Surah Muhammad: 15
"The likeness of the Garden which the righteous have been promised, in which are rivers..."
Question: What is the meaning of the Almighty’s saying: “The likeness of the Garden which the righteous have been promised, in which are rivers, is like one who is abiding eternally in the Fire”?
Answer: This is a statement in the form of an affirmation, but its meaning is one of negation and denial. It is subsumed under the ruling of a statement preceded by a particle of denial, entering its scope and falling into its sequence. That is the Almighty’s saying: “Is he who is on clear evidence from his Lord like him to whom the evil of his work has been made attractive?” (Muhammad: 14). It is as if it were said: "Is the likeness of the Garden like one who is abiding eternally in the Fire?"—meaning, is it like the recompense of one who is abiding eternally in the Fire?
Question: Why was it stripped of the particle of denial, and what is the benefit of that omission?
Answer: Stripping it of the particle of denial provides a greater depiction of the arrogance of one who equates the person holding fast to clear evidence with the one who follows his own desires. It is as if he is someone who asserts equality between the Garden in which those rivers flow and the Fire whose people are given to drink scalding water.
Its parallel is the saying of the poet:
Shall I rejoice at the loss of the noble, and
Inherit a few lean, worthless camels?
This is a statement denying the joy of losing the noble and inheriting their camels, despite being stripped of the particle of denial. This is because it is subsumed under the ruling of one who says: "Do you rejoice at the death of your brother and the inheritance of his camels?" The reason the particle of denial was omitted is to depict the ugliness of what he is accused of. It is as if he said to him: "Yes, someone like me rejoices at the loss of the noble and at replacing them with a few camels of little value." This is a form of concession that contains within it every form of denial.
"The likeness of the Garden": The description of the Garden, which is of wondrous status. It is the subject (mubtada’), and its predicate (khabar) is "is like one who is abiding eternally."
His saying "in which are rivers" is included in the ruling of the relative clause (silah), acting as a reiteration of it. Do you not see the correctness of your saying: "Which has rivers in it"?
It is also permissible that it be the predicate of an omitted subject, meaning: "It has rivers in it." It is as if someone asked: "And what is its likeness?" and it was said: "It has rivers in it." It may also be in the position of a state (hal), meaning: "Rivers are established within it."
In the recitation of Ali (may Allah be pleased with him): (Amthal al-Jannah)—meaning, are the descriptions of the Garden like the descriptions of the Fire?
"Unchanged" (asin): It is said: asina the water and ajina—when its taste and smell change. Yazid ibn Mu'awiyah recited:
She has given me to drink saliva, free from change,
Like musk sprinkled upon the water of grapevines.
"Of milk the taste of which does not change": As the milks of the world change; it does not become sour, nor does it turn rancid, nor does it have any of the tastes that are disliked.
"A delight" (ladhdhah): The feminine form of ladh, meaning delicious, or it is described by the verbal noun. It is recited with the three vowel marks:
- Genitive (jarr): As an adjective for the wine.
- *Nominative (raf’):* As an adjective for the rivers.
- Accusative (nasb): As a cause (‘illah), meaning: for the sake of the delight of the drinkers.
The meaning is: it is nothing but pure pleasure, accompanied by no loss of intellect, no hangover, no headache, and none of the afflictions of worldly wine.
"Purified" (musaffa): It did not emerge from the bellies of bees, so that wax or other things would mix with it.
"Scalding water": It is said that when it draws near to them, it roasts their faces and separates the skin of their heads; when they drink it, it cuts their intestines.
