Tafsir of Al-Waqi'ah 56:27

"And the Companions of the Right—what are the Companions of the Right?"

"Among lote trees with thorns removed" (sidr makhḍūd):

• Sidr: The jujube tree.
• Makhḍūd: That which has no thorns, as if its thorns have been lopped off (khuḍida).
• Mujāhid said: It is the tree weighed down, its branches bending due to the abundance of its fruit—derived from khaḍd (bending) a branch while it is supple.

"And banana trees layered" (ṭalḥ manḍūd):

• Ṭalḥ: The banana tree. Others say it is the umm ghaylān (acacia) tree, which has many blossoms with a pleasant scent.
• Al-Suddī said: A tree resembling the ṭalḥ of this world, but with fruit sweeter than honey.
• Regarding ʿAlī (ra): It is narrated that he read it as wa-ṭalʿ (blossoms). When asked about the ṭalḥ, and reminded of the verse "having layered blossoms" (Q: 50:10), he was asked if he would change it. He replied: "The verses of the Qur’an are not to be agitated today, nor changed." Ibn ʿAbbās narrated something similar.
• Manḍūd: That which is layered with fruit from its base to its summit, such that it has no visible trunk.

"And shade extended" (ẓill mamdūd):

• Extended and spread out, never shrinking, like the shade between dawn and sunrise.

"And water poured out" (maskūb):

• Poured out for them wherever and however they wish, without them having to toil for it. Some say it is a constant flow that never ceases. Others say it is poured out, flowing upon the earth without a trench.

"Neither cut off" (lā maqṭūʿah):

• It is eternal, not ceasing at certain times like the fruits of this world.

"Nor forbidden" (wa-lā mamnūʿah):

• Not withheld from those who reach for it in any way, nor restricted as the orchards of this world are restricted.

"And carpets raised high" (furush marfūʿah):

• It is read as fākihatun kathīrah (in the nominative), implying "And there is much fruit," similar to the phrase "and dark-eyed houris."
• Furush: Plural of firāsh (bed/carpet). It is read as furush (with a light vowel).
• Marfūʿah: Layered until they are raised high, or raised upon thrones.
• Another view: It refers to women, as a woman is metaphorically referred to as a firāsh (bed), raised upon couches. God says: "They and their spouses, in shade, reclining on couches" (Yā-Sīn: 56). This is supported by the verse: "Indeed, We have produced them in a [new] production." If we follow the first interpretation, the pronoun is implied, as the mention of the furush (beds) points to them.

"Indeed, We have produced them in a [new] production" (inshāʾan):

• Meaning: We initiated their creation in a new way, without birth. This refers either to those whose creation was initiated, or those whose creation was restored.
• From the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): Umm Salamah (ra) asked him about this verse. He replied: "O Umm Salamah, they are those who were taken in the worldly life as old, gray-haired, and rheumy-eyed women. Allah made them, after their old age, 'virgins' (atrābā—of one age in equality). Whenever their husbands come to them, they find them to be virgins." When ʿĀʾishah (ra) heard this from the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), she said: "Oh, the pain!" The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) replied: "There is no pain there."
• An old woman once asked the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) to pray that she enter Paradise. He said: "Old women do not enter Paradise." She turned away weeping. He (ﷺ) then said: "Inform her that she will not be an old woman on that day."

"Loving, of equal age" (ʿuruban atrābā):

• ʿUruban: Read with a light vowel, it is the plural of ʿarūb, meaning the woman who is affectionate toward her husband and excels in pleasing him.
• Atrābā: Equal in age, thirty-three years old, and their husbands are the same.
• From the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ): "The people of Paradise will enter Paradise hairless, beardless, white-skinned, curly-haired, kohl-eyed, and thirty-three years of age."
• The lām in "for the Companions of the Right" is connected to "We have produced" and "We have made."