In the name of God, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful

29- All that are in the heavens and the Earth ask Him. Every day He is engaged in some task.

30- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

31- We will attend (sa-nafrughu) to you (la-kum) both, O weighty ones.

32- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

33- O company (ma‘shar) of jinn and human, if you have power to penetrate [all] regions of the heavens and the Earth, then penetrate [them]. You will never penetrate them except with sanction (or authority).

34- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

35- There will be sent against you both heat of fire and flash of brass. Then you will not be able to defend yourselves.

36- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

37- And when the heaven is split open and turns crimson (wardah), like red-hide (dihan).

38- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

39- On that Day, neither human nor jinn will be questioned of his sin.

40- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

41- The guilty will be known by their marks, and will be taken by the forelocks and the feet.

42- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

43- This is the hell which the guilty (mujrim) deny.

44- They go circling round between it and fierce, boiling water.

45- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

46- But for him who fears the standing before his Lord there are two gardens.

47- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

48- Of spreading branches (afnan).

49- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

50- In which are two fountains flowing.

51- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

52- In which is every kind of fruit in pairs (zawj).

53- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

54- Reclining upon couches lined (bata’in) with silk brocade, the fruit (jana) of both gardens within easy reach.

55- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

56- In them will be maidens of modest and restrained glances(tarf), whom no man or jinn has touched before.

57- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

58- Like rubies and coral-stone.

59- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

60- Is the reward of goodness other than goodness?

61- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

62- And beside them are two other gardens.

63- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

64- Both are dark green.

65- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

66- Wherein are a pair of gushing springs.

67- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

68- In which is fruit, the date palm and pomegranate.

69- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

70- Fair ones, sheltered in pavilions.

71- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

72- Wherein are found good natured, beautiful maidens.

73- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

74- Whom no man or jinn has touched before.

75- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

76- Reclining on green cushions and splendid carpets.

77- So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

78- Blessed be the name of your Lord, Mighty and Glorious.

[55:29]All that are in the heavens and the Earth ask Him. Everyday He is engaged in some task.
The verb “to ask” is a present tense verb which means to request the fulfillment of one’s needs. In reality, “All that are in the heavens and the Earth” means not only all the creatures on this Earth, but all the creatures on all the planets in the galaxyare in a state of asking God for what they need. This does not mean they are literally asking Him for a list of things, but rather that their every need, great or small, is dependent upon God; if we had no oxygen for even a short time, we would not survive. There is not a single life that God created and then abandoned; each second we live and breathe is a kindness from God; it is because God is watching over us and looking after us. There is not a single moment that goes by that the cells in our brain stop working, or in which our hearts stop beating.
In fact, all the cells in our bodies are in a constant state of being replaced. How many skin cells do our bodies produce in a single week? These cells die and are replenished. We are in a state of constant creation. We need the light and heat of the Sun, we need oxygen to breathe, and we need food to eat. Our entire existence is one of needs. The Qur’an tells us: “O humankind. You are the ones who stand in need (fuqarā)of God” (35:15). The word “fuqarā” is the plural of “faqīr,” which approximates the word “beggar” in meaning. All of us stand in need of God in our journey of development towards God. And God is the Self-Sufficient (al-Ghanī). It is God and only God who is absolutely without need. There is no other being who is not in a constant state of need.
In the part “Every day He is engaged in some task” – “day”is not the opposite of “night,” nor is it a 24-hour period. Here, it means any period of time, whether a million years or a fraction of a second. In whichever it is, God is always working and is always in a single condition. In other words, God is always creating: He is always creating millions of stars and galaxies; He is always causing changes in the world; He is always engaged in creating the cosmos. In all of our different activities, human happiness and sadness are always replacing one another, wealth and poverty are also interchangeable, and at one moment a person may take power and at another, he may lose it.
God is forever bringing out the night from the day and the day from the night by making the world turn. He is always bringing the living out of the dead and the dead out of the living; from inanimate atoms in the Earth He brings new life into being. The movement of night and day is continuous; poverty and affliction never cease; governments come and go.And all these phenomena show that the world is constantly in motion and never pauses for a second; it is dynamic. And who is making it turn? This also gives hope to the human being, because, even if they are in a bad situation now – for example, in poverty, distress, and heartache–the world is constantly moving, so their situation can always change for the better. In fact, when Abū Dharr al-Ghifārī was exiled from Madinah during the reign of Uthman, Ali went to see him off with Hasan and Husayn. The three of them commiserated with him and consoled him. They said: “Don’t worry. Have patience. God is always engaged in some task.” In other words, be optimistic. The world will not stay the same forever. When we look at different sets of historical events, we see that great figures always had this attitude. This should be a cause for optimism, but it should also be a reminder to those who are conceited – they should know that the world will not stay the same for long because it is always turning and never stationary.
Are these not blessings? Is it not a blessing that the world has a Lord who is showering it with blessings, constantly sustaining and nourishing it, and forever giving energy to it and all of its inhabitants? What a great blessing this is.

[55:30]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:31]We will attend (sa-nafrughu) to you (la-kum) both, O weighty ones.
The lettersīn (س) before the verb signifies something that is about to occur. Thus,“sa-nafrughu la-kum”means that “we will soon attend to you” or “we will soon devote our attention to you.” As for the “two weighty things,” we see that in this chapter of the Qur’an,God speaks about everything two-by-two. This may refer to the jinn and the ins (humans). The ins are those things that are familiar (ma’nūs) to us and of the same kind and species as us, while the jinn refers to everything that is hidden from us and not directly perceptible. “Jinn” does not refer to the spiritual entities only, which is how this word haslargely been understood by Muslims over the centuries, but it is actually an adjective. It is like the word “beauty.” Beauty is not the name of any particular thing, but an adjective that describes many things. Beauty does not exist as a thing but it still exists in things. Conversely, “ugliness” is also not the name of any concrete entity,but rather an adjective that is used to describe a great many things. By the same token, jinn does not refer to any particular being or beings, but is an adjective used to describe many different kinds of beings. In fact, even human beings can be called jinn; angels can be called jinn; all manner of beings that are hidden from us and which we do not know about, whether stars or anything else, can be called jinn. Here it appears that God is addressing both those things which exist and which we are familiar with, which we can touch, see, and know, and also those things of which we do not know, as ofyet.
Now, when we as human beings are engaged in a particular task, we must devote our attention to it fully in order to finish it before we can start anything else. However, this is not the case for God; just because He is engaged in one task, this does not prevent him paying attention to another, and God does not have to finish doing one thing in order to start doing another. So, this is an allegorical statement. It seems that He is speaking to the future, at a time when human beings have complete control over the natural world, and addressing the person who has attained perfection. You see, on the surface of the Earth are many animals that are becoming extinct. A hundred million years ago the dinosaurs died out,then mammoths died out; similarly, many different species of animals are dying out today. We are constantly reading in the newspapers that many species can only be found in zoos now with only a small number of their population remaining. It seems that, in the future, when the human being has attained mastery over nature, the Earth will become his kingdom and there will be many creatures that are not currently known. Now, the energies of the angels, whatever and however they are, also belong in the category of the jinn. Therefore, the “two weighty things” refer to the material and energetic forces or, to put it another way, the material and immaterial realms.

