of Ar-Rahman 55:58

Surah Ar-Rahman (55): Verse 58

كأنهن الياقوت والمرجان (They are like rubies and coral.)

This simile has two aspects:

1. Purity/Clarity: It signifies their purity.
2. Beauty of Color: It refers to the beauty of the white of pearls and the red of rubies. Coral consists of small pearls that are much whiter and more radiant than the large ones.

If we consider the simile to explain their purity: There is a subtlety here. The preceding statement, {قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ} (limiting their gaze), points to their freedom from ugliness (moral flaws). The statement {كَأَنَّهُنَّ الْيَاقُوتُ وَالْمَرْجَانُ} points to their purity in Paradise. Thus, the description begins with intellectual/moral attributes and concludes with sensory/physical attributes, just as we mentioned regarding the comparison of their bodies to rubies and coral in terms of redness and whiteness.

Similarly, the order here is significant: the explanation of chastity (purity) is presented before the explanation of physical beauty.

It is also plausible to say that this statement confirms what preceded it. Because they are {قَاصِرَاتُ الطَّرْفِ} (limiting their gaze) and abstaining from mingling with men and jinn, they have not been touched (by defilement). Therefore, they are like the ruby found in its mine and the coral preserved in its shell—untouched by the hand of any toucher.

We have previously explained regarding the verse {كَأَنَّهُنَّ بَيْضٌ مَكْنُونٌ} (as if they were hidden eggs) that the particle ka'anna (as if) when prefixed to the object of comparison (the mushabbah bih) does not carry the same emphasis as when it is prefixed to the subject of comparison (the mushabbah).

• If you say: "Zayd is like a lion" (Zaydun kal-asad), it means Zayd resembles the lion.
• If you say: "As if Zayd were the lion" (Ka'anna Zaydan al-asad), it means it is as if Zayd were truly the lion.

However, saying "Zayd resembles a lion" does not involve extreme exaggeration, as they both share commonalities (being animals, bodies, etc.). Saying "As if Zayd were the lion" cannot be taken literally.

From a linguistic perspective: When the particle ka (like) is attached to the object of comparison (e.g., kal-asad), the ka performs a verbal function along with a semantic function. It is as if the lion has been acted upon in such a way that Zayd becomes like it.

When you say {كَأَنَّ زَيْدًا الْأَسَدُ} (Ka'anna Zaydan al-asad), the object (the lion) is left in its grammatical case and reality, and Zayd is likened to it in that state. Undoubtedly, when Zayd is likened to a lion that remains in its original state, this is stronger than when he is likened to a lion that has lost its original state.

The one who says, "Zayd is like a lion" (Zaydun kal-asad), has lowered the status of the lion to equal Zayd. The one who says, "As if Zayd were the lion" (Ka'anna Zaydan al-asad), has elevated Zayd's status until he equals the lion. This is a subtle point of precision.

{هَلْ جَزَاءُ الْإِحْسَانِ إِلَّا الْإِحْسَانُ} (Is the recompense for good [Ihsan] anything but good [Ihsan]?)

{فَبِأَيِّ آلَاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ} (Then which of the favors of your Lord will you both deny?)