.

Saturday 17 April 2021

Surah Ar Rahman - The Most Merciful: Tafsir/Exegesis 55th Chapter of Quran


Sūrah Ar-Raḥmān is the fifty fifth sürah with 78 āyāt with three rukus, part of the 27th Juzʼ  of the Qur'ān.  It takes its title from the divine name, Ar-Raḥmān - ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ ‘The Most Merciful.’ This title, however, deeply relates to the subject matter of the Surah too, for in it, from the beginning to the end, the manifestations and fruits of Allah's attribute of mercy and grace have been mentioned.

This is the only Surah of the Qur'an in which besides men the jinn also, who are the other creation of the earth endowed with freedom of will and action, have been directly addressed, and both men and jinn have been made to realize the wonders of Allah's power, His countless blessings, their own helplessness and accountability before Him, and have been warned of the evil consequences of His disobedience and made aware of the best results of His obedience. Although at several other places in the Qur'an there are clear pointers to show that like the men the jinn too are a creation who have been endowed with freedom of will and action and are accountable, who have been granted the freedom of belief and unbelief, of obedience and disobedience, and among them too there are the believers and the unbelievers, the obedient and the rebellious, as among human beings, and among them too there exist such groups as have believed in the Prophets sent by God and in the Divine Books, this Surah clearly points out that the message of the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) and the Qur'an is meant both for men and for jinn and that his Prophethood is not restricted to human beings alone.

Although in the beginning of the Surah the address is directed only to human beings, for to them only belongs the vicegerency" of the earth, among them only have the Messengers of Allah been raised, and in their tongues only have the Divine Books been revealed, yet from verse 13 onward both the men and the jinn have been addressed and one and the same invitation has been extended to both.

This whole discourse is couched in oratorical language. It is a spirited and eloquent address in the course of which after mentioning each of the wonders of Allah's great power, and each of the blessings bestowed by Him, and each of the manifestations of His Sovereignty and dominion, and each of the details of His punishment and rewards, the jinn and men have been over and over again questioned: "Which then of the bounties and favors of your Lord will you deny ?" Below we shall explain that alaa " اٰلَاۤءِ " is a word with many shades of meaning, which has been used in different senses at different places in this discourse, and this question to the the jinn and men bears its own special meaning at every place according to the context.

The Surah has been divided into three Ruku as under:
  • Ruku One Verses 1-25: wherein verses1-14 explain that it is Allah Who created man, taught the Quran and taught him how to convey his feelings and thoughts, while verses 15-25 proclaim that Allah is the Rabb of the easts and wests and put the laws to regulate oceans, its products and ships
  • Ruku Two Verses26-45:  Verses 26-32 All that exist will perish except Allah, Who is busy in heavy tasks all the time, and verses 33-45 No one can run away from the jurisdiction of Allah and Sinners will be punished in hell
  • Ruku Three Verses 46-78: And from verse 46 to the end of the Surah mention has been made of those rewards and blessings which will be granted to the righteous men (and women) and jinn who have led pious lives in the world and lived with a clear understanding that they will have to appear before their Lord one day and render an account of their deeds and actions.
We have already presented an introduction and the overview / summary of the sürah. Let us now read the verse by verse translation and exegesis / tafseer in English. You may also listen to its recitation in Arabic with English subtitles at the end of the post:

بِسْمِ اللهِ الرَّحْمٰنِ الرَّحِيْمِ 
"In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful"

Ruku One Verses 1-25 
In verses 1-4 it has been stated that the teaching of the Qur'an is from Allah Almighty and it is the very demand of His mercy that He should provide guidance to mankind through this teaching, for it is He Who has created man as a rational and intelligent being.

ٱلرَّحْمَـٰنُ
( 1 )   The Most Merciful
Read description of this attribute of Allah in our earlier post of 99 Attributes of AllahAr Rahman (الرحمن) - The Beneficent, Most Kind and Gracious

عَلَّمَ الۡقُرۡاٰنَؕ‏ 
( 2 )   Taught the Qur'an,
That is, the teaching of this Qur'an is not the production of a man's mind but its Teacher is the Merciful God Himself. Here, there was no need to tell as to whom Allah had imparted this Qur'anic teaching for the people were hearing it from the tongue of the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings). Therefore, the situation by itself made it evident that the teaching had been imparted to Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings).

To begin the discourse with this sentence is meant, first of all, to tell that the Prophet Muhammad (upon whom be Allah's peace and blessings) himself is not its author, but its Teacher is Allah Almighty. Furthermore, there is another object also to which the word Rahman (Merciful) is pointing. If the purpose was only to say that that teaching is from Allah, and not the production of the Prophet's mind, there was no need to use an attribute of Allah instead of His proper name, acid for that purpose any attribute from among the Divine attributes could have been adopted, But when, instead of saying that Allah, or the Creator, or the Providence, has taught this, it was said: 'The Merciful (Ar-Rahman) has taught this Qur'an,' it by itself gave the meaning that the revelation of the Qur'an for the guidance of mankind was nothing but Allah's mercy and grace, As He is most kind and Merciful to His creation, He did not like that He should leave them wandering in the darkness, and His mercy demanded that He should send down this Quran to bless them with the knowledge on which depends their right guidance and conduct in the world and their success and well-being in the Hereafter, " 

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: The Revelation comes from Allah Most Gracious, and it is one of the greatest Signs of His grace and favour. He is the source of all Light, and His light is diffused throughout the universe.

خَلَقَ الۡاِنۡسَانَۙ‏ 
( 3 )   Created man,
In other words, as Allah is the Creator of man, and it is the Creator's responsibility to provide guidance to His creation and show it the way by following which it may fulfill the object of its erection, the revelation of this Qur'anic teaching from Allah is not only the demand of Allah's mercifulness but also the necessary and natural demand of His being the Creator. Who else would provide guidance to the creation if not the Creator ? And if the Creator did not provide guidance, who else could? And what greater defect could there be for a creator that he should not teach his creation the method of fulfilling the object, for which it has been created? Thus, in fact, the arrangement and' provision of the teaching for man by Allah is not anything strange; it would be strange if no such arrangement had been made at all, Allah has not just left alone whatever He has created in the Universe, but has given it the most appropriate structure by which it may play its role in the system of nature and has taught it the method of playing that role effectively and successfully. Thus, each single hair and each single cell of man's own body has been born with the knowledge of how it has to carry out the task in the human body for which it has been created, 

Then, after all how could man himself remain deprived and independent of his Creator's teaching and guidance? This theme has been presented in the Qur'an at different places in different ways, In Surah Al-Lail; 12, it has been said; "Indeed, it is for Us to toll the Way" in surah An-Nahl: 9, it is said Allah has taken upon Himself to show the Right Way, when there exist crooked ways too:12 In surah Ta Ha (verses: 47-50) it has been stated that when the Pharaoh heard the prophetic message from the Prophet Moses and asked who was his Lord who had sent him as a Messenger to him, the Prophet replied: "Our Lord is He Who has given a distinctive form to everything and then guided it aright. " That is, He has taught it the method by which it could carry out and fulfill the object of its creation in the system of existence. This is the reasoning by which an unbiased mind is satisfied that the coming of the Prophets and the Books from Allah for the instruction of man is the very demand of nature. 

عَلَّمَهُ الۡبَيَانَ‏ 
( 4 )   [And] taught him eloquence.
One meaning of the word bayan, as used in the original, is the expressing of one's own mind, i e. speaking and expressing one's thoughts and intentions. Its other meaning is to make distinction between things, which here signifies the distinction between good and evil, virtue and vice. According to those two meanings this brief sentence completes the above reasoning. Speech is the distinctive quality which distinguishes man from the animals and other earthly creatures, It is not merely the power of speech, but there are working behind It the faculties of reasoning and intellect, understanding and discernment, will and Judgment, and other mental powers without which man's power of speech could not operate at all. Therefore, speech is in fact an express symbol of man's being an intelligent being who has been endowed with freedom and authority, and when Allah has blessed man with this distinctive quality, evidently the nature of instruction for him also cannot be the same a: would be suitable for the guidance of other creatures. 

Likewise, another distinctive quality of vital Importance in man is that Allah has placed in him moral sense by virtue of which he can naturally distinguish between good and evil, truth and falsehood, Justice and injustice, right and wrong, and this intuition and sense does not leave him even when he degrades himself to the lowest state of error and ignorance. The Inevitable demand of these two distinctive qualities is that the method of instruction for man's conscious and voluntary life should be different from the innate, natural mode of instruction under which the fish has been taught to swim, the bird to fly, and the eye in the human body itself to wink and see, the ear to hear and the stomach to digest, Man in this sphere of his life himself recognizes the means like the teacher, the book, the school, the verbal and written instruction and reasoning and discussion as the modes of instruction, and does not regard the innate knowledge and intelligence as enough. Why should It then appear arrange that for fulfilling the responsibility that falls upon the Creator of educating man, He has made the Messenger and the Book the means of his education and instruction ? The mode of education has to suit the nature of the creation, And very rationally so; The "Qur'an" alone cart be the means of educating the creation that has been taught 'bayan"(speech) and not my other means that might salt the creatures which have not been taught the speech.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: Allah informs of His favors and His mercy for His creatures, for He revealed the Qur'an to His servants, He made memorizing and understanding of it easy for those on whom He has bestowed His mercy,

Al-Hasan said: "Eloquent speech.'' This refers to Allah teaching the Qur'an, that is, teaching the servants how to recite it by making it easy for them to speak and pronounce letters with the various parts of the mouth, such as the alveolar bridge, the tongue and the lips.

Muhammad Asad Explanation: The term al-bayan - denoting "the means whereby a thing is [intellectually] circumscribed and made clear" (Raghib) - applies to both thought and speech inasmuch as it comprises the faculty of making a thing or an idea apparent to the mind and conceptually distinct from other things or ideas, as well as the power to express this cognition clearly in spoken or written language (Taj al-'Arus): hence, in the above context, "articulate thought and speech", recalling the "knowledge of all the names" (i.e., the faculty of conceptual thinking) with which man is endowed (see explanation of Surah 2 Al Baqarah:31).

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Bayan: intelligent speech: power of expression: capacity to understand clearly the relations of things and to explain them. Allah has given this to man, and besides this revelation in man's own heart, has aided him with revelation in nature and revelation through prophets and messengers.

In verses 5-6 it has been said that the whole system of the Universe is functioning under Allah's Sovereignty and everything in the earth and heavens is subject to His Command alone.

اَلشَّمۡسُ وَالۡقَمَرُ بِحُسۡبَانٍ‏ 
( 5 )   The sun and the moon [move] by precise calculation,
That is, "It is a powerful law and unalterable system that binds the great planets together. Man is able to calculate and measure time, days, dates, and crops and seasons only because no change takes place in the rule that Has been laid down for the rising and setting of the sun and of its passing through different stages. The innumerable creatures found on the earth are staying alive only because the sun and the moon have been accurately and precisely placed at particular distances from the earth and any increase or decrease in this distance is made in the right measure, in a particular order; otherwise if their distance from the earth increased or decreased haphazardly, no one, could possibly survive here. Likewise, the perfect relationship and harmony that has been established between the movements of the moon round the earth and the sun, has made the moon a universal calendar, which announces the lunar date every night to the whole world with perfect regularity.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: Among Allah's Signs: the Sun, the Moon, the Sky and the Earth - Allah said, (The sun and the moon (run) on fixed courses.)  They move in their orbit in perfect succession, according to precise calculation that is never delayed nor disturbed.

It is same as:
(It is not for the sun to overtake the moon, nor does the night outstrip the day. They all float, each in an orbit.)[36:40],
((He is the) Cleaver of the daybreak. He has appointed the night for resting, and the sun and the moon for calculating. Such is the measuring of the Almighty, the All-Knowing.) [6:96],
Yusuf Ali  Explanation: In the great astronomical universe there are exact mathematical laws, which bear witness to Allah's Wisdom and also to His favours to His creatures; for we all profit by the heat and light, the seasons, and the numerous changes in the tides and the atmosphere, on which the constitution of our globe and the maintenance of life depend.

وَّالنَّجۡمُ وَالشَّجَرُ يَسۡجُدٰنِ‏ 
( 6 )   And the stars and trees prostrate.
The word used in the original is an-najm, the well-known meaning of which is the star; but in the Arabic lexicon this word is also used for the plants and creepers which do not have a stem, e.g. vegetable, melons, water melons, etc. The commentators have disputed the sense in which this word has been used here. Ibn 'Abbas, Sa'id bin Jubair, Suddi, and Sufyan Thauri have taken it in the meaning of stemless vegetation, for just after it the word ash-shajar (the tree) has been used and this meaning is more relevant to it. On the contrary, Mujahid, Qatadah and Hasan Basri have expressed the opinion that an-najm here does not imply the plants of the earth, but the stars of the sky, for this is its well-known meaning. On hearing this word, the mind first turns to this very meaning, and the mention of the sun and the moon has been followed by the stars very naturally and relevantly. Though the majority of the commentators and translators have preferred the first meaning, and it cannot be held wrong either, we hold Hafiz Ibn Kathir's this opinion as sound that in view of both the language and the subject-matter the second meaning seems to be preferable. At another place in the Qur'an (AI-Hajj: 18) also mention has been made of the stars and the trees prostrating themselves, and there the word nujum (pl. of najm) cannot be taken in any other meaning than of the stars. The words of the verse are: Alam fara annallaha yasjudu lahu man fis sma wat-i wa man fil ardi wash-shamsu wal-qamaru walnujumu wal jibalu wash-shajaru wad-da wabbu wa kathir-um-min-annasi. . . . (AI-Hajj: 18). In this verse nujum (stars) have been mentioned along with shams (sun) and qamar (moon), and shajar (trees) along with mountains and animals and it has been said that they all bow down to Allah.  

That is, "The stars of the heavens and the trees of the earth, all are subject to Allah's Command and obedient to His Law. They cannot exceed the rule that has been set for them." What is meant to be impressed in these two verses is that the whole system of the Universe has been created by Allah and is functioning in His obedience. Nothing front the earth to the heavens is independent, nor functioning under another's godhead, nor has anyone any share in God's Kingdom, nor has anyone the position that it should be made a deity. All are servants and slaves: the Master is One Almighty Lord alone. Hence, Tauhid alone is the Truth which is being taught by this Qur'an. Apart from this, any one who is involved in polytheism and denial of God is, in fact, at war with the whole system of the Universe.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir:  Ibn Jarir commented, "Scholars of Tafsir disagreed over the meaning of Allah's statement, `And the Najm.' They agreed, however, that the trees mentioned here are those that stand on trunks.''`Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said, "An-Najm refers to the plants that lay on the ground.'' Similar was said by Sa`id bin Jubayr, As-Suddi and Sufyan Ath-Thawri. This is what Ibn Jarir preferred, may Allah have mercy upon him. Mujahid said, "An-Najm (the star); the one that is in the sky.'' Al-Hasan and Qatadah said similarly. 

This is the saying that is the most obvious, and Allah knows best, for Allah the Exalted said:
(See you not that whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth, and the sun, and the moon, and the stars, and the mountains, and the trees, and the moving creatures, and many of mankind prostrate themselves to Allah.)(22:18)
Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Najm: may mean stars collectively, or herbs collectively: perhaps both meanings are implied.

All nature adores Allah.  xiii. 15; and xvi. 48-49 and Cf. xxii. 18

In verses 7-9 another important truth that has been expressed is that Allah has established the entire system of the Universe precisely and equitably on justice, and the nature of this system requires that those who dwell in it also should adhere to justice within the bounds of their authority and should not disturb the balance.

وَالسَّمَآءَ رَفَعَهَا وَوَضَعَ الۡمِيۡزَانَۙ‏ 
( 7 )   And the heaven He raised and imposed the balance
Almost all the commentators have interpreted mizan " الۡمِيۡزَانَۙ‏ " (balance) to mean justice, and '...set the balance" to imply that Allah has established the entire system of the Universe on justice. Had there been no harmony and balance and justice established among the countless stars and planets moving in space, and the mighty forces working in this Universe, and the innumerable creatures and things found here, this life on earth would not have functioned even for a moment. Look at the creatures existing in the air and water and on land for millions and millions of years on this earth. They continue to exist only because full justice and balance has been established in the means and factors conducive to life; in case there occurs a slight imbalance of any kind, every tract of lift would become extinct. 

Yusuf Ali  Explanation
The "balance of justice" in this verse is connected with "the Balance" in the next two verses, that men may act justly to each other and observe due balance in all their actions, following the golden mean and not transgressing due bounds in anything. But the Balance is also connected figuratively with the heavens above in three symbols: (1) Justice is a heavenly virtue: (2) the heavens themselves are sustained by mathematical balance; and (3) the constellation Libra (the Balance) is entered by the sun at the middle of the zodiacal year.

Muhammad Asad Explanation:
The noun mizan, usually denoting a "balance", has here the more general connotation of "measure" or "measuring" by any means whatsoever (Zamakhshari), in both the concrete and abstract senses of the word. (Cf. also the parabolic use of the term mizan in 42:17 and 57:25 .):
[for] it is God [Himself] who has bestowed revelation from on high, setting forth the truth, and [thus given man] a balance [wherewith to weigh right and wrong]. And for all thou knowest, the Last Hour may well be near! (42:17)

Indeed, [even aforetime] did We send forth Our apostles with all evidence of [this] truth; and through them We bestowed revelation from on high, and [thus gave you] a balance [wherewith to weigh right and wrong], so that men might behave with equity; and We bestowed [upon you] from on high [the ability to make use of] iron, in which there is awesome power as well as [a source of] benefits for man: and [all this was given to you] so that God might mark out those who would stand up for him and His Apostle, even though He [Himself] is beyond the reach of human perception.44 Verily, God is powerful, almighty!  ( 57:25 )

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: meaning the justice, as He said in another Ayah,

Indeed, We have sent Our Messengers with clear proofs, and sent down with them the Book and the balance that mankind may keep up equity.)[57:25] 

Allah said here, 

اَلَّا تَطۡغَوۡا فِى الۡمِيۡزَانِ‏ 
( 8 )   That you not transgress within the balance.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: meaning, He created the heavens and earth in justice and truth so that everything is founded on, and observing, justice and truth. Allah's statement:

وَاَقِيۡمُوا الۡوَزۡنَ بِالۡقِسۡطِ وَلَا تُخۡسِرُوا الۡمِيۡزَانَ‏ 
( 9 )   And establish weight in justice and do not make deficient the balance.
That is, "As you are living in a balanced Universe, whose entire system has been established on justice, you also should adhere to justice. For if you act unjustly within the sphere in which you have been given authority, and fail to render the rights of others, you would indeed be rebelling against the nature of the Universe; for the nature of this Universe does not admit of injustice and perversion and violation of the rights. Not to speak of a major injustice, even if a person fraudulently deprives another of an ounce of something, by giving him short measure, he disturbs the balance of the entire Universe. 
This is the second important part of t    he Qur'anic teaching that has been presented in these three verses. The first teaching is Tauhid and the second is justice. Thus, in a few brief sentences the people have been told what teaching has been brought by the Qur'an which the Merciful God has sent for the guidance of man." 

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: meaning, do not cheat in the weights and measures, but rather observe justice and fairness, 

 (And weigh with the true and straight balance.)(26:182) 

Yusuf Ali  Explanation
To be taken both literally and figuratively. A man should be honest and straight in every daily matter, such as weighing out things which he is selling: and he should be straight, just and honest, in all the highest dealings, not only with other people, but with himself and in his obedience to Allah's Law. Not many do either the one or the other when they have an opportunity of deceit. Justice is the central virtue, and the avoidance of both excess and defect in conduct keeps the human world balanced just as the heavenly world is kept balanced by mathematical order.

Qur'an Wiki:
"He has raised the skies high, and has set the balance, so that you may not exceed the balance. Weigh, therefore, with justice and do not fall short in the balance." (Verses 7-9) The reference to the skies is intended, like all other references in the Qur'an to the two immediate aspects of the universe, to awaken minds and hearts that have become oblivious to the wonders around them, because of long familiarity. These minds and hearts should look at the universe, appreciate its wonderful beauty, harmony and coordination, and glorify the One who initiated all.
 
Whatever is meant by the skies, the reference to them lifts our sight to the great space above us, which appears without boundaries, and in which float trillions of huge celestial bodies, yet no collision occurs between them, either individually or in clusters. A cluster may include as many as a billion stars, as in the galaxy which includes our own solar system. Our sun has a diameter of 2.3 million kilometers, yet within our galaxy there are many smaller stars and many that are larger by thousands of times. All these stars and clusters of stars and planets move in space at frightening speeds, but in the great space above they are no more than particles floating far apart from each other.

In verses 10-25 besides mentioning the wonders and excellences of Allah's might, references have been made to His those bounties from which the jinn and men are deriving benefit.

وَالۡاَرۡضَ وَضَعَهَا لِلۡاَنَامِۙ‏ 
( 10 )   And the earth He laid [out] for the creatures.
Now from here to verse 20, mention is being made of the blessing and bounties of God and of those manifestations of His might by which both man and jinn are benefiting, and whose natural and moral demand is that although they have the option to believe or not to believe, they should adopt the way of their Lord's service and obedience willingly by their own free choice. 

The word wade ` in the original means to compost, make, prepare, keep. and inscribe, and anam the creatures, which includes man and all other living things. According to Ibn 'Abbas, anam includes every thing which has a soul. Mujahid takes it in the meaning of the living creatures. Qatadah, Ibn Zaid and Sha'bi say that all living things are anam. Hasan Basri says that both the men and the jinn are included in its meaning. The same meanings have been~given by the lexicographers. This shows that the people who deduce from this verse the command of making land the state property, are in error. This is an ugly attempt to introduce alien theories forcibly into the Qur'an which arc neither supported by the words of the verse nor by the context. Anam is not used only for human society but it includes all other creatures of the earth as well, and setting of the earth for anam does not mean that it should be the common property of all. Besides, the context here also does not indicate that the object of the verse is to state some economic principle. This, in fact, is meant to impress the truth that Allah made and prepared this earth in such a way that it became a fit abode for every kind of living being. It has not become so by itself, but by the will and power of the Creator. He in His wisdom placed it at a suitable distance and created such conditions on it which made it possible for the different species to exist and stay alive on it. (For more, see explanation of verses 60-61 of Surah 27.An-Naml, 35,37 of Surah 36. Ya Sin, 64 of Surah 40.Al-Mu'min, 10 of Surah 41. Ha Mim As-Sajdah, 10-11 of Surah 43. Az.Zukhruf, 5 of Surah 45. AI-Jathiyah).  

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: Allah raised the heavens and put down, or laid, the earth and balanced it with firm mountains, so that it would be stable for its residents that live on it, i.e. the various types and kinds of creatures, different in species, shape, color and language. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid, Qatadah and Ibn Zayd said that Al-An'am means the creatures.

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: How can Allah's favours be counted? Look at the earth alone. Life and the conditions here are mutually balanced for Allah's creatures. The vegetable world produces fruit of various kinds and corn or grain of various kinds for human food. The grain harvest yields with it fodder for animals in the shape of leaves and straw, as well as food for men in the shape of grain. The plants not only supply food but sweet-smelling herbs and flowers. Raihan is the sweet basil, but is here used in the generic sense, for agreeable produce in the vegetable world, to match the useful produce already mentioned.

فِيۡهَا فَاكِهَةٌ  ۙ وَّالنَّخۡلُ ذَاتُ الۡاَكۡمَامِ​ ۖ‏ 
( 11 )   Therein is fruit and palm trees having sheaths [of dates]

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (Therein are fruits,) of various colors, taste and scent, (and date palms producing Akmam.) Allah mentioned the date tree here specifically because of its benefit, both fresh and dry. Ibn Jurayj reported that Ibn `Abbas said said Al-Akmam, means sheathed fruit stalks. Similar was said by more than one of the scholars of Tafsir, it refers to the stalks that the seeds grow in to become a cluster of dates, unripe green dates then they ripen and ripen more. 

وَالۡحَبُّ ذُو الۡعَصۡفِ وَالرَّيۡحَانُ​ۚ‏ 
( 12 )   And grain having husks and scented plants.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: `Ali bin Abi Talhah said that Ibn `Abbas said that in, (وَالْحَبُّ ذُو الْعَصْفِ﴾ And also corn, with (its) `Asf), `Asf means straw.'' Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas, "`Asf is green leaves cut from the stem, so it is called `Asf when it dries out.'' Similarly, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak and Abu Malik said that `Asf means straw. Ibn `Abbas, Mujahid and others said that Rayhan means leaves, while Al-Hasan said that it means sweet-scented plants. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said that Rayhan means green leaves. The meanings here, and Allah knows best, are the various crops that produce straw, such as wheat and barley, and Rayhan are the leaves that grow on the stems.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 13 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
The word alaa' اٰلَاۤءِ in the refrain as repeated over and over again in the subsequent verses has been translated differently at different places. Therefore, it would be useful to understand at the outset how vast this word is in meaning and what different shades of meaning it contains.

The lexicographers and commentators generally have explained alaa' to mean "blessings" and "bounties". The translators also have given this same meaning of this word, and the same has been reported from Ibn 'Abbas, Qatadah and Hasan Basri. The major argument that supports this meaning is the Holy Prophet's own statement that the jinn on hearing this verse being recited would respond to it, saying La bi-shai in-min-ni maatika Rabba-na nukadhdhib: "O our Lord, we do not deny any of Your blessings." Therefore, we do not subscribe to the view of some present-day scholars, who say that alaa' is never used in the meaning of the blessing.

Another meaning of this word is power and wonders of power, or excellent manifestations of power. Ibn Jarir Tabari has reported that Ibn Zaid took the words fa-bi-ayyi alaa i Rabbi kuma in the meaning of fa bi-ayyi qudrat-Allah. Ibn Jarir himself has taken alaa' in the meaning of power and might in his commentary of vv. 37-38. Imam Razi also has made this observation in his commentary of vv.14-16: "These verses do not describe the blessings but the powers of Allah, and in the commentary of vv. 22-23, this; "These describe the wonders of power and not the blessings."

Its third meaning is virtue, praiseworthy qualities, and perfections. Though this meaning has not been mentioned by the lexicographers and commentators, this word has often been used in this meaning in Arabic poetry. ( Examples omitted).

Thus, we have taken this word in its vastest meaning and translated it suitably keeping in view the context in which it occurs. However, at some places the word alaa ' may have several senses in one and the same place, but due to limitations of translation we have had to adopt only one meaning. For example, in this verse after making mention of the creation of the earth and of making the best arrangements for the supply of provisions to the creatures, it has been said: 'Which of the alaa' of your Lord will you deny?" Here, alaa' has not been used in the meaning of the blessings only but also in the meaning of the manifestations of Allah Almighty's power and His praiseworthy attributes. It is a wonder of His might that He fashioned this earth in such a marvelous manner that countless species of creatures live here and an endless variety of fruits and grain are grown on it. And it is due to His praiseworthy qualities that He not only created these creatures but also made arrangements for their sustenance and the supply of provisions for them; and the arrangements also so perfect that their food is not only nutritious but also pleasing to the taste and sight. In this connection, reference has been made to only one excellence of Allah Almighty's workmanship for the sake of example, viz., the creation of the date-palm fruit in sheaths. Keeping this one example in view one may consider what excellences of art have been devised and shown in the packing of banana, pomegranates, orange, coconut and other fruits, and how each of the different sorts of the grains and pulses which we so thoughtlessly cook and eat, are produced hotly packed and covered in ears and pods and clusters. 

"Denying" implies the several attitudes that the people adopt in respect of Allah Almighty's blessings and manifestations of His might and His praiseworthy attributes. For example, some people do not at all admit that the Creator of all things is Allah Almighty. They think that all this is a mere byproduct of the matter, or an accidental happening, which is un-related with any wisdom and skill and workmanship. This is open denial.

Some other people do admit that the Creator of these things is Allah, but regard others beside Him also as associates in Godhead: they render thanks to others for His blessings: they adore others although they eat His provisions. This is another form of denial. Obviously, it would be the height of ingratitude if a person while admitting that a certain person had done him a favor rendered thanks to another, who had not in fact dent him that favor, for this act of his would be an express proof that he regarded the other person as his benefactor whom he was rendering the thanks.

There are still others. who acknowledge Allah alone as the Creator of all things and the Bestower of all blessings, but do not admit that they should obey the Commands of their Creator and Sustainer and follow His injunctions. This is another form of ingratitude and denial of the blessings, for the person who behaves so denies the right of the Bestower of the blessing although he acknowledges the blessing itself.

Some other people neither disavow the blessing nor deny the right of the Bestower of the blessing, but in practice there is no appreciable difference between their conduct and the conduct of a denier. This is not verbal denial but denial in practice. 

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: meaning, "O mankind and Jinn,which of the favors that Allah has given to you do you deny'' Muj ahid and others said this, and itis apparent when one reads what comes af ter it . Meaning the favors that are obvious to youwhile you are surrounded by them, you cannot deny or rej ect them. So we say, just as thebelievers among the Jinns said, "O Allah! None of Your favors do we deny. All praise is due toYou. '' Ibn ` Abbas used to say, "Nay, our Lord! '' meaning, "None of Your favors do we deny. ''

Muhammad Asad Explanation: The majority of the classical commentators interpret the dual form of address appearing in this phrase - rabbikuma ("the Sustainer of you two") and tukadhdhiban ("do you [or "can you"] two disavow") - as relating to the worlds of men and of the "invisible beings" (jinn); but the most obvious explanation (mentioned, among others, by Razi) is that it refers to the two categories of human beings, men and women, to both of whom the Qur'an is addressed. The plural noun ala', rendered by me as "powers", signifies literally "blessings" or "bounties"; but as the above refrain, which is repeated many times in this surah, bears not only on the bounties which God bestows on His creation but, more generally, on all manifestations of His creativeness and might, some of the earliest commentators - e.g., Ibn Zayd, as quoted by Tabari - regard the term ala', in this context, as synonymous with qudrah ("power" or "powers").

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Both the pronoun "your" and the verb "will ye deny" are in the Arabic in the Dual Number. The whole Sura is a symphony of Duality, which leads up to Unity, as explained in the Introduction. All creation is in pairs: li. 49, and notes; xxxvi. 36. Justice is the conciliation of two opposites to unity, the settlement of the unending feud between Right and Wrong. The things and concepts mentioned in this Sura are in pairs: man and outer nature; sun and moon; herbs and trees; heaven and earth; fruit and corn; human food and fodder for cattle; things nourishing and things sweet-smelling; and so on throughout the Sura. Then there is man and Jinn, for which see verse 15 below. "Will ye deny?" that is, fail to acknowledge either in word or thought or in your conduct. If you misuse Allah's gifts or ignore them, that is equivalent to ingratitude or denial or refusal to profit by Allah's infinite Grace.

خَلَقَ الۡاِنۡسَانَ مِنۡ صَلۡصَالٍ كَالۡفَخَّارِۙ‏ 
( 14 )   He created man from clay like [that of] pottery.
The order of the initial stages of the creation of man, as given at different places in the Qur'an seems to be as follows:

(1) Turab, i.e. earth or dust;

(2) Tin, i.e. clay made by mixing water with earth;

(3) tin-i-lazib: sticky clay, i.e. a clay which becomes sticky when left alone for a long time;

(4) hama in musnun, i.e. clay with a stink in it;

(5) salsal-im-min hems in masnun kalfakhkhar. i.e. the rotten clay which when dried becomes like baked pottery;

(6) bashar, i.e.. the one who was made from this last form of the earth, in whom Allah breathed of His Spirit, to whom the angels were commanded to bow down, and from whose species his mate was created;

(7) thumma ja ala nasla-hu min sulala-tin-min-ma 'in mahin: 'then spread his progeny by means of an extract of the nature of a despicable water', for which the word nutfah has been used at other places.

For these stages one may look up the following verses of the Qur'an in sequence: ka-melba/-i Adalla khalaqa-hu min turab (AI-'Imran : 59); bed's khalqal-insan-i min tin (As Sajdah: 7); Inna khalaq-na hum min tin-il-/azib (As-Saaffat: 11): the fourth and fifth stages have been described in the verse being explained, and the later stages in the following verses : Inni khaliq-un bashar an-nun tin. Faidha sa wwaitu-hu wa nafakhtu-fi -hi min-ruhi fa-qa ,u-lahu sajidin. (Suad : 71-72); khalaqa-kum min-nafs in wahidatin wa khalaqa nun-ha zauja-ha wa baththa minhuma rijal-an kathir-an wa nisa-an. (An -Nisa':1) ; thumma Ja ala nasla-hu min sulata-tin-min mmaa'-in -mahin. (As-Sajdah: 8); fa-inna khalaq-na-kum min turabin thumma min nutfs-tin. (AI-Hajj:5).

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: The Creation of Humans and Jinns - Allah mentions that He created mankind from clay, like that used in pottery, and created the Jinns from the tip of the flame of a smokeless fire. This was said by Ad-Dahhak from Ibn `Abbas. It was also said by `Ikrimah, Mujahid, Al-Hasan and Ibn Zayd. Al-`Awfi reported from Ibn `Abbas, "From the best part of the fire, from its smokeless flame.'' Imam Ahmad recorded that `A'ishah said that Allah's Messenger said, (The angels were created from light, the Jinns from a smokeless flame of fire, and `Adam from what was described to you.) Muslim also collected this Hadith.

Muhammad Asad Explanation: Reference 15:26 and the corresponding note (reproduced herein under):
AND, INDEED, We have created man out of sounding clay, out of dark slime transmuted (Surah 15Al Hijr:26)
There are many references in the Qur'an to man's having been "created out of clay (tin)" or "out of dust (turab)", both these terms signifying man's lowly biological origins as well as the fact that his body is composed of various organic and inorganic substances existing - in other combinations or in their elementary forms - on or in the earth. The term ,salsal, occurring in three verses of this surah as well as in 55:14 , adds a further dimension to this concept. According to most of the philological authorities, it denotes "dried clay that emits a sound" (i.e., when it is struck); and since it is used in the Qur'an exclusively with reference to the creation of man, it seems to contain an allusion to the power of articulate speech which distinguishes man from all other animal species, as well as to the brittleness of his existence (cf. the expression "like pottery" in 55:14 ). As the construction of the sentence shows, this salsal is stated to have evolved (Razi) out of hama' - which, according to some authorities, is the plural of ham'ah, signifying "dark, fetid mud" or "dark slime" - while the participial adjective masnun which qualifies this noun denotes, as Razi points out, both "altered" (i.e., in its composition) and "brought into shape": hence my rendering of this expression as "transmuted", which to some extent combines both of the above meanings. To my mind, we have here a description of the primeval biological environment out of which the "sounding clay" - the matrix, as it were - of man's physical body has evolved in accordance with God's plan of creation.

Yusuf Ali  Explanation:  Salsal.- dry clay which produces a sound, like pottery. Cf. iv. 14. I understand the meaning to be: that man's body was formed from wet clay moulded into shape and then dried until it could emit sound; that it was then further fashioned and completed; that into the animal form thus fashioned was breathed the spirit from Allah, which gave it a superiority over other Creation: and that the order for obeisance was then given.

The creation of men and Jinns is contrasted. Man was made of sounding clay, dry and brittle like pottery. The Jinn (see next note) was made from a clear flame of fire. Yet each has capacities and possibilities which only Allah's Grace bestows on them. How can they deny Allah's favours? 

وَخَلَقَ الۡجَآنَّ مِنۡ مَّارِجٍ مِّنۡ نَّارٍ​ۚ‏ 
( 15 )   And He created the jinn from a smokeless flame of fire.
The words in the original are: mim-marij-im-min-nar مِنۡ مَّارِجٍ مِّنۡ نَّارٍ​ۚ‏. Nar signifies fire of a special nature and not the fire which is produced by burning wood or coal, and marij means a pure, smokeless flame. The verse means that just as the first man was created out of earth, then passing through various stages of creation, the clay model adopted the shape of a living man of flesh and blood, and then his progeny spread by means of the sperm-drop, so was the first jinn created from a pure flame of fire, or a fire free of smoke, and then the species of jinn spread from his progeny. The position of the first jinn among the jinn is the same as of Adam (peace be upon him) among human beings. After taking the shape of a living man, the body of Adam and the human beings born of his progeny retained no relationship with the dust from which. they were originally created. Though even now our body is entirely a compound of the earthly substances, these substances have taken the from of flesh and blood and after being made a living body it has become quite a different thing from a mere lump of clay. The same also is true of the jinn. Their being also is essentially fiery. But just as we are not a mere lump of earth, so also they arc not a mere flame of fire.

This verse proves two things. First, that the jinn are not simply spirit, but are material beings of a special nature, but since they have been composed of pure fiery substances, they remain invisible to human beings who have bean created of earthly substances. The same has been referred to in this verse: "Satan and his party see you from where you cannot see them." (AI-A`raf: 27) Likewise, the jinn's being fast-moving, their adopting different shapes and forms easily and their penetrating into different places imperceptibly where things made of earthly substances cannot penetrate, or if they do, their penetration becomes perceptible, all these things are possible and understandable only because they are essentially a fiery creation.

The other thing that we come to know from this verse is that the jinn are not only a creation of a wholly different nature from human beings, but the substance of their creation also is absolutely different from that of man, animal, vegetable and solid matter. This verse explicitly points out the error of the viewpoint of those people who regard the jinn as a kind of human beings. According to their interpretation, the meaning of creating man of the dust and the jinn of the fire is to describe the difference of the temperamental nature of the two kinds of the people; one kind of them are humble by nature, and they are men in the true sense, and the other kind of the people are wicked by nature and fiery in temper, who may better be called devils. This is, however, no commentary of the Qur'an but its distortion. In the explanation of verse 14 above we have shown in detail how the Qur'an itself has fully described the meaning of creating man from the earth. After reading all these details, can a reasonable person understand that the object of all this is only to define the humility of the good men ? Moreover, how can a sound-minded person understand that the meaning of creating man of rotten, dry clay and the jinn of the flame of pure fire is the difference of the separate moral characteristics of the two individuals or groups with different temperaments belonging to the same human species? (For further explanation, see verse 56 of Surah 51. Adh-Dhariyat).  

Muhammad Asad Explanation: Cf. 15:27 - "the fire of scorching winds (nar as-samum)" - thus stressing their non-corporeal origin and composition. The significance of the term jinn ("invisible beings") has been touched upon briefly in explanation on 6:100 and  37:158.

Yusuf Ali  Explanation:  For the meaning of Jinn, see explanation of vi. 100, reproduced below: 
Jinns: who are they? In xviii. 50 we are told that Iblis was one of the Jinns, and it is suggested that that was why he disobeyed the Command of God. But in that passage and other similar passages, we are told that God commanded the angels to bow down to Adam, and they obeyed except Iblis. That implies that Iblis had been of the company of angels. In many passages Jinns and men are spoken of together. In lv. 14-15, man is stated to have been created from clay, while Jinns from a flame of fire. The root meaning of junna, yujannu, is "to be covered or hidden," and janna yajunnu, in the active voice, "to cover or hide," as in vi. 76. Some people say that jinn therefore means the hidden qualities or capacities in man; others that it means wild or jungle folk hidden in the hills or forests. I do not wish to be dogmatic, but I think, from a collation and study of the Quranic passages, that the meaning is simply "a spirit," or an invisible or hidden force. In folklore stories and romances like the Arabian Nights they become personified into fantastic forms, but with them we are not concerned here.
They are spirits, and therefore subtle like a flame of fire. Their being free from smoke implies that they are free from grossness, for smoke is the grosser accompaniment of fire.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 16 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
Here, in view of the context, It is more appropriate to translate alaa' as 'wonders of power", but in this the aspect of the blessing is also present. Just as it is a wonderful manifestation of Allah's power to have brought into existence marvelous creatures like man from the dust and the jinn from the flame of fire, so for both these creatures this is a great blessing also that Allah not only granted them a body but gave each such a structure and endowed each with such powers and capabilities that they became able to perform unique works in the world. Though we do not know much about the jinn, man is present before us. Had he been given the body of a fish or a bird or a monkey along with the human brain, he could not have with that body used the mental powers to any advantage. Then, is it not a supreme blessing of Allah that He blessed man with the most suitable body also, so that he may exploit the mental powers granted to him efficiently? Consider the hands, the feet, the eyes, the ears, the tongue and the erect stature as against the intellect and reason, and the capabilities of workmanship and artistic skill, and one will feel that the Creator has provided a deep relationship and harmony between them without which the human body would have remained useless. Then, the same thing points out Allah's praiseworthy qualities too. How could the men and jinn of such quality and rank be brought into existence without knowledge, wisdom, mercy and a profound creative power ? For such miracles of creation cannot be performed by accidents and automatic blind and deaf laws of nature.

رَبُّ الۡمَشۡرِقَيۡنِ وَ رَبُّ الۡمَغۡرِبَيۡنِ​ۚ‏ 
( 17 )   [He is] Lord of the two sunrises and Lord of the two sunsets.
Both the Easts and both the Wests" may mean the two points of sunrise and the two points of sunset on the shortest day of winter and the longest day of summer as well as the easts and the wests of the two hemispheres of the earth. On the shortest day of winter the sun rises and sets making a small acute angle: on the contrary, on the longest day of summer-it rises and sets making a wide obtuse angle. Between them its points of rising and setting go on shifting every day, for which at another place in the Qur'an (AI-Ma'arij: 40) the words Rabbul-mashariq wal-magharib have been used. Likewise, at the time the sun rises in one hemisphere of the earth, it sets in the other hemisphere, thus producing two easts and two wests of the earth. 

There arc several meanings of calling Allah Lord of both the Easts and both the Wests. Firstly, that it is by His Command that the system of the rising and setting of the sun and their changing pattern during the year is functioning. Second, that Allah alone is the Master and Ruler of the earth and the sun; had they their own separate lords, this regular system of the rising and setting of the sun on the earth could not have functioned and continued to function permanently. Third, that the Master and Sustainer of both the Easts and both the Wests is One Allah alone; to Him belong the creations living between them. He alone is nourishing them, and it is for their sustenance that He has established this wise system of the rising and setting of the sun on the earth.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: meaning the sunrise of summer and winter and the sunset of summer and winter. 
Allah said in another Ayah, (So, I swear by the Lord of all the points of sunrise and sunset in the east and the west.)[70:40], referring to the different places from which the sun rises and then sets on people every day. 
Allah said in another Ayah, (The Lord of the east and the west; none has the right to be worshipped but He. So take Him alone as a trustee.)[73:9], referring to the different places of sunrise and sunset and the benefits that this variation brings to the created, mankind and Jinns,
Muhammad Asad Explanation: I.e., of the extreme points of sunrise and sunset in summer and in winter (see 37:5 and 70:40 ), including "all that is between them": a metonym for God's being the Ultimate Cause of the orbital movement within the universe.

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: The two Easts are the two extreme points where the sun rises during the year, and includes all the points between. Similarly the two Wests include the two extreme points of the sun's setting and all the points between. The Dual Number fits with the general atmosphere of Duality in this Sura. Allah is Lord of every region of the earth and sky, and He scatters His bounties everywhere. See also explanation of xliii. 38, and xxxvii. 5.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 18 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
Here also, although in view of the context, "power" seems to be a more conspicuous meaning of alaa', yet, besides, the aspect of "blessing" and 'praiseworthy qualities" also is present in it. It is a great blessing that Allah Almighty has prescribed the rule of the rising and setting of the sun, for by means of it the changes of the crops and seasons arc regulated with which countless interests of the men and animals and vegetables are attached. Likewise, it is Allah's mercy and providence and wisdom that He has made these arrangements by His power to meet the respective needs and requirements of the creatures He has created on the earth.

مَرَجَ الۡبَحۡرَيۡنِ يَلۡتَقِيٰنِۙ‏ 
( 19 )   He released the two seas, meeting [side by side];

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: See xxv. 53, and explanation (reproduced below), where it is explained how the two bodies of water, salt and sweet, meet together, yet keep separate, as if there was a barrier or partition between them. This is also one of the favours of Allah. Sea-water is a sanitating agent, while fresh water is sweet and palatable to drink.
Maraja: literally, let free or let loose cattle for grazing. Bahrain: two seas, or two bodies of flowing water; for bahr is applied both to the salt sea and to rivers. In the world taken as a whole, there are two bodies of water, viz.,: (1) the great salt Ocean, and (2) the bodies of sweet water fed by rain, whether they are rivers, lakes or underground springs: their source in rain makes them one, and their drainage, whether above-ground or underground, eventually to the Ocean, also makes them one. They are free to mingle, and in a sense they do mingle, for there is a regular water-cycle: and the rivers flow constantly to the sea, and tidal rivers get sea-water for several miles up their estuaries at high tide. Yet in spite of all this, the laws of gravitation are like a barrier or partition set by Allah, by which the two bodies of water as a whole are always kept apart and distinct. In the case of rivers carrying large quantities of water to the sea, like the Mississippi or the Yangtse-Kiang, the river-water with its silt remains distinct from sea-water for a long distance out at sea. But the wonderful Sign is that the two bodies of water, though they pass through each other, remain distinct bodies, with their distinct functions.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (He has Maraja the two seas), or let them loose, according to Ibn `Abbas. Allah's statement, (meeting together.) Ibn Zayd said, "He prevents them from meeting by the dividing barrier He placed between them to separate them.'' The two seas are the fresh and salty waters, the former coming from running rivers. 

We discussed this topic in Surat Al-Furqan when explaining Allah's statement; (And it is He Who has let free the two seas: one palatable and sweet, and the other salty and bitter; and He has set a barrier and a complete partition between them.)[25:53] 

Allah then said, 

بَيۡنَهُمَا بَرۡزَخٌ لَّا يَبۡغِيٰنِ​ۚ‏ 
( 20 )   Between them is a barrier [so] neither of them transgresses.
This phenomenon has been perceived in many places in the sea and on the land that sweet water and bitter water has existed side by side. Turkish Admiral Syedi Ali Rais, in his book Mirat-al-Mamalik, written in the 16th century, has mentioned a place in the Persian Gulf, where springs of sweet waver exist under the bitter waters of the sea, where he could get drinking water for his fleet. The American Oil company at first obtained water from the same springs in the Persian Gulf, before they dug up wells near Dhahran for the supply of the drinking water. Near Bahrain also there exist springs of sweet water at the sea bed from which people have been taking water until quite recently. Besides this apparent meaning which gives a rational proof of Allah’s being the One and the only Lord of the universe, the verse contains a subtle suggestion as well: When Allah wills, He can raise up a righteous community from among a large wicked society just as He can cause springs of palatable and sweet water to gush out from under the salty waters of the sea.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: meaning, He has placed a barrier of land between these two types of waters, so that they do not transgress upon each other, which would spoil the characteristics they were created with.

Muhammad Asad Explanation: Reference 25:53 and explanation (reproduced herein under):
AND HE it is who has given freedom of movement to the two great bodies of water - the one sweet and thirst-allaying, and the other salty and bitter - and yet has wrought between them a barrier and a forbidding ban.
The noun bahr, usually signifying "sea", is also applied to large agglomerations of sweet water, like rivers, lakes, etc.; in the above context, the dual al-bahrayn denotes "the two great bodies [or "kinds"] of water" - the salty and the sweet - existing side by side on earth.
I.e., has caused them - as if by an invisible barrier - to remain distinct in kind despite their continuous meeting and mingling in the oceans: an indirect reminder of God's planning creativeness inherent in the cyclic transformation of water - its evaporation from the salty seas, followed by a formation of clouds, their condensation into rain and snow which feed springs and rivers, and its return to the seas. Some Muslim mystics see in this stress on the two kinds of water an allegory of the gulf - and, at the same time, interaction - between man's spiritual perceptions, on the one hand, and his worldly needs and passions, on the other.
فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 21 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

يَخۡرُجُ مِنۡهُمَا اللُّـؤۡلُـؤُ وَالۡمَرۡجَانُ​ۚ‏ 
( 22 )   From both of them emerge pearl and coral.
According to Ibn 'Abbas, Qatadah, Ibn Zaid and Dahhak (may Allah bless them), marjan implies small pearls, but according to Hadrat 'Abdullah bin Mas'ud, this word is used for corals in Arabia.

Literally: "From both these seas come out..." The objectors say that pearls and corals come out only from salt waters. How is it then that they are stated to come out from both the sweet and salt waters ? The answer is that the seas contain both the sweet and the salt waters; therefore, whether it is said that these things come out from the combination of both, or from both kinds of waters, it would be one and the same thing. And it may well be that further investigations might reveal that both these things originate in the sea at the place where springs of sweet water gush outs from the sea bed; and in their birth and development combination of both kinds of the water plays its part. Near Bahrain which has been famous for its pearl-fisheries for centuries, there exist springs of sweet water at the bottom of the Gulf.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: pearls are well-known. As for Marjan they say it means small pearls. Mujahid, Qatadah, Abu Ruzayn, Ad-Dahhak said it, and it has also been reported from `Ali. It was also said that it means large, precious pearls, this was mentioned by Ibn Jarir from some of the Salaf. Ibn Abi Hatim recorded from Ibn `Abbas who said, "When it rains, the oysters in the sea open their mouths. What falls in them, the drops, turns into pearls.'' Its chain of narrators is Sahih. Since this type of adornment is a favor from Allah to the people of earth, He reminded them of it,

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Pearls are produced by the oyster and coral by the polyp, a minute marine creature, which, working in millions, has by its secretions produced the reefs, islands, and banks in and on both sides of the Red Sea and in other parts of the world. The pearl has a translucent lustre, usually white, but sometimes pink or black. Coral is usually opaque, red or pink, but often white, and is seen in beautiful branching or cup-like shapes as visitors to Port Sudan will recall. Both are used as gems and stand here for gems generally. Mineral gems, such as agate and cornelian, are found in river-beds. Pearl oysters are also found in some rivers.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 23 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
Here also though the aspect of power in alaa' is conspicuous, the aspect of the blessing and praiseworthy qualities also is not hidden. It is a blessings of God that these valuable things come out from the sea, and it is His Providence that for the satisfaction of the aesthetic taste of the creatures whom He had blessed with the taste for beauty and the lout and longing for adornment, He created all sorts of these beautiful things in His world.

وَلَهُ الۡجَوَارِ الۡمُنۡشَئٰتُ فِى الۡبَحۡرِ كَالۡاَعۡلَامِ​ۚ‏ 
( 24 )   And to Him belong the ships [with sails] elevated in the sea like mountains.
His are the ships...": Ships became possible only by His power. It is He Who blessed man with the capability and skill that he may build ships for crossing the oceans; it is He Who created on the earth the material from which ships could be built; and it is He Who subjected water to the laws by which it became possible for the mountain-like ships to sail on the surface of the surging oceans. 

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (And His are Al-Jawar Al-Munsha'at), meaning the ships that float,

(in the seas), Mujahid said, "Whatever ship hoists a sail, it is from Munsha'at, if it does not hoist a sail, it is not from the Munsha'at.'' Qatadah said, "Al-Munsha'at means created.'' Others said that it is Al-Munshi'at meaning, "launched.''

( كَالاٌّعْلَـمِ like A`lam.) This means, they are like mountains with their great size, and it also refers to the trade and commercial services they make possible, transporting cargo from one area to another and from one province to another. Ships provide various benefits for people, including transporting different types of goods they need. 

Muhammad Asad Explanation: Lit., "in the sea like mountains". The reference to ships as "belonging to God" is meant to stress the God-given nature of man's intelligence and inventiveness - a reflection of God's creative powers - which expresses itself in all that man is able to produce. (See also {42:32-34} and the corresponding notes.)

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: The ships-sailing ships and steamers, and by extension of analogy, aeroplanes and airships majestically navigating the air-are made by man, but the intelligence and science which made them possible are given by man's Creator; and therefore the Ships also are the gifts of Allah.

Lofty as mountains: both in respect of the high sails, or masts, and in respect of the height to which the top of the ship towers above the surface of the sea. The 'Queen Mary'-the biggest ship afloat in 1936-has a height, from the keel to the top of the superstructure, of 135 ft. and from keel to the mast-head, of 234 ft.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 25 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
Here, the aspect of the blessing; and bounty is conspicuous in alaa, but the explanation given above shows that the aspect of power and good qualities is also present in it.

Ruku Two Verses26-45 
In verses.26-30 both the men and the jinn have been reminded of the truths that in this Universe no one except One God is immortal and imperishable, and there is none, from the lowest to the highest, who does not stand in need of God for his survival and other requirements. Whatever is happening here, from the earth to the heavens, is happening under His administration and control.

كُلُّ مَنۡ عَلَيۡهَا فَانٍ​ ۚ​ ۖ‏ 
( 26 )   Everyone upon the earth will perish,
From here to verse 30, the jinn and the men have been informed of two realities;

First, 'Neither you are immortal nor the provisions that you are enjoying in this world everlasting. Immortal and Everlasting is the Being of the High and Supreme God alone Whose greatness this Universe testifies, and by Whose grace and kindness you have been favored with these bounties. Now, if some one among you behaves arrogantly, it would be due to his own meanness. If a foolish person assumes haughtiness in his tiny sphere of authority, or becomes god of a sew helpless men who fall into his hand, this farce would not last long. A godhead that lag: for a mere score or two score years in a corner of the earth whose size in this limitless Universe is not even equal to a pea seed, and then becomes a legend of the past, is not something of which one may feel proud and arrogant. "

The other important truth of which both these creations have been warned is: 'None of those whom you have set up as deities and removers of hardships and fulfiller: of needs, apart from Allah, whether they are angels or prophets or the moon and the sun, or some other creation, can fulfill any of your needs. These helpless creatures and things themselves stand in need of Allah's help for their needs and requirements. They themselves pray to Him for help; when they are not able to remove their own hardships how will they remove your hardships? Whatever Is happening In this limitless Universe, from the earth to the heavens, Is happening under rite Command of One God alone, No one else has any sham In His Godhead; no one therefore can influence anyone else's destiny in any way. 

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: Allah is the Ever Living, Free of all Need - Allah states that all the residents of earth will perish and die. The residents of the heavens will die, except whomever Allah wills. Only Allah's Honorable Face will remain, because our Lord, the Exalted, the Blessed, is the Ever Living Who never dies. Qatadah said, "First, Allah mentioned His creatures and then He said that all of this will perish.'' And in the reported supplication: `O You the Ever Living Who sustains all that exists! O You Who created the heavens and the earth without precedence. O You, Who Owns the glory and the honor, none has the right to be worshipped except You. We seek refuge with Your mercy. Grant Us success in all of our matters. Please, do not abandon us to rely on ourselves even for an instant nor on any of Your creation.'' Ash-Sha`bi said, "When you have recited,

( كُلُّ مَنْ عَلَيْهَا فَانٍ Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish.) do not stop, continue reading, 

Muhammad Asad Explanation: Lit., "Everyone who is upon it", i.e., on earth and/or, according to Ibn Kathir, in the heavens - since the pronoun in 'alayha apparently relates to the whole universe.

وَّيَبۡقٰى وَجۡهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الۡجَلٰلِ وَالۡاِكۡرَامِ​ۚ‏ 
( 27 )   And there will remain the Face of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (وَيَبْقَى وَجْهُ رَبِّكَ ذُو الْجَلْـلِ وَالإِكْرَامِ And the Face of your Lord Dhul-Jalal wal-Ikram will remain forever.)''
This Ayah is similar to Allah's statement, (Everything will perish save His Face.)[28:88] In this Ayah, Allah describes His Noble Face as being Dhul-Jalal wal-Ikram, indicating that He is Worthy of being revered, and thus, never defied; and obeyed, and thus, never disobeyed,
(And keep yourself patiently with those who call on their Lord morning and afternoon, seeking His Face.)]18:28], And as He said about those giving charity:
(We feed you seeking Allah's Face only.)[76:9] Ibn `Abbas commented on the meaning of Dhul-Jalal wal-Ikram, by saying, "Owner of greatness and pride.'' After Allah stated that all of the inhabitants of the earth will die and end up in the Hereafter when He, Dhul-Jalal wal-Ikram, will judge them by His fair judgement.
Muhammad Asad Explanation: Lit., "face", or "countenance", a term used metonymically in classical Arabic to denote the "self" or "whole being" of a person - in this case, the essential Being, or Reality, of God. Cf. also 28:88 , "Everything is bound to perish, save His [eternal] Self".

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: The most magnificent works of man-such as they are-are but fleeting. Ships, Empires, the Wonders of Science and Art, the splendours of human glory or intellect, will all pass away. The most magnificent objects in outer Nature-the mountains and valleys, the sun and moon, the Constellation Orion and the star Sirius-will also pass away in their appointed time. But the only One that will endure for ever is the "Face" of Allah.

Ikram الۡاِكۡرَامِ​ۚ‏ ; two ideas are prominent in the word, (1) the idea of generosity, as proceeding from the person whose attribute it is, and (2) the idea of honour, as given by others to the person whose attribute it is. Both these ideas are summed up in "nobility". To make the meaning quite clear, I have employed in the translation the two words "Bounty and Honour" for the single word Ikram. The same attributes recur in the last verse of this Sura. In the Fact of Allah's Eternity is the Hope of our Future.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 28 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
Here, as the context itself shows, the word alaa' has been used in the sense of excellences and perfections. Whoever of the mortal creatures is involved in vanity and self-arrogance and struts about thinking that his false godhead is everlasting, disavows Lord of the world's glory and majesty by his conduct, if not by his tongue. His pride and arrogance by itself is a denial of Allah Almighty's greatness and glory. Whatever claim he may make to an excellence by his tongue, or arrogate to himself such an excellence, it is indeed a disavowal of the rank and station of the real Possessor of excellences and perfections. 

يَسۡـئَـلُهٗ مَنۡ فِى السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ​ؕ كُلَّ يَوۡمٍ هُوَ فِىۡ شَاۡنٍ​ۚ‏  
( 29 )   Whoever is within the heavens and earth asks Him; every day He is bringing about a matter.
That is, "He is continuously and endlessly functioning in this Universe and creating countless new things with new and yet new forms and designs and qualities, He is giving death to one and life to another, exalting one and debasing another, causing one to recover and another to remain ill, rescuing a drowning one and drowning a floating one. He is providing sustenance to countless creatures in a variety of ways, His world never stays In the same state: it is changing every moment and its Creator arranges it in a new state and fashion every time, which is different from every previous form and fashion and state."

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: In this Ayah, Allah affirms that He is Rich, Free of all wants for anyone else and that all creatures stand in need of Him, in all conditions and situations. They all seek His help willingly or unwillingly. Everyday, He is engaged in some affair. 

Al-A`mash reported from Mujahid, from `Ubayd bin `Umayr, ( كُلَّ يَوْمٍ هُوَ فِى شَأْنٍ Every day He is (engaged) in some affair.) He said, "Of His affairs is that He answers the supplicant, or gives to the one requesting, or removing adversity, or cures the one seeking to be cured.''

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Every single creature depends on Allah for its needs: of all of them the Cherisher and Sustainer is Allah. Seek (its needs): does not necessarily mean 'seek them in words': what is meant is the dependence: the allusion is to the Source of supply.

Shan شَاۡنٍ​ۚ‏: state, splendour; aim, work, business, momentous affair. Allah's is still the directing hand in all affairs. He does not sit apart, careless of mankind or of any of His creatures. But His working shows new Splendour every day, every hour, every moment.

Muhammad Asad Explanation: Lit., "Him does ask [or "of Him does beg"] whoever is...", etc.: i.e., all depend on Him for their safety and sustenance.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 30 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
Here, alaa seems to have been treed in the sense of qualities and glories Every person who commits polytheism of any kind, in fact, disavows one or the other of Allah's attributes, A person's saying that such and such a saint has removed his disease, in fact, amounts to saying that Allah is not the Remover of disease and Restorer of health but the saint, Another one's saying that such and such a holy one has got him a job, in fact, amounts to saying that Allah is not the Sustainer and Lord but the particular holy person. Still another one's saying that his prayer has been answered at a particular shrine, in fact, amounts to saying that the command governing the world is not Allah's but the shrine's, In short, every polytheistic belief and utterance, in the final analysis, leads up to the disavowal of the Divine attributes. Polytheism is nothing but that one should ascribe the Divine attributes of being All-Hearing and AII-Seeing, Almighty and All-Powerful, etc.. to others than Allah, and should deny that Allah alone is the Possessor of all these attributes.

In verses 31-36 both the groups have been warned that the time is fast approaching when they will be called to account, which they will not be able to avoid, for God's Kingdom is encircling them from every side; it is not in their power to flee it; if they are involved in the misunderstanding that they can, they may try to do so.

سَنَفۡرُغُ لَـكُمۡ اَيُّهَ الثَّقَلٰنِ​ۚ‏ 
( 31 )   We will attend to you, O prominent beings.
Thaqalan الثَّقَلٰنِ​ۚ‏ is derived from thiql which means a burden, and thaqal is the burden loaded on a conveyance. Thaqalan (dual) therefore would mean: "two loaded burdens". Here this word refers to the jinn and then; who are both loaded on the earth. As the addressees here are those jinn and men who have turned away from the service and obedience of their Lord and Sustainer, they have been addressed as: "O burdens of the earth," In other words, the Creator is warning these two unworthy groups of His creation, saying; "« you who have become a burden for My earth, I am soon going to take you to task,"  

This does not mean that Allah at this time is too busy to call the disobedient servants to account, but it means that Allah has arranged a special time-table according to which He will first bring into existence generation after generation of the jinn and men in the world till an appointed time, and will provide theist with an opportunity to work in this examination center of the world; then at a specific Hour the examination will be suddenly brought to a close, and all the jinn and men living at that time will be given death simultaneously. Then at another time which is preordained with Allah for calling the jinn and men to account, all the former and the latter generations of both the species will be resurrected and mustered at one and the same time. In view of this time-table the two species have been warned, as if to say: `We are yet busy with the work of the first period, and the time for the second period has not yet come, not to speak of embarking on the work of the third period. But you may rest assured. The time is fast approaching when We shall be free to take you to task." This lack of leisure does not mean that Allah is too occupied with one kind of work to attend to another kind of work. But its nature is analogous to the occupation of a person who has set a time-table for different sorts of the works and in respect of a work whose time has not yet arrived according to the time-table, he may say that he at the moment is not free for it. 

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: A Warning for Humans and Jinn - Ibn Jurayj said that the Ayah, (﴿سَنَفْرُغُ لَكُمْ We shall attend to you,) means, `We shall judge you,' while Al-Bukhari said that it means, "We shall recompense you. Surely, nothing will busy Allah from attending to anything else.'' 

This type of speech pattern is common in the Arabic language. For example, one would say, "I will attend to you,'' even when one is not busy with anything else. 

Allah's saying; (أَيُّهَا الثَّقَلاَنِ O you Thaqalan!) refers to the humans and the Jinns, as in the Hadith; (Everyone will be able to hear it, except the Thaqalayn.) In another narration that explains it, the Prophet said, (...except mankind and the Jinns.)

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Thaqal: weight, something weighty, something weighed with something else. The two thaqals are Jinns and men who are burdened with responsibility or, as some commentators hold, with sin. They are both before Allah, and the affairs of both are conducted under His Command. If there are inequalities or apparent disturbances of balance, that is only for a season. Allah gives to both good and evil men a chance in this period of probation; but this period will soon be over, and Judgment will be established. To give you this chance, this probation, this warning, is itself a favour, by which you should profit, and for which you should be grateful.

Muhammad Asad Explanation: ([ONE DAY] We shall take you to task,) Lit., "We shall apply Ourselves to you".

(O you sin-laden two!) I.e., "you sin-laden men and women" (see note [4] above). According to an interpretation quoted by Razi the designation thaqalan (the dual form of thaqal, "a thing of weight") signifies that both these categories of human beings are liable to, and therefore burdened with, sinning.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 32 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
Here, alaa' can also be taken in the meaning of powers. In view of the context, each meaning seems to be appropriate in its own way. According to the first meaning, it would mean: "Today you are being ungrateful for Our blessings and are being treacherous and disloyal by adopting the different attitudes of disbelief, polytheism, atheism, sin and disobedience, but tomorrow when the time comes for accountability, We shall sec which of Our blessings you prove to be the result of a mere accident, or the fruit of your own ability, or manifestation of the kindness of a god or goddess or saint." In the second case, the meaning would be: `Today you are mocking the doctrine of Resurrection and the gathering together of all mankind and jinn on the Day of Judgment and the accountability and the Heaven and Hell, and are harboring the misunderstanding that such things are not at all possible, but when We gather you together for accountability and all that you deny today will appear before you, then We shall see which of Our powers you deny."

يٰمَعۡشَرَ الۡجِنِّ وَالۡاِنۡسِ اِنِ اسۡتَطَعۡتُمۡ اَنۡ تَنۡفُذُوۡا مِنۡ اَقۡطَارِ السَّمٰوٰتِ وَالۡاَرۡضِ فَانْفُذُوۡا​ؕ لَا تَنۡفُذُوۡنَ اِلَّا بِسُلۡطٰنٍ​ۚ‏ 
( 33 )   O company of jinn and mankind, if you are able to pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth, then pass. You will not pass except by authority [from Allah].
The earth and the heavens": the Universe or the Kingdom of God. The verse means to impress this: `It is not in your power to escape Allah's grasp. When the time for the accountability of which you are being foretold comes, you will be seized and brought before God in any case wherever you may be. To go out of God's reach you will have to flee from the Universe of God for which you do trot have the required power. If you feel that you have the power, then you may use that power if you so will.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: meaning, `you will never be able to escape Allah's orders and decrees, because it encompasses you. You will never be able to avoid or avert His rule and judgement over you, you are surrounded by it wherever you may be.' This is also about the Gathering when the angels, comprising seven lines in every direction, will surround the creatures. 

None of the creatures will be able to escape on that Day, (إِلاَّ بِسُلْطَـنٍ except with authority) meaning, except with the commandment from Allah, 
(On that Day man will say: "Where (is the refuge) to flee'' No! There is no refuge! Unto your Lord will be the place of rest that Day.)[75:10-12],
(And those who earned evil deeds, the recompense of an evil deed is the like thereof, and humiliating disgrace will cover them. No defender will they have from Allah. Their faces will be covered as it were with pieces from the darkness of night. They are the dwellers of Fire, they will abide therein forever.)[10:27]
Muhammad Asad Explanation:
(O you who live in close communion with [evil] invisible beings and humans!) For an explanation of this rendering of ma'shar al-jinn wa-'l-ins, see explanation of 6:128 .

(If you [think that you] can pass beyond the regions of the heavens and the earth,) I.e., in order to escape God's judgment and chastisement.

(pass beyond them! [But] you cannot pass beyond them, save by a sanction [from God]!) I.e., "unless He wills to reprieve you": cf. the last paragraph of 6:128 and the corresponding note .

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Cf. vi. 130, where the Jinns and men are addressed collectively. That whole passage, vi. 130-134, should be read as a commentary on this verse. 'If you think that because you do things in secret, or because some of your sins do not seem to meet their inevitable punishment or some of your good deeds seem to go unnoticed, do not be deceived. Judgment will soon come. You cannot possibly escape out of the zones in which your lives have been cast, without authority from Allah. Be grateful to Allah for the chances He has given you'. "All that hath been promised unto you will come to pass: nor can ye frustrate it in the least bit" (vi. 134).

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 34 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Note how gradually we have been led up in the Argument. 'The Signs of Allah are all about you, in revelation, in your intelligence, and in nature around you. Your creation; the light and heat typified by the sun in all directions; the cycle of waters in the physical earth and of Knowledge in the world of Intelligence; the help and cherishing care of Allah Himself;-all these things should teach you the Truth and warn you about the Future, which is more particularly referred to in the remainder of the Surah.

يُرۡسَلُ عَلَيۡكُمَا شُوَاظٌ مِّنۡ نَّارٍ ۙ وَّنُحَاسٌ فَلَا تَنۡتَصِرٰنِ​ۚ‏  
( 35 )   There will be sent upon you a flame of fire and smoke, and you will not defend yourselves.
The word shuwaz شُوَاظٌ , as used in the original, means the pure, smokeless flame, and nuhas نُحَاسٌ is the gross smoke without a flame. These two things, one after the other, will be let loose upon the men and jinn, when they try to escape the accountability of Allah.

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: The Dual is with reference to the two worlds explained above in verse 31. We now come to the terrors of the Judgment on the evil ones.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas that Shuwaz is the flame of fire. Abu Salih said, "It is the flame above the fire below the smoke.''

Ad-Dahhak said, (شُوَاظٌ مِّن نَّارٍ Shuwaz of fire) "A flood of fire.''

Allah said; (وَنُحَاسٌ and Nuhas) `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas; "The smoke of the fire.'' Similar was reported from Abu Salih, Sa`id bin Jubayr and Abu Sinan. Ibn Jarir said that the Arabs used to call the smoke of the fire, Nuhas and Nihas. But he said that the scholars of Qur'anic recitation said that in this Ayah, the word recited is Nuhas. Mujahid said, "Molten brass poured over their heads.'' Qatadah held the same view. Ad-Dahhak said,"Nuhas is liquid copper.'' The Ayah means, `if you, mankind and the Jinns, try to escape on the Day of Resurrection, then the angels, including those among them who guard Hellfire, will bring you back by directing smoke of fire and molten brass on you.' 

Allah's statement, (فَلاَ تَنتَصِرَانِفَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ  and you will not be able to defend yourselves. Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny)

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 36 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Here and in some of the verses that follow, (verses 40, 42, and 45 below), the refrain applies with an ironical meaning. It is as if it was said: 'You used to laugh at Revelation, and at the warnings which were given for your own benefit in order to draw you to repentance and Allah's Mercy; what do you find now? Is not all that was said to you true?' To reject Allah's Law is in itself to deny Allah's Mercies.

In verses 37-38 it has been said that this accountability will be held on the Day of Resurrection.

فَاِذَا انْشَقَّتِ السَّمَآءُ فَكَانَتۡ وَرۡدَةً كَالدِّهَانِ​ۚ‏  
( 37 )   And when the heaven is split open and becomes rose-colored like oil -
This refers to the Day of Resurrection. Bursting of the heavens implies loosening of the discipline of the heavens, scattering of the celestial bodies, upsetting of the system of the heavens. And the meaning of `reddening like red leather" is that during that great upheaval anyone who looks up towards the sky, will feel as though the entire heavens were on fire.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: The Horrors of the Day of Resurrection - Allah said, (فَإِذَا انشَقَّتِ السَّمَآءُ Then when the heaven is rent asunder,) on the Day of Resurrection; this meaning is clear in this and similar Ayat, such as:
(And the heaven will be rent asunder, for that Day it (the heaven) will be frail and torn up.)(69:16),

(And (remember) the Day when the heaven shall be rent asunder with clouds, and the angels will be sent down, with a grand descending.)(25:25) and,

(When the heaven is split asunder, and listens to and obeys its Lord -- and it must do so.)(84:1-2)

Allah's statement, (فَكَانَتْ وَرْدَةً كَالدِّهَانِ and it becomes Wardah like Dihan.) This means they will melt just as sediment and silver are melted when heated. And they will be colored, just as dies stain something, sometimes red, sometimes yellow, or blue, or green. This demonstrates the extent of the horrors of the Mighty Day of Resurrection. As-Suddi said, "It will be as rosy color and as filth oil.'' 

Mujahid said (كَالدِّهَانِ like Dihan), "Like the colors of dyes.'' 

Muhammad Asad Explanation: This is one of several legitimate interpretations of the term dihan (see Tabari); another is "freshly tanned [or "red"] leather" synonymous with adim (Zamakhshari); and yet another, "dregs of olive-oil" (Raghib). All these interpretations have one idea in common - namely, the sudden and surprising change (or changes) of colour to which the sky will be subject at the Last Hour.

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Melting away like grease or ointment. The red colour will be due to the flames and the heat. The whole of the world as we know it now will dissolve.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 38 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -
That is, "Today you deem Resurrection impossible; you think Allah has no power to bring it about. But when it will have taken place and you see with your eyes all that you are being foretold, which of the powers of Allah will you then deny?

In verses 39-45 the evil end of the guilty ones, from among men and jinn, who have been disobeying Allah in the world has been mentioned.

فَيَوۡمَـئِذٍ لَّا يُسۡـئَـلُ عَنۡ ذَنۡۢبِهٖۤ اِنۡسٌ وَّلَا جَآنٌّ​ۚ‏ 
( 39 )   Then on that Day none will be asked about his sin among men or jinn.
This is being explained by the subsequent sentence: "The culprits there shall be recognized by their faces." It means that in that great assembly where all the former and the latter generations will have gathered together, there will be no need to ask as to who are the culprits, nor will any man or jinn need be asked whether he is a culprit or not. The dejected faces of the culprits, their terror-stricken eyes, their disturbed and alarmed countenances will themselves be enough to expose the secret that they are the culprits. When a crowd comprising both the guilty and the innocent people, is encircled by the police, the calm and tranquil of the innocent people and the bewildered and disturbed state of the guilty ones tell at one glance as to who in the crowd is the culprit and who is innocent. This general rule is in most cases belied in the world, because the worldly police do not enjoy the reputation of being fair and just, rather on many an occasion they have turned out to be more bothersome for the gentle and innocent people than for the culprits. Therefore, here it is possible that when encircled by the police the gentle and innocent people might become even more terror-stricken than the criminals, but in the Hereafter, when every noble person will have complete faith in the justice of Allah, bewilderment will afflict only those whose conscience will be conscious of their being the culprits themselves, and who on their very arrival in the Court of God will become certain of their doom, which they had regarded as impossible or doubtful in the world and so had been committing every heinous sin and crime.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (فَيَوْمَئِذٍ لاَّ يُسْـَلُ عَن ذَنبِهِ إِنسٌ وَلاَ جَآنٌّ  So on that Day he will not be questioned about his sins, (neither) human nor Jinn.) this is similar to His saying;
(That will be a Day when they shall not speak, and they will not be permitted to put forth any excuse.)[77:35-36] This is the case at the time, then all the creatures will be questioned about their deeds. 
Allah said; (So, by your Lord, We shall certainly call all of them to account. For all that they used to do.)[15:92-93]
Qatadah said, "On that they will be questioned and then their mouths will be sealed and their hands and feet will reveal what they used to do.''

Muhammad Asad Explanation: I.e., the sinners "will find all that they ever wrought [now] facing them" ( 18:49 ), and "their own tongues and hands and feet will bear witness against them by [recalling] all that they did" ( 24:24 ).

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: This does not of course mean that they will not be called to account for their sin. They will certainly be called to account for all their deeds: xv. 92. The meaning of this whole passage is that their personal responsibility will be enforced. But their own tongues and hands and feet will bear witness against them as to their actions: xxiv. 24. Every man will bear marks on his person, showing his classification in the Final Account: vii 48. After these Marks are affixed, everyone's position and status in the Final Account will be known to everyone. As to the Judge on the Throne of Judgment, He will of course know all before Judgment is set up. But to give every chance to the accused, his record will be produced and shown to him (lxix. 19, 25, xviii. 49), and he will be given a chance to plead (vii. 53), but if a sinner, he will be in confusion (xxviii. 66).

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 40 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
The real basis of the crime according to the Qur'an is that the servant who is benefiting by the Blessings of his Sustainer; should harbor the misunderstanding that the blessings have been bestowed by no one, but have reached him of their own accord, or that the blessings are not the gift of God but the fruit of his own ability or good fortune, or that they are the gift of God, but God has no right on His servants, or that God Himself has not done him those favors but some other being has got these done him. These are the wrong concepts on account of which man becomes independent of God and being free from His obedience and service performs acts which He has forbidden. and avoids acts which He has enjoined. Seen in this light every crime and every sin Is, in reality. o disavowal of the favors of Allah whether a person denies them by the word of (mouth or not. But the person who, in fact, has no intention of the denial. but acknowledges the favors in the depths of his heart, commits an error occasionally because of human weakness, he shows repentance on it and tries to ovoid it. This saves him from being included among the deniers. Apart from this, all other culprits are, in fact, beliers of Allah's blessings and deniers of His favors. That is why it has been said: "When you will have been seized as culprits, then We shall see as to which of Our favors you deny." In Surah Takathur: 8 the same thing has been put thus: "On that Day you will certainly be culled to account for the blessings you had been granted." That is, it will be asked: Had We granted you these blessings or not ? Then, what attitude did you adopt towards your Benefactor, and in what ways did you use His Blessings?" 

 يُعۡرَفُ الۡمُجۡرِمُوۡنَ بِسِيۡمٰهُمۡ فَيُؤۡخَذُ بِالنَّوَاصِىۡ وَ الۡاَقۡدَامِ​ۚ‏ 
( 41 )  The criminals will be known by their marks, and they will be seized by the forelocks and the feet.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (يُعْرَفُ الْمُجْرِمُونَ بِسِيمَـهُمْ The criminals will be known by their marks,) i.e., by special marks that distinguish them. Al-Hasan and Qatadah said, "They will be known by their dark faces and their blue eyes.'' I say that this contrasts to the marks that will distinguish the believers, such as the light that will appear on the parts of the body that they used to wash while performing ablution. 

Allah said, (فَيُؤْخَذُ بِالنَّوَاصِى وَالاٌّقْدَامِ and they will be seized by their foreheads and feet.) meaning, the angels of punishment will bend their heads down to their feet and throw them like this into the Hellfire. Al-A`mash said that Ibn `Abbas said, "He will be taken by his forehead and his feet and be broken just as a stick is broken to be thrown into an oven.''

Muhammad Asad Explanation: This is an allusion to their utter humiliation and disgrace. When the ancient Arabs wanted to stress someone's subjection to another person, they would say, "His forelock is in the hand of so-and-so." (See also {96:15-16} and the corresponding note [8], reproduced herein under):
(96-15) Nay, if he desist not, We shall most surely drag him down upon his forehead (96: 16) the lying, rebellious, forehead!

Or: "by his forelock" - an ancient Arabian expression denoting a person's utter subjection and humiliation (see 11:56 and the corresponding note). However, as Razi points out, the term "forelock" (nasiyah) is here used metonymically for the place on which the forelock grows, i.e., the forehead (cf. also Taj al-'Arus). 


فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 42 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

هٰذِهٖ جَهَنَّمُ الَّتِىۡ يُكَذِّبُ بِهَا الۡمُجۡرِمُوۡنَ​ۘ‏ 
( 43 )   This is Hell, which the criminals deny.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: meaning, `this is the Fire that you used to deny existed that it; now you see it before your eyes!' While being chastised, criticized, disgraced and belittled, this will be said to the disbelievers.

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: It will then become too real to them. "Oh! that this too, too solid flesh would melt", as Hamlet said to his Queen-Mother (Hamlet, i. 2. 129).

يَطُوۡفُوۡنَ بَيۡنَهَا وَبَيۡنَ حَمِيۡمٍ اٰنٍ​ۚ‏ 
( 44 )   They will go around between it and scalding water, heated [to the utmost degree].
That is, "In Hell they will feel oppressed with thirst again and again. and will rush towards the springs of water, but will find only boiling water, which will not satisfy their thirst, and they will thus continue to wander to and fro between Hell and the springs for ever and ever."

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: meaning, they will sometimes be punished with fire and they will sometimes be given Hamim which is a drink like molten copper tearing their intestines and internal organs,
(When the iron collars will be rounded over their necks, and the chains, they shall be dragged along, in the Hamim, then they will be burned in the Fire.)(40:71-72) 
Allah said (ءَانٍ An) meaning hot, due to the fierce and intense heat that is impossible to bear. 

Ibn `Abbas said; (They will go between it and Hamim An!) "That has reached the ultimate temperature and boiling fiercely.'' Similar was said by Mujahid, Sa`id bin Jubayr, Ad-Dahhak, Al-Hasan, Ath-Thawri and As-Suddi. Qatadah also commented, "Its boiling started when Allah created the heavens and the earth!'' Muhammad bin Ka`b Al-Qurazi said, "The (disobedient) servant will be seized by the forehead and stirred in that boiling water until his flesh melts and only the bones and the eyes in his head remain. 
This is the meaning of Allah's statement, (In the Hamim, then they will be burned in the Fire.)[40:72] And Al-Hamim Al-An means hot.'' 

There is another report from Al-Qurazi; (حَمِيمٍ ءَانٍ Hamim An) that it means "prepared. '' This is also the view of Ibn Zayd. And saying that it means "prepared'' does not contradict the first report from Al-Qurazi which says that it means hot,  

for Allah said: (They will be given to drink from a spring, Aniyah.) [88:5] which means severe unbearable heat, 
and His saying; (not to wait for it to be prepared)[33:53] which means properly cooking and preparing it. 
So His saying; (حَمِيمٍ ءَانٍ Hamim An.) Hamim, that is very hot. Surely, punishing the disobedient criminals as well as favoring those who had Taqwa, is from Allah's grace, mercy, justice, compassion and kindness for His creatures. His warnings against His torment and punishment, such as mentioned in these Ayat, should encourage all creatures to abandon the Shirk and disobedience they engage in, 

and this is why Allah reminded them of this favor; (فَبِأَىِّ ءَالاءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبَانِ  Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny)

Muhammad Asad Explanation: For my rendering of hamim حَمِيۡمٍ as "burning despair", see note [62] on the last sentence of 6:70, reproduced below:
(6:70) ....it shall not be accepted from him. It is [people such as] these that shall be held in pledge for the wrong they have done; for them there is [in the life to come] a draught of burning despair

Among the various meanings attributable to the word hamim are the concepts of intense heat as well as of painful cold (Qamus, Taj al-'Arus). In the eschatology of the Qur'an it invariably refers to the suffering of the sinners in the life to come, and since all Qur'anic references to life after death are, necessarily, allegorical, the term hamim may be rendered as "burning despair". 

The allegorical nature of all Qur'anic descriptions of "rewards" and "punishments" in the hereafter is clearly hinted at in the phrasing of the above verse, which speaks of the sinners' "wandering to and fro" between hell and burning despair (baynaha wa-bayna hamim) - i.e., tossed between factual suffering and the despair of vain regrets.

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: They will apparently have no rest. The fire will burn but not consume them, and their drink will be only boiling water.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 45 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
That is, will you even at that time be able to deny that God can bring about Resurrection, can give you another life after death, can call you to account, and can also make this Hell in which you are suffering punishment today.

Ruku Three Verses46-78 
And from verse 46 to the end of the Surah mention has been made of those rewards and blessings which will be granted to the righteous men and jinn who have led pious lives in the world and lived with a clear understanding that they will have to appear before their Lord one day and render an account of their deeds and actions.

وَلِمَنۡ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهٖ جَنَّتٰنِ​ۚ‏ 
( 46 )   But for he who has feared the position of his Lord are two gardens -
“Who dreads... Lord": who fears God in whatever he does in the world, and dreads his accountability before Him in the Hereafter. Whoever holds this belief will inevitably avoid serving the lusts of his self, will avoid following every path blindly, will distinguish between the truth and falsehood, justice and injustice, pure and impure, and the lawful and the unlawful, and will not turn away deliberately from following the Commands of God. This is the real ground for the reward that is being mentioned below.

Jannat actually means a garden. At sane places in the Qur'an the entire world in which the righteous people will be kept, has boon called Jannat, as though the whole of it WAS a garden. And at others it has been said that they will have Jannat (Gardens) under which canals will be flowing. This means that that big Garden will comprise countless other gardens; and here precisely it has been stated that every pious man will be given two gardens in that big Garden, which will be particularly meant for him; it will have his own palaces in which he will live with his family and attendants like a king, and in it he will be provided with all that is being mentioned below.  

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir:  The Delight of Those Who have Taqwa in Paradise - Allah the Exalted said, (وَلِمَنْ خَافَ مَقَامَ رَبِّهِ But for him who fears the standing before his Lord,) on the Day of Resurrection,
(وَنَهَى النَّفْسَ عَنِ الْهَوَى And restrained himself from the desires.) [79:40], 
and does not indulge nor prefer this worldly life. He who knows that the Hereafter is better and more lasting, so he fulfills what his Lord ordered him and stays away from His prohibitions, then he will earn two gardens from his Lord on the Day of Resurrection. 

Al-Bukhari recorded that `Abdullah bin Qays said that the Messenger of Allah said, (There are two gardens made of silver -- their vessels and all that they contain. And there are two gardens made of gold -- their vessels and all that they contain. And nothing stands between the people in the `Adn Garden and looking at their Lord, the Exalted and Most Honored, but the covering of pride before His Face.) The Group, with the exception of Abu Dawud, collected this via the Hadith of `Abdul-`Aziz. 

This Ayah is general and applies to both humans and Jinns, providing proof that those among the Jinns who believe and have Taqwa will enter Paradise, for Allah is reminding the Ath-Thaqalayn of this favor, as He says; (But for him who fears the standing before his Lord, there will be two Gardens. Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny) 

Muhammad Asad Explanation: I.e., two kinds of paradise, to be experienced simultaneously. Various interpretations are advanced on this score by the classical commentators: e.g., "a paradise for their doing of good deeds, and another paradise for their avoidance of sins" (Zamakhshari); or a paradise that "will comprise both spiritual and physical joys, [so that it will seem] as if it were two paradises" (Razi). Finally, one might conclude that the pointed reference to the "two gardens" of paradise contains - like the preceding reference to the sinners' "wandering between hell and burning despair" - a pointed allusion to the allegorical character of all descriptions of the life to come, as well as to the inexpressible intensity (or multiplication) of all imaginable and unimaginable sensations in that afterlife. The subsequent descriptions of the joys of paradise must be understood in the same symbolic light.

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: The reference to the Punishment of Sin having been dismissed in a few short lines, we now come to a description of the state of the Blessed.

Here two Gardens are mentioned, and indeed four, counting the other two mentioned in lv. 62-76. Opinions are divided about this, but the best opinion is that the two mentioned in verses 46-61 are for the degree of those Nearest to Allah (Muqarrabun), and those in verses 62-76 for the Companions of the Right Hand: Why two for each? The Duality is to express variety, and the whole scheme of the Sura runs in twos. There will be no dulness of uniformity: as our minds can conceive it now, there will be freshness in change, but it will be from Bliss to Bliss, and there will be Unity.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 47 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -
From here till the end, the word alaa ' has been used both for the blessings and forthe powers, and there is an aspect of the praiseworthy qualities too. in it. If we take the first meaning, the meaning of repeating the refrain in this context will be: "If you like to deny the blessings of Allah, you may do so. The righteous will certainly receive these blessings from their Lord." In the second case the meaning would be: "If you think it is impossible for Allah to create the Garden and bless His righteous servants with these bounties in it, you may think so. Allah certainly lass the power to do this work and He will surely accomplish it." According to the third meaning, it means: "You think that after having created this big world Allah now doesn't bother whether a person behaves unjustly here or justly. works to promote the truth or falsehood, spreads evil or good: He will neither punish the oppressor nor redress the grievances of the oppressed, will neither appreciate good nor abhor evil. Then, as you think, He is helpless too. He can build the heavens and the earth but cannot prepare Hell for punishing the wicked and cannot make Heaven for rewarding the followers of the Truth. Thus. you may deny His praiseworthy attributes as you may, but tomorrow when He hurls the evildoers into Hell and blesses the worshipers of the truth in Heaven. will you even then be able to deny His these attributes?" 
ذَوَاتَاۤ اَفۡنَانٍ​ۚ‏ 
( 48 )   Having [spreading] branches.

Muhammad Asad Explanation: According to Tabari, the noun fann (lit., "mode" or "manner") is in this case synonymous with lawn ("colour" or "hue"). Afnan is a double plural, and hence denotes "many hues"; and since - as pointed out in the Taj al-'Arus - one of the several accepted meanings of fann is "a wonderful thing", afnan can also be understood as "many wonderful things". The rendering adopted by me combines both these interpretations. - 

As regards the indescribable nature of what is termed "paradise", see 32:17 and the corresponding note, (reproduced below):
And [as for all such believers,] no human being can imagine what blissful delights, as yet hidden, await them [in the life to come] as a reward for all that they did.
( And [as for all such believers,] no human being can imagine what blissful delights, as yet hidden, await them [in the life to come] ) Lit., "what is kept hidden for them [by way] of a joy of the eyes", i.e., of blissful delights, irrespective of whether seen, heard or felt. The expression "what is kept hidden for them" clearly alludes to the unknowable - and, therefore, only allegorically describable - quality of life in the hereafter. The impossibility of man's really "imagining" paradise has been summed up by the Prophet in the well-authenticated hadith: "God says: 'I have readied for My righteous servants what no eye has ever seen, and no ear has ever heard, and no heart of man has ever conceived'" (Bukhari and Muslim, on the authority of Abu Hurayrah; also Tirmidhi). This hadith has always been regarded by the Companions as the Prophet's own comment on the above verse (cf. Fath al-Bari VIII, 418 f.).

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: Then He describes these two gardens, by saying, ( ذَوَاتَآ أَفْنَانٍ With Afnan.) their trees have beautiful young branches that hold and produce every type of ripened beautiful fruit,

`Ata' Al-Khurasani and several others said that Afnan means spreading branches of trees that reach the branches of other trees, 

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 49 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

فِيۡهِمَا عَيۡنٰنِ تَجۡرِيٰنِ​ۚ‏ 
( 50 )   In both of them are two springs, flowing.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: free to water these trees and branches that produce all kinds of fruits, Al-Hasan Al-Basri said that one of these springs is called Tasnim, and the other called As-Salsabil. `Atiyah said that the water of one of these springs is from non-standing water and the other from wine that gives delight to those who drink it.

Muhammad Asad Explanation: The "two springs" of paradise call to mind the "two seas" spoken of in {18:60-61}, which, according to Baydawi, symbolize the two sources or streams of knowledge accessible to man: the one obtained through the observation and intellectual analysis of external phenomena ('ilm az-zahir), and the other through inward, mystic insight ('ilm al-batin).

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 51 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

فِيۡهِمَا مِنۡ كُلِّ فَاكِهَةٍ زَوۡجٰنِ​ۚ‏ 
( 52 )   In both of them are of every fruit, two kinds.
This can have two meanings:

(1) "The fruits of the two gardens will have their own special flavors and tastes. In one garden he will find one kind of the fruit clustering on its branches, and in the other, another kind."

(2) 'In each garden there will be two kinds of fruit; one kind of the familiar fruit known and tasted in the world, though much superior to that found in the world, and the other kind of the rare fruit never imagined and tasted before."  

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: of every type and kind of fruit, that which they knew before, and better, and that which they did not know before. Therein, there are delights that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard and no heart has ever imagined,

Ibrahim bin Al-Hakam bin Aban said that his father narrated from `Ikrimah that Ibn `Abbas said, "There is not a fruit that exists in this life, sweet or bitter, but it exists in Paradise, even the colo- cynth.'' Ibn `Abbas also said, "There is nothing in the world that is in the Hereafter except in name.'' Meaning there is such an enormous difference and contrast between the two in enjoyment and value.

Muhammad Asad Explanation: Zamakhshari: "a kind that is known and a kind that is strange (gharib)" - i.e., cognitions or sensations that are imaginable on the basis of our experiences in the present life, and such as are, as yet, unimaginable to us, and can, therefore, be only hinted at by means of symbols or allegories. Regarding the concept of "allegory" as such, see 3:7 and the corresponding note [reproduced below].
(... and seeking [to arrive at] its final meaning [in an arbitrary manner]; but none save God knows its final meaning.)
According to most of the early commentators, this refers to the interpretation of allegorical passages which deal with metaphysical subjects - for instance, God's attributes, the ultimate meaning of time and eternity, the resurrection of the dead, the Day of Judgment, paradise and hell, the nature of the beings or forces described as angels, and so forth - all of which fall within the category of al-ghayb, i.e., that sector of reality which is beyond the reach of human perception and imagination and cannot, therefore, be conveyed to man in other than allegorical terms. This view of the classical commentators, however, does not seem to take into account the many Qur'anic passages which do not deal with metaphysical subjects and yet are, undoubtedly, allegorical in intent and expression. To my mind, one cannot arrive at a correct understanding of the above passage without paying due attention to the nature and function of allegory as such. A true allegory - in contrast with a mere pictorial paraphrase of something that could equally well be stated in direct terms - is always meant to express in a figurative manner something which, because of its complexity, cannot be adequately expressed in direct terms or propositions and, because of this very complexity, can be grasped only intuitively, as a general mental image, and not as a series of detailed "statements": and this seems to be the meaning of the phrase, "none save God knows its final meaning".
فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 53 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

مُتَّكِـئِيۡنَ عَلٰى فُرُشٍۢ بَطَآئِنُهَا مِنۡ اِسۡتَبۡرَقٍ​ؕ وَجَنَی الۡجَـنَّتَيۡنِ دَانٍ​ۚ‏ 
( 54 )   [They are] reclining on beds whose linings are of silk brocade, and the fruit of the two gardens is hanging low.
That is, "When their lining will be of such superior quality, you may imagine what will be the quality of the outer layer of the carpets."  

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (مُتَّكِئِينَ Reclining), in reference to the residents of Paradise, who will recline or sit cross-legged;

(عَلَى فُرُشٍ بَطَآئِنُهَا مِنْ إِسْتَبْرَقٍ upon the couches lined with Istabraq,) which is thick silk brocade, according to `Ikrimah, Ad-Dahhak and Qatadah. Abu `Imran Al-Jawni said, "It is thick silk embroidered with gold.'' In this way, the honor of the outside is alluded to by mentioning the honor of the inside. Abu Ishaq narrated that Hubayrah bin Yarim said that `Abdullah bin Mas`ud said, "This is their interior, so what about it if you see their exterior'' 

Allah said, (وَجَنَى الْجَنَّتَيْنِ دَانٍ and the fruits of the two Gardens will be near at hand.) close to the believers who will be able to take any of it they wish, whether they are reclining or otherwise,
(قُطُوفُهَا دَانِيَةٌ The fruits in bunches whereof will be low and near at hand.)[69:23],
(And the shade thereof is. close upon them, and the bunches of fruit thereof will hang low within their reach.)[76:14], meaning, these fruits descend from their branches to those who wish to have them, because they are close at hand,
Muhammad Asad Explanation: Cf. 18:31 and the corresponding note [reproduced below]:
theirs shall be gardens of perpetual bliss - [gardens] through which running waters flow wherein they will be adorned with bracelets of gold and will wear green garments of silk and brocade, [and] wherein upon couches they will recline: how excellent a recompense, and how goodly a place to rest!
Like all other Qur'anic descriptions of happenings in the hereafter, the above reference to the "adornment" of the believers with gold and jewels and silk (cf. similar passages in 22:23 , 35:33 and 76:21 ) and their "reclining upon couches (ara'ik)" is obviously an allegory - in this case, an allegory of the splendour, the ever-fresh life (symbolized by "green garments"), and the restful fulfilment that awaits them in result of the many acts of self-denial which their faith had imposed on them during their earthly life. - Referring to the symbolism of these joys of paradise Razi draws our attention to the difference in the construction of the two parts of this clause: the first part is in the passive form ("they will be adorned...") and the second, in the active ("they will wear..."). In his opinion, the active form alludes to what the righteous will have earned by virtue of their deeds, whereas the passive form denotes all that will be bestowed on them by God above and beyond their deserts.
The "reclining upon carpets" (or "upon couches" in 18:31 ) is a symbol of utter restfulness and peace of mind. The mention of the "carpets" of paradise being lined with rich brocade is perhaps meant to convey the idea that - just as the lining of a carpet is, as a rule, invisible - the beauty of paradise has nothing to do with outward show, being of an inner, spiritual nature (Razi). This concept appears already in an earlier interpretation, quoted by Zamakhshari, according to which the "carpets" spoken of here consist of light.

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: The toil and fatigue of this life will be over: Cf. xxxv. 35. 

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 55 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

فِيۡهِنَّ قٰصِرٰتُ الطَّرۡفِۙ لَمۡ يَطۡمِثۡهُنَّ اِنۡسٌ قَبۡلَهُمۡ وَلَا جَآنٌّ​ۚ‏  
( 56 )   In them are women limiting [their] glances, untouched before them by man or jinni -
This is the real character of the woman: she should neither be shameless nor immodest, but should have modesty in her looks. That is why Allah while making a mention of women among the blessings of Paradise has first of all praised their modesty and chastity and not their beauty and physical charms. Beautiful women can get together in mixed clubs and film studios and beauty contests where the select beautiful women only are admitted. but a person of low taste and mentality only can show any interest in them. No noble person can find any charm in the beauty that attracts every evil look and is ready to fall in every lap! 

" untouched before them by man or jinni " This means that in the worldly life whether a woman died a spinster. or as the wife of somebody. or died young, or as an old woman, in the Hereafter when all the righteous women enter Paradise, they will be made young and virgins: and any of the women who is made a lift-partner of a righteous man, will not have been possessed by anyone before that husband, in Paradise.

This verse also shows that the righteous jinn too will enter Paradise like the righteous men. Men will have women from their own kind and the jinn their wives from their own kind: both the kinds will have their mates from their own particular kind. No person of one kind will be made a partner of a member of :mother kind with whom he cannot live as husband or wife naturally. The words of the verse "...whom neither man nor jinn will have touched before them," do not mean that the women there will only be of human species and they will not have been touched by any man or jinn before their husbands, but its real meaning is: In Paradise there will be women of both the jinn and the human species; they all will he modest and untouched: neither a jinn female will have been touched by a jinn male before her husband in Paradise, nor a human female will have been touched by a human male before her husband in Paradise.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: After Allah mentioned the couches, He then said, (فِيهِنَّ Wherein will be), meaning on these couches or beds,

(قَـصِرَتُ الطَّرْفِ Qasirat At-Tarf) chaste females, wives restraining their glances, desiring none except their husbands, seeing them as the most beautiful men in Paradise. This was said by Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah, `Ata' Al-Khurasani and Ibn Zayd. It was reported that one of these wives will say to her husband, "By Allah! I neither see anything in Paradise more handsome than you nor more beloved to me than you. So praise be to Allah Who made you for me and made me for you.'' 

Allah said, (لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنسٌ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلاَ جَآنٌّ  whom never deflowered a human before nor Jinn ) meaning they are delightful virgins of comparable age who never had sexual intercourse with anyone, whether from mankind or Jinns, before their husbands. This is also a proof that the believers among the Jinns will enter Paradise. Artat bin Al-Mundhir said, "Damrah bin Habib was asked if the Jinns will enter Paradise and he said, `Yes, and they will get married. The Jinns will have Jinn women and the humans will have female humans.''' 

Allah's statement, (whom never deflowered a human before nor Jinn. Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny)

Muhammad Asad Explanation: See {Surah 56 Al Waqia: 35-36} and the corresponding note, reproduced below:
(56:35) for, behold, We shall have brought them into being in a life renewed, (56:36) having resurrected them as virgins,
Lit., "and We shall have made them virgins". According to a number of authentic Traditions (quoted in full by Tabari and Ibn Kathir), the Prophet stated on several occasions that all righteous women, however old and decayed they may have been on earth, will be resurrected as virginal maidens and will, like their male counterparts, remain eternally young in paradise.
As regards the expression qasirat at-tarf (lit., "such as restrain their gaze"), see note on Surah 38 Saad:52 , the earliest Qur'anic instance of this expression, reproduced herein under:
having beside them well-matched mates of modest gaze.
Lit., "such as restrain their gaze", i.e., are of modest bearing and have eyes only for their mates (Razi). This allegorical reference to the delights of paradise occurs in the Qur'an three times (apart from the above instance, which is chronologically the earliest, in 37:48 and 55:56 as well). As an allegory, this phrase evidently applies to the righteous of both sexes, who in the life to come will be rejoined with those whom they loved and by whom they were loved in this world: for, "God has promised the believers, both men and women, gardens through which running waters flow, therein to abide, and goodly dwellings in gardens of perpetual bliss" ( 9:72 ); and, "anyone - be it man or woman - who does [whatever he can] of good deeds and is a believer withal, shall enter paradise" ( 4:124 , with similar statements in 16:97 and 40:40 ). Finally, we are told in 36:56 that in this paradise "will they and their spouses on couches recline" - i.e., will find peace and inner fulfilment with and in one another.
(For an explanation of the term atrab rendered by me as "well-matched", ( 56:38.) " (Have you ever considered that [seed] which you emit?) This refers to both the male semen and the female ovum, and thus, by implication, to the awe-inspiring, complex phenomenon of procreation as such."
فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 57 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -

كَاَنَّهُنَّ الۡيَاقُوۡتُ وَالۡمَرۡجَانُ​ۚ‏ 
( 58 )   As if they were rubies and coral.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Ibn Zayd and others said, "They are as pure as rubies and white as Marjan.'' So here they described Marjan as pearls. Imam Muslim recorded that Muhammad bin Sirin said, "Some people either boasted or just wondered who are more in Paradise, men or women. 

Abu Hurayrah said, `Has not Abu Al-Qasim (Muhammad ) said, (Verily, the first group that will enter Paradise will look like the moon when it is full, and the next batch will be as radiant as the radiant star in the sky. Each one of them will marry two wives. The marrow of the bones of their shins will be seen through the flesh. None will be unmarried in Paradise.) This Hadith was recorded in the Two Sahihs.

Imam Ahmad recorded that Anas said that the Messenger of Allah said, (A morning or an evening journey in Allah's cause is better than the world and whatever is on its surface. And a place in Paradise as small as that occupied by the whip of one of you, is better than the world and whatever is on its surface. If one of the women of the people of Paradise looks directly at the earth, she will fill what is between Paradise and earth with a good scent and all of it will become delightful. Verily, the veil over her head is better than this life and all that is on its surface.) Al-Bukhari also collected a similar narration.

Yusuf Ali Explanation: Delicate pink, with reference to their complexion and their beauty of form. The gems also indicate their worth and dignity.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
(59)  So, which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

هَلۡ جَزَآءُ الْاِحۡسَانِ اِلَّا الۡاِحۡسَانُ​ۚ‏ 
(60) Is the reward for good [anything] but good?
That is, "How, after all, is it possible that Allah should allow to go waste the sacrifices of those righteous servants and should deny them their rewards, who kept themselves subjected to restrictions throughout their lives for the sake of Allah, who avoided the unlawful and remained content with the lawful, who performed their duties faithfully and sincerely, rendered the rights of those to whom rights were due, and endured hardships against evil and upheld good?

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: Allah declares that in the Hereafter, all that is good and righteous is the only befitting reward for those who do good deeds in this life,
(For those who have done good is best (reward) and even more.) [10:26] 
All of these are tremendous blessings that cannot be earned merely by good deeds, but by Allah's favor and bounty, after all of these He says; (Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny)

Yusuf Ali Explanation: This is the summing up of all the description used to express the Fruit of Goodness or Good. But the fullest expression can only be given in abstract terms: "Is there any reward for Good-other than Good?" Can anything express it better?

Javed Ahmad Ghamidi Explanation:
The implication is that the reward of virtue can only be given in the form of blessings and favours; it can never be vice or indifference. Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī writes:

… Since this is something very clearly grounded in human nature and no sensible person in his senses can deny it, it has been stated in a manner which reflects it being an obvious reality. The word اِحۡسَان is used for piety as well as for the reward of piety. In this verse, it is used very eloquently in both these meanings. (Amīn Aḥsan Iṣlāḥī, Tadabbur-i Qur’ān, vol. 8, 148)

Tafsir Qur'an Wiki:
All this comes as the reward for a person who stands in this life in fear of his Lord's presence and worships Him as if he sees Him. He feels that God sees him and he works to attain the superior grade of excellence that the Prophet described as "to worship God as if you see Him. If you do not, then know that He sees you." As such they deserve more from the Lord of Grace for their excellence: "Shall the reward of good be anything but good?" (Verse 60)

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
(61)  So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?
Obviously, the parson who is a denier of Paradise and its rewards, actually denies many of Allah Almighty's praiseworthy attributes. Even if he believes in Allah, he holds a bad opinion about Him In his view He is a perverse ruler in whose lawless kingdom doing good is an exercise in futility. He is either blind and deaf and is, therefore, wholly unaware as to who in his kingdom is making sacrifices of life, wealth and labor for His sake; or He is un-appreciative and cannot distinguish between good and evil; or. as he scents to think. He is helpless and powerless: He may be very appreciative of the good but is unable to reward the doer of it. That is why u has been said: 'When in the Hereafter good will be rewarded with good in front of your very eyes. will you even then disavow the praiseworthy attributes of your Lord?"

وَمِنۡ دُوۡنِهِمَا جَنَّتٰنِ​ۚ‏ 
( 62 )   And below them both [in excellence] are two [other] gardens -
The word dun as used in min dun-i-hima Jannatan. is employed in three different meanings in Arabic

(1) To be situated at a lower level than another thing;

(2) to be inferior to something of better and nobler quality; and

(3) to be over and above something else.

On account of this difference in meaning, one probable meaning of these words is that every dweller of Paradise will be given two more gardens besides the two previously mentioned; another probable meaning is that these two gardens will be inferior in quality and rank to both the first mentioned gardens: that is, the first two gardens will either be situated at a higher level than these two, or the first two gardens will be of a superior kind and these two of an inferior kind as compared to them. If the first probability is adopted, it would mean that these two additional gardens also will be for those dwellers of Paradise, who have been mentioned above, And in case the second probability is adopted, the meaning would be that the first two gardens will be for 'those nearest to Allah", and these two for "the people of the right hand." This second probability is strengthened by the two kinds of the righteous inert as mentioned in Surah AI-Waqi'ah. First, the foremost, who have also been called the "muqarrabun "; second, the people of the right hand, who have also been entitled "ashab al-maimanah "; and for both these separate qualities of the two kinds of the gardens have been mentioned. Furthermore, this probability is also strengthened by the Hadith which Abu Bakr has related on the authority of his father, Hadrat Abu Musa al-Ash'ari, In this he says: The Holy Prophet said: 'Two jannats (gardens) will be for the foremost among the righteous (or the muqarrabin), in which the utensils and articles of decoration will be of gold, and two jannats for the followers (or the ashab al gamin), in which everything will be of silver," (Fath al-Bari, Kitab at-Tafsir: Surah Ar-Rahman). 

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: These two gardens are lower, in virtue and in status than the two before them, as supported in the Qur'an.

Allah said: (وَمِن دُونِهِمَا جَنَّتَانِ  And below these two, there are two other Gardens.) We previously mentioned the Hadith stating that there are two gardens made of gold, their vessels and all they contain, and there are two gardens made of silver, their vessels and all they contain. The first two are for the near believers (Muqarribin) and the latter two are for those on the right (Ashab Al-Yamin). Abu Musa commented, "There are two gardens made of gold for the Muqarribin and two gardens made of silver for Ashab Al-Yamin.'' There are several proofs that the former two gardens in Paradise are better in grade than the latter. 

Allah mentioned the former two gardens before the latter two, thus indicating their significance, then He said, (And below these two, there are two other Gardens.) And this is an obvious form of honoring the first two gardens over the latter two. 

Allah described the former gardens: (ذَوَاتَآ أَفْنَانٍ With Afnan), which are the extending branches, as we explained, or various types of delights. But He said about the latter two gardens,

Muhammad Asad Explanation: Most of the commentators assume - not very convincingly - that the "two other gardens" are those to which believers of lesser merit will attain. As against this weak and somewhat arbitrary interpretation, it seems to me that the juxtaposition of "two other gardens" with the "two" previously mentioned is meant to convey the idea of infinity in connection with the concept of paradise as such: gardens beyond gardens beyond gardens in an endless vista, slightly varying in description, but all of them symbols of supreme bliss.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 63 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -

مُدۡهَآمَّتٰنِ​ۚ‏ 
( 64 )   Dark green [in color].
The word madhammatan has been used in praise of these gardens. Mudhamma is such luxuriant vegetation which because of its extreme luxuriance assumes a darkish hue.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: being dark, because of the intense irrigation. Ibn `Abbas said, "Mudhammatan means, they have become dark green because of extensive water irrigation.'' 

Muhammad bin Ka`b said: (مُدْهَآمَّتَانِ  Mudhammatan) "Full of greenery.'' There is no doubt that the former two gardens are better, their branches are fresh, youthful and intermingling. Allah said about the former two gardens, (In them (both) will be two springs flowing (free)), while He said about the springs of the latter two gardens,

Muhammad Asad Explanation: I.e., by reason of abundant watering (Taj al-'Arus). It is to be noted that the adjective "green" is often used in the Qur'an to indicate ever-fresh life: e.g., the "green garments" which the inmates of paradise will wear ( 18:31 and 6:21 ), or the "green meadows" upon which they will recline (cf. verse {76} of the present surah).

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: "Dark-green in colour": these Gardens will also be fruitful and flourishing, and watered plentifully; but their aspect and characteristics will be different, corresponding to the subjective differences in the ideas of Bliss among those who would respectively enjoy, the two sets of Gardens.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 65 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

فِيۡهِمَا عَيۡنٰنِ نَضَّاخَتٰنِ​ۚ‏ 
( 66 )   In both of them are two springs, spouting.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (نَضَّاخَتَانِ Naddakhatan); `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas: "It means gushing. And the free flowing is stronger than gushing.'' 

Ad-Dahhak said that, (نَضَّاخَتَانِ gushing forth) means, they are full of water and constantly gushing. Allah said about the former two gardens,

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: In comparison with the Springs in the other two Gardens, described in lv. 50 above, these Springs would seem to irrigate crops of vegetables and fruits requiring a constant supply of abundant water.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 67 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

فِيۡهِمَا فَاكِهَةٌ وَّنَخۡلٌ وَّرُمَّانٌ​ۚ‏ 
( 68 )   In both of them are fruit and palm trees and pomegranates.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: but He said about the latter two gardens, ( فِيهِمَا فَـكِهَةٌ وَنَخْلٌ وَرُمَّانٌ  In them (both) will be fruits, and date palms and pomegranates.) There is no doubt that the first description is better and refers to more of a variety and more types of fruit. Allah said about the latter two gardens,

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: See last note. Cf. also with Iv. 52 above, where "fruits of every kind" are mentioned.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 69 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

فِيۡهِنَّ خَيۡرٰتٌ حِسَانٌ​ۚ‏ 
( 70 )   In them are good and beautiful women -

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: meaning, there are various types of good and delightful things in these two gardens in Paradise, according to Qatadah. It was also said that Khayrat is plural of Khayrah and it is a righteous, well-mannered, beautiful woman, according to the majority of scholars, and it is also reported from Umm Salamah as a Hadith from the Prophet. 

There is another Hadith saying that Al-Hur Al-`Ayn will sing, ("We are Al-Khayrat Al-Hisan, we were created for honorable husbands.'') 

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 71 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -

حُوۡرٌ مَّقۡصُوۡرٰتٌ فِى الۡخِيَامِ​ۚ‏ 
( 72 )   Fair ones reserved in pavilions -
For the explanation of her see verse 48 of Surah 37. As-Saaffat and verse 54 of Surah 44. Ad-Dukhan the tents probably will be similar to those pitched for the nobles and rich people in the public parks. Most probably the wives of the dwellers of Paradise will live with them in their palaces and in their parks there will be tents pitched here and there in which there will be the houris to entertain them. Our this presumption is based on this that in the foregoing verses beautiful and chase wives have been mentioned; now, here, mention of the houris signifies that they will be a different kind of women from the wives. This presumption is further strengthened by the Hadith which Hadrat Umm Salamah has reported. She says: 'I asked: O messenger of Allah, who are better: the women of the world or the houris! The Holy Prophet replied: The women of the world are superior to the houris in the same way as the outer layer of a garment is superior to its lining. I asked: On what grounds ? he replied: On the ground that the women have offered their Prayers, observed their Fasts, and performed other devotions." (Tabarani). This shows that the wives of the dwellers of Paradise will be the women who affirmed the faith in the world and left the world while they practiced good and right. They will enter Paradise in consequence of their faith and good deeds, and will deserve the blessings of Paradise on merit. They would either become the wives of their previous husbands of their own free will and choice. if they too happened to be dwellers of Paradise, or Allah will wed them to some other dweller of Paradise, if the two would like to live together as husband and wife. As for the houris they will not be entitled to dwell in Paradise as a result of any righteous deed of their own, but Allah will create them as young, beautiful women and bestow them also as a blessing among the other blessings on the dwellers of Paradise so that they may enjoy their companionship. But they will not in any case be creatures of the kind of the jinn and fairies, for man cannot cohabit with a kind other than his own. Therefore, most probably these would be those innocent girls who died immature, and whose parents did not deserve Paradise so that they could be admitted to Paradise with them as the children of their righteous torrents. 

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (حُورٌ مَّقْصُورَتٌ فِى الْخِيَامِ  Hur (beautiful, fair females) guarded in pavilions;) but He said about the first two gardens:

(فِيهِنَّ قَـصِرَتُ الطَّرْفِ Wherein both will be Qasirat At-Tarf,) There is no doubt that the chaste wives that restrain their glances themselves, are better than those guarded in pavilions even though both are secluded. 

About Allah's saying: (فِى الْخِيَامِ in pavilions;) Al-Bukhari recorded that `Abdullah bin Qays said that the Messenger of Allah said:
(Verily, in Paradise, the believer will have a tent from a hollow pearl, the width thereof is sixty miles. In each corner of it there are wives for the believer that do not see the other wives, and the believer will visit them all.) In another narration the Prophet said that this tent is thirty miles wide. 
Muslim recorded this Hadith and in his narration, the Prophet said, (Verily in Paradise, the believer will have a tent made of a hollow pearl the length thereof being sixty miles. In it, the believer will have wives who do not see each other, and the believer will visit them all.)

Muhammad Asad Explanation: For this rendering of the plural noun hur (which is both masculine and feminine), see note on 56:22, reproduced below , the earliest occurrence of this term in the Qur'an; 
And [with them will be their] companions pure, most beautiful of eye,
The noun hur - rendered by me as "companions pure" - is a plural of both ahwar (masc.) and hawra' (fem.), either of which describes "a person distinguished by hawar", which latter term primarily denotes "intense whiteness of the eyeballs and lustrous black of the iris" (Qamus). In a more general sense, hawar signifies simply "whiteness" (Asas) or, as a moral qualification, "purity" (cf. Tabari, Razi and Ibn Kathir in their explanations of the term hawariyyun in 3:52 ). Hence, the compound expression hur 'in signifies, approximately, "pure beings [or, more specifically, "companions pure"], most beautiful of eye" (which latter is the meaning of 'in, the plural of a'yan). In his comments on the identical expression in 52:20 , Razi observes that inasmuch as a person's eye reflects his soul more clearly than any other part of the human body, 'in may be understood as "rich of soul" or "soulful". As regards the term hur in its more current, feminine, connotation, quite a number of the earliest Qur'an-commentators - among them Al-Hasan al-Basri - understood it as signifying no more and no less than "the righteous among the women of the human kind" (Tabari) - "[even] those toothless old women of yours whom God will resurrect as new beings" (Al-Hasan, as quoted by Razi in his comments on 44:54 ). See in this connection also note  on 38:52 .
Also see 56:34: (And [with them will be their] spouses, raised high:) Or: "[they will rest on] couches raised high". The rendering adopted by me is regarded as fully justified by some of the most outstanding commentators (e.g., Baghawi, Zamakhshari, Razi, Baydawi, etc.), and this for two reasons: firstly, because in the classical Arabic idiom, the term firash (lit., "bed" or "couch") is often used tropically to denote "wife" or "husband" (Raghib; also Qamus, Taj al-'Arus, etc.); and, secondly, because of the statement in the next verse that God "shall have brought them (hunna) into being in a life renewed". (In the context of this interpretation, Zamakhshari quotes also 36:56 , which thus refers to the inmates of paradise: "...in happiness will they and their spouses on couches recline". There is no doubt that the "spouses raised high" - i.e., to the status of the blest - are identical with the hur mentioned in verse {22} above as well as in 44:54 , 52:20 and 55:72 ..

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Maqsurat here is the passive participle of the same verb as the active participle Qasirat in Iv. 56, xxxvii. 48 and xxxviii. 52. As I have translated Qasirat by the phrase "restraining (their glances)", I think I am right in translating the passive Maqsurat by "restrained (as to their glances)". This is the only place in the Qur-an where the passive form occurs.

The Pavilions seem to add dignity to their status. In the other Gardens (Iv. 58), the description "like rubies and corals" is perhaps an indication of higher dignity. 

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 73 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -

لَمۡ يَطۡمِثۡهُنَّ اِنۡسٌ قَبۡلَهُمۡ وَلَا جَآنٌّ​ۚ‏ 
( 74 )   Untouched before them by man or jinni -

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: We explained this meaning before. Allah added in the description of the first group of the believers' wives, (they are like Yaqut (rubies) and Marjan (pearls). Then which of the blessings of your Lord will you both deny)

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 75 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny? -

مُتَّكِـئِيۡنَ عَلٰى رَفۡرَفٍ خُضۡرٍ وَّعَبۡقَرِىٍّ حِسَانٍ​ۚ‏ 
( 76 )   Reclining on green cushions and beautiful fine carpets.
The word abqari عَبۡقَرِىٍّ  in the original is from abqar. the capital city of the jinn in the legends of the pre-Islamic Arabia. It was on that account that the Arabs called every fine and rare thing abqari as if it belonged to the fairyland and had no match in the material world. So much so that in their idiom the man who possessed extraordinary abilities and who performed wonderful works was also called abqari The English word genius also is spoken in the same sense and is also derived from genii which is a synonym of jinn. That is why the word abqari; has been used here to give an idea of the extraordinary exquisiteness of the provisions of Paradise to the Arabs.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn `Abbas: "Rafraf means cushions.'' Mujahid, `Ikrimah, Al-Hasan, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak and others also said that Rafraf means cushions. Al-`Ala' bin Badr said: "The Rafraf are arrayed hanging over the couches.'' 

Allah's statement, (وَعَبْقَرِىٍّ حِسَانٍ and rich beautiful `Abqariy.) Ibn `Abbas, Qatadah, Ad-Dahhak and As-Suddi said that `Abqariy means rich carpets

Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Cf. the parallel words for the other two Gardens, in lv. 54 above, which suggest perhaps a higher dignity. Rafraf is usually translated by Cushions or Pillows, and I have followed this meaning in view of the word "reclining". But another interpretation is "Meadows", in view of the adjective "green"-'abqari: carpets richly figured and dyed, and skillfully worked.

فَبِاَىِّ اٰلَاۤءِ رَبِّكُمَا تُكَذِّبٰنِ‏ 
( 77 )   So which of the favors of your Lord would you deny?

تَبٰـرَكَ اسۡمُ رَبِّكَ ذِى الۡجَـلٰلِ وَالۡاِكۡرَامِ
( 78 )   Blessed is the name of your Lord, Owner of Majesty and Honor.

Tafsir Ibn-Kathir: (تَبَـرَكَ اسْمُ رَبِّكَ ذِى الْجَلَـلِ وَالإِكْرَامِ  Blessed be the Name of your Lord (Allah) Dhil-Jalal wal-Ikram,) Allah states that He is Worthy of being honored and always obeyed, revered and thus worshipped, appreciated and never unappreciated, and remembered and never forgotten. 

`Abdullah bin `Abbas said that, (ذِى الْجَلَـلِ وَالإِكْرَامِ Dhil-Jalal wal-Ikram) means, the Owner of greatness and pride. In a Hadith, the Prophet said,
(Verily, among the acts of venerating Allah, are honoring the elderly Muslims, the one in authority, and carrier (memorizer) of the Qur'an who avoids extremism and laziness with it.'' 
Imam Ahmad recorded that Rabi`ah bin `Amir said that he heard the Messenger of Allah say, (Persist (in invoking Allah) with, "Ya Dhal-Jalal wal-Ikram (O Owner of greatness and honor).'') An-Nasa'i also collected this Hadith. 

Muslim and the Four Sunan compilers recorded that `A'ishah said, "When the Messenger of Allah would (say the) Salam (completing prayer), he would only sit as long as it takes him to say,
(اللْهُمَّ أَنْتَ السَّلَامُ وَمِنْكَ السَّلَامُ، تَبَارَكْتَ يَاذَا الْجَلَالِ وَالْإِكْرَام O Allah! You are As-Salam, and peace comes from You. Blessed be You Ya Dhal-Jalal wal-Ikram.).'' This is the end of the Tafsir of Surat Ar-Rahman, all praise is due to Allah and all favors come from Him.
Yusuf Ali  Explanation: Cf. lv. 27. This minor echo completes the symmetry of the two leading Ideas of this Sura, - the Bounty and Majesty of Allah, and the Duty of man to make himself worthy of nearness to Allah.

You may now like to listen to eminent scholar Nouman Ali Khan who is speaking on lessons from Surah Ar Rahman::


Please refer to our Reference Page "114 Chapters (Sūrahs) of the Holy Qur'an" for translation, explanation and exegesis of all other chapters of the Qur'an. You may also refer to our Reference Pages for knowing more about Islam and Quran.
Reading the Holy Quran should be a daily obligation of a Muslim - Reading it with translation will make it meaningful. But reading its Exegesis / Tafsir will make you understand it fully. An effort has been made to gather explanation / exegesis of the surahs of the Holy Qur'an from authentic sources and then present a least possible condensed explanation of the surah. In that:
  • The plain translation and explanation has been taken from the Holy Quran officially published by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia. [1]
  • The exegesis of the chapters of the Holy Quran is mainly based on the "Tafhim al-Qur'an - The Meaning of the Qur'an" by one of the most enlightened scholars of the Muslim World Sayyid Abul Ala Maududi.  [2]
In order to augment and add more explanation as already provided by [2], additional input has been interjected from following sources (links to Reference Pages given below):  
  • Towards Understanding the Quran
  • Tafsir Ibn Khatir
  • Muhammad Asad Translation
  • Al-Quran, Yusuf Ali Translation
  • Javed Ahmad Ghamidi / Al Mawrid
  • Verse by Verse Qur'an Study Circle
  • Tafsir Nouman Ali Khan
In addition the references of  other sources which have been explored have also been given below. Those desirous of detailed explanations and tafsir (exegesis), may refer to these sites:

Calligraphy by Sadequain | References: | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 67 | 8

If you like Islam: My Ultimate Decision, and to keep yourself updated on all our latest posts to know more about Islam, follow us on Facebook

Please share this page to your friends and family members through Facebook, WhatsApp or any means on Social Media so that they can also be benefited by it and better understand Islam and the Holy Qur'an - Insha Allah (Allah Willing) you shall be blessed with the best of both worlds.

0 comments:

Post a Comment

Twitter Delicious Facebook Digg Stumbleupon Favorites More