[55:32]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:33]O company(ma‘shar) of jinn and human, if you have power to penetrate [all] regions of the heavens and the Earth, then penetrate [them]. You will never penetrate them except with sanction (or authority).
You have not seen the future of the Earthwhich, in fact, is the realm in which humanity will grow and progress towards perfection. At this very moment in time, you hear people saying that in every passing decade, humanity learns more in those ten years than it has in its entire history. Soon it will be five years; in five years, humanity will learn more than it has throughout its entire history. If you follow this trend, you can see how humanity’s progress is accelerating and what mastery over nature is unlocking; in any competition, human beings have access to more power than all the other creatures.There is no other species making comparable progress.
Ma‘shar is derived from ‘ushr, which means “ten.” Ten is a number that suggests completeness, so ma‘shar means a large gathering or group. This is a group that includes all the humans that are known and unknown all over the world, whether white, yellow or black; alive today, alive in the future, or alive in the past. They are either memories, familiar to us, or as yet unfamiliar. We could interpret jinn as referring to human beings, namely those humans who are unknown to us at present or at some time in the future.
The phrase “if you have power…”does not have to refer to an innate ability.It can be any kind of ability. It could even be scientific or technological – “to penetrate” – to enter and move through “the regions of the heavens and the Earth.” This includes having powerto build space ships and leave behind the atmosphere of the Earth. So far, the furthest extent human beings have traveled through space is to the Moon, which hangs in orbit of the Earth. We have not gone much further than this. However,the Qur’an says to pass through all the regions of the heavens and the Earth; to go everywhere on the Earth and to go beyond the Earth; to go beyond the solar system; to go beyond the galaxy of the MilkyWay. However, you should know that “you will never penetrate them except with sanction (or authority; sultān)” – that is, except by attaining mastery. The word “sultān” can be used in connection to knowledge:“sultān” can mean an argument that a person makes, or some evidence or proof that is given; you can call this a sultān because when you are having a debate, and you make your case based on knowledge and evidence, you will master the debate and overcome your opponent. Sultān can also be used for the tools that give the human being any kind of mastery. In other words, you will not be able to pass through the heavens and the Earth without mastery:scientific mastery, industrial mastery, and technological mastery.

[55:34]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?
Is it not a blessing that the human being can take flight from the Earth and travel across the globe and the heavens? Is it not miraculous that this verse was revealed 1,400 years ago in both Makkah and Madinah? At a time when most people lived and died in their hometown and had no idea about the extent of the world around them, the Qur’an says: “If you want to travel through the heavens and the Earth, go and travel.” But you will not be able to travel without a vehicle. Why can you not travel without a vehicle?

[55:35]There will be sent against you both, heat of fire and flash of brass. Then you will not be able to defend yourselves.
God says he will send something down which will strike you – what is it? There are two things:shuwāz(a smokeless flame) and the other is nuhās. Nuhāsare the sparks emitted when a blacksmith heats a piece of metal in his furnace and then hits it with his hammer. He then says, “Then you will not be able to defend yourselves” – up there is nothing that will help you. Correspondingly, from a scientific perspective, atmospheric phenomena are also of two kinds, and it is these two things that pose a danger to the aircraft that flies through the atmosphere. The first of these are electromagnetic raysemitted by the Sun. The interior of the Sun burns at approximately 15 million degrees centigrade. At levels of heat this extreme, hydrogen atoms fuse together into helium and some of the energy produced by this process is emitted in the form of these rays. Approximately 0.6% of the energy is emitted in this way. Some of this energy takes the form of gamma rays, which can be deadly. If these rays of solar radiation were to reach the surface of the Earth, no life forms would survive. After this are X-rays, ultraviolet rays, then visible light. Of this visible light, only a small part is that spectrum of green to yellow that we see. Then there are infrared rays and, finally, radio waves. The Sun’s spectrum is so broad, but we only see a tiny part of it. In fact, if it was a little more or less it would be potentially harmful to life. Only a very small percentage of the Sun’s rays reach us on the surface of the world. The remainder is reflected by different levels of the Earth’s atmosphere, such as the magnetosphere, the stratosphere, and the ionosphere. However, when we leave the atmosphere, there is no shield to protect us from these rays. There is nothing to filter out the deadly radiation from the Sun; all of these are cancer-causing, all of these will cause our organs to break down and stop functioning, and prove fatal to our physiology. So, when we leave the Earth, there is no protection. But this is just the first of the two.
A second kind of electromagnetic ray was discovered between 1911 and 1914 when scientists sent up hot air balloons. They discovered that, in addition to the electromagnetic rays we have just mentioned, there were massive particles, mainly protons, originating both from the Sun and outside the solar system. Similar particles can be produced by solar flares, enormous eruptions that take place on the surface of the Sun from time-to-time. As well as posing a serious danger to astronauts, these can also have a profound effect even on the Earth’s surface. For example, a few years ago the weather became cold and then became hot as a result of these flares.
To imagine the sheer scale of these solar flares, just look at a mosquito in comparison to a log fire. This log fire is the Sun. The mosquito mentioned is the Earth. These massive particles are constantly being sent towards the Earth, wherethe protons collide with particles in the Earth’s atmosphere. Because of the nuclear reactions taking place in the Sun, these particles are continuously being thrown into the upper reaches of the Earth’s atmosphere.Therefore,in addition to the electromagnetic rays being produced by the Sun, these massive particles also pose a significant risk to human life outside the Earth’s atmosphere.
In order to take an X-ray, we must use equipment that emits X-rays. To minimizethe dangers posed by this radiation, people who work with this equipment must wear special clothing and use shielding. In order to be safe outside the Earth’s atmosphere, we would need lead shielding that was at least two meters thick in order to protect us from these rays.
Based on the above, we can see there are three dangers that confront us in space: 1) electromagnetic radiation; 2) cosmic rays; and also 3) meteorites. However, this third kind of danger is not mentioned anywhere in the Qur’an, perhaps because their current position is considered less of a serious danger. In other words, these meteors would be dangerous inside the Earth’s atmosphere as the Earth’s gravity causes them to accelerate, while outside the atmosphere there is nothing causing them to accelerate. Also, they are few in number in comparison to electromagnetic radiation and cosmic rays, so it is very unlikely that one would collide with a spacecraft.
In this chapter, the Qur’an explains that there are two major dangers that await us. It is truly amazing that the language it uses precisely reflects the nature of those dangers from a scientific perspective:shuwāz min nār – meaning a flame without smoke – refers to pure energy or the electromagnetic radiation being emitted by the Sun that does not have any material component, while nuhās – meaning sparks like those that fly from hot metal – refers to cosmic rays, which are made up of hydrogen nuclei consisting of a single proton.
Although the Qur’an was revealed so long ago it speaks about the dangers humanity will face when they leave the protection of the Earth’s atmosphere. And yet people claim that it was the Prophet who made up this book? A man who lived 1,400 years ago and neither read nor wrote was somehow able to come up with these things by himself?

[55:36]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:37]And when the heaven is split open and turns crimson (wardah), like red-hide (dihān).
When the heavens are split asunder and the Resurrection begins, the heavens and the solar system are thrown into disorder. In the previous chapter, we read the verse: “The Hour has drawn near and the Moon is split” (54:1). This means that the Moonwill be separated from the Earth’s gravitational pull. When this happens, the Moon will move away and its system will be thrown into chaos; the tides which represent the effects of its gravitational pull on the Earth’s surface will also be thrown into disarray. However, here, the Qur’an uses the word “heavens” (samā), which in Arabic literally means “something high up” or “above one’s head.” Consider if, in this world, the force of gravity was disrupted, what would happen?The heavens will turn the color of crimson. “Wardah” literally means the color of a red rose. It is no accident that in Arabic the name of the jugular vein is “warīd,” which is derived from the same root as wardah. Dihān literally means burnt cooking oil. This is because when you first pour oil into the pan, it is usually clear and colorless. However, once it has been burnt, it takes on a brownish hue. Therefore, the verse means that when the time of the Resurrection is at hand and the Sun has almost reached its end, the sky will turn a deep, red–brown color, like a crimson rose.
There is a photograph of a similar celestial event, taken on the 18September 1994, of the remains of a distant star. It is expected that one day a similar event will take place for our Sun. The shape of a rose around the star is very well defined in that image. In fact, the event photographed in 1994 is believed to have taken place about 3,000 years ago, but its light has only just reached us now. This verse needs some further explanation:in English “wardah” is translated as rose and Arabic dictionaries give the same meaning. So why is a rose being compared to burnt cooking oil? Most likely, this is stated to highlight the similarity in the changes a star undergoes at the end of its life with the heat of burning oil and its color after it has been used for a long time.
When will the Sun end its life? When its fuel is used up. The Sun’s fuel is hydrogen, and when this hydrogen is used up and turned into helium, a change will occur inside the Sun. In the same way, when cooking oil burns, it also changes into a brown-colored substance. The reason for this is that when the Sun is alive, active, and radiant, its light is white and bright. However, when its hydrogen is used up, it will lose its heat, and the light it emits will shift towards the infrared end of the spectrum– just like a rainbow, which begins with purple and ends with red. At the end of its life, the Sun becomes like a red rose. However, the Sun exists and will continue to exist like a flower seed. In fact, when the Qur’an says that the heavens will be split apart, it will become like a rose with the color of dark red. Pay close attention to when and where these words were uttered:in a tribal society, some 1,400 years ago and it is only now that scientists are making these discoveries using modern scientific instruments.

[55:38]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:39]On that Day, neither human nor jinn will be questioned of his sin.
On a day when all persons – whether known or unknown, whether familiar to us or unfamiliar, and whether made of matter or energy – will not be asked about their sins. In other words, there is no need to ask anyone why he did this or that, because everything will be plainly visible.

[55:40]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:41]The guilty will be known by their marks, and will be taken by the forelocks and the feet.
Everyone will be known by his or her markings. This does not mean in the same way as a prisoner is marked with a symbol or a number on his or her chest. Here, “mark” (sīmā) means the mark made by the way a person lived; the way their behavior has been imprinted onto their faces and the atoms of their being, and so is visible to all who behold them. This is just like when we look at things through a microscope and identify many features that were not immediately apparent. However, God has no need of a microscope. Based on the apparent meaning of the verse, each person’s face and appearance will reveal who they are and what deeds they did throughout their lives.
Today, people have developed technologies that allow them to uncover all manner of secrets. Even a stone, when placed under this equipment, has its entire history revealed to us. God, who is present in every place, knows everything more intimately that we ever could. He has no need to ask anyone anything. Hence, the guiltywill be known by their faces.
And how will these guilty ones be treated? “Nawāsī”refers to the hair above one’s forehead, while “aqdām” (plural of “qadam”)means “feet.” In other words, when they want to seize someone, they seize him by his forelock and drag his head down to the ground to humiliate him. However, this does not apply to taking someone by the foot, so what does this mean? It appears that each of these words is meant to convey a particular image. A person prostrates with his forehead. Now, consider this: to who did the guilty one in this verse prostrate in this world? Who was important enough for him to do that? To prostrate oneself before something means to dedicate oneself to the service of that thing; so the forehead symbolizes that which a person has devoted himself to. That person or thing which has led someone to do wrong or go astray in this world, is in fact the thing to which he prostrated himself (whether literally or figuratively). So, whom did this person serve? Who was the idol that he allowed to occupy his heart? Who were his lords whom he served? How unfortunate such people are that they bowed down before money, power, desire, fame, and so on. Because of the things they chased after, because of the things they followed, they now have marksleft on the very core of their being.

[55:42]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?
This verse is repeated thirty-one times and serves as a kind of refrain or chorus to the chapter.

[55:43]This is the hell which the guilty (mujrim) deny.
This assertion highlights the fact of punishment that the guilty (mujrim) would not accept. A “mujrim” is a person who has severed a bond. This person has no connection to the system of existence.

[55:44]They go circling round between it and fierce, boiling water.
In this hellfire, the guilty will forever be in a state of circulation, moving from place to place. They will circulate between the fires of hell and boiling water.

[55:45]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?
From this point onwards, there are many observations about the connection between heaven and hell. The realities presented here are not truly comprehensible to us, but the Qur’an provides imagery and symbolism to help us understand what it is like by drawing a similitude between it and between things in this world. On many occasions, the Qur’an intimates that heaven and hell are beyond the capacity of the human imagination to conceive.
Let me give you an example. In this day and age, almost everyone who has a job has a laptop and, if they leave it behind somewhere, it is as if they have forgotten their glasses and cannot see without them, or as if they have lost their hearing aid and cannot hear without it. Now, I want you to imagine that you have to explain this to someone living just fifty years earlier – how would you make them understand what a laptop was? You might tell them that it is something like a calculator or an abacus. But is an abacus really like a digital assistant? Of course not. This is just an example you are giving to them to help them understand what a computer is like. So, when you want to make people living 1,400 years ago (or even today) understand the nature of a place that is truly unpleasant, what do you tell them? Boiling water. You tell them you will be moving back and forth between fire and boiling water. Why? Because they cannot conceive of anything more terrifying than that. But, then, does that mean this is what hell really is? It is interesting to note that all of these words appear without the definite article (“al-” in Arabic, “the” in English). For example,“hamīm” (boiling water), rather than “al-hamīm” (the boiling water). They are indefinite, undefined and, ultimately, unknown. All the descriptions of Paradise and hell are left indefinite, which means we do not know the specific objects contained therein; instead, we are being given a general idea of what they are through things that are familiar to us. In the same way, if you want to explain something to your children, you use examples that are familiar to them so that they will understand them easily.

[55:46]But for him who fears the standing before his Lord there are two gardens.
There are two Paradises for he who is in fear of the station of his Lord. Note that in “the station of his Lord” (maqām rabbih), the Qur’an uses the word “Lord” (rabb), invoking His authority, rather than the name “Allāh.” This shows that the verse is expounding God’s role rather than His essence (dhāt). If the verse used “Allāh” instead, this would signify divinity, worship, and love.
For example, as long as you are sitting in a gathering and listening to a lecture, you will never worry about the traffic police. After all, the traffic police are concerned with drivers and, so long as you are in a lecture, you are not a driver. In fact, even if the police were sitting here in their uniforms and with their car, you still would not worry. You do not worry about them at any other time other than when you are driving. Therefore, you might say you fear the “station” (maqām) of the police. In actual fact, though, you do not really fear the maqām of the police – you fear your own actions. You are afraid you might go through a red light, for instance. As citizens, we may fear that the “station” of the police will lead them to give us a ticket for traffic violation, or we fear the “station” of a good Samaritanout there who follows the law. And yet, we often drive through all kinds of red lights during the course of our lives.
People often wonder why Islam and the Qur’an tell us to be afraid of God. Why must we be so afraid? God Himself is not frightening. So, what is it that we fear? We must fear God’s “station” because God is Just (‘Ādil), and we know this because the world is ordered and harmonious. But then, individuals should never fear God’s justice either, because justice depends upon my actions, on my sins and mistakes, on the record of my deeds for which I will be held to account. So, in reality, it is my own actions that I fear. Otherwise, there would never be any need to be afraid of God. But on more than one occasion, we read: “for he who fears the station of his Lord” (79:40). To what end? – “and forbids himself from following desire.” In other words, we should fear God in order to prevent ourselves from following our lusts and passions, and to prevent ourselves from wronging others. The fear of God should motivate us to keep ourselves under close observation (murāqabah) and control ourselves – not to become angry, not to swear, not to covet the things that other people have, and so on.This is the true meaning of fearing the station of our Lord; this is the true meaning of fearing our own actions. This verse also says that there are twoparadises.

[55:47]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:48]Of spreading branches (afnān).
Afnān means a tree’s fresh branches. People usually preferto see the young green branchesof trees rather than the old, yellow, dried-up branches. Once again, we see these words are all presented in the indefinite form, indicating that this is imagery to help people 1,400 years ago understand the meaning of the verse. But the same is also true now:people still love seeing fresh verdant branches.So,does this verse really refer to a tree? Some say this planet will one day vanish completely and that the paradise we will inhabit will span the entirety of the heavens and the Earth. So, what existing tree could this possibly be? No, the tree described in the verse is an image to help human beings understand.

[55:49]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:50] In which are two fountains flowing.
There are flowing springs there as well. Two, in fact.

[55:51]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:52]In which is every kind of fruit in pairs (zawj).
In paradise, there are pairs of fruit. A pair (zawj) might mean male and female. It could also mean fruits hanging in pairs. It could also refer to a pair of human beings:a husband and wife. Of these interpretations, I do not prefer one over another.

[55:53]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:54]Reclining upon couches lined(batā’in) with silk brocade, the fruit (janā) of both gardens within easy reach.
There are carpets in paradisefor its inhabitants to recline upon. The “batā’in” of a carpet means its lining. A rughas linings, fibers, and wefts, upon which silk threads are used to create patterns and images. When we buy coats and trousers, the manufacturers usually make the lining out of second or third-rate cloth because the inside of the coat and trousers will not be seen. The batā’in is actually its inside (batn). Batn literally means whatever is underneath it, and this is its lining. This is an image God has presented to us for us to understand something; after all, God is perfectly aware that we make those parts of clothes that other people will not see out of inferior grade materials, andHe knows we would not use silk thread for the threads and wefts of a rug. However, God’s blessings in paradise are so great that the rugsand the clothing in their entirety, right down to their lining, are made from silk. This is an image that contains a powerful message for us.
“Janā” means “ripe fruits.” So the ripe fruits of those whose gardens will be nearby, hanging within easy reach, means that no one will need to climb a tree to reach them. This is an image to illustrate how close the blessings will be. Today, if you want to buy something you can purchase it over the internet right away. So, it is as though it is near at hand. You can buy something on the other side of the world and have it sent to you. Now, consider what technology will permit us to achieve in another hundred years or another thousand years.In other words, this verse is saying that you can have whatever you want. Meaning the time things take to reach you will be shortened and everything will be there for the taking. In reality, fresh produce will always be available. You need only want it and it is there. So which of these blessings can we reject?

[55:55]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:56]In them will be maidens of modest and restrained glances(tarf), whom no man or jinn has touched before.
“Tarf”here means “eyelid.” This is an allusion to someone who lowers his gaze which means that he does not allow himself to be distracted by others. When we say someone is qāsirāt-ut-tarf this means they have an unclouded gaze and a pureheart, and no jinn or ins has had contact with before. However, many translations and commentaries of the Qur’an take this to be a reference to the maidens of paradise (hūr ul-‘īn), but there is no suggestion of such a meaning to be found anywhere, whether in the poetry or in the prose of the Arabs. After all, given the cultural context of the time, there were some men always pursuing women amorously, but the opposite (i.e.women pursuing men) was not usually the case as the culture saw this as a negative trait in a woman. Therefore, why would these maidens be described as having “restrained glances”? Those who assume that this refers to the female gender think that the word “zawj” also refers to the female gender. However, in the Qur’an, the word “zawj” is used for both genders and nowhere does the specific feminine form, “zawjah,” or the feminine plural, “zawjāt,” appear. In fact, the instinctive needs of human beings – their sexual needs – are fulfilled with their own partners and they do not need to look to others for this.

[55:57]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?
Living in this world, as a rule, the promises we are given must correspond to our needs and be compatible with the things we pursue. It might appear quite ridiculous to some people that the Qur’an speaks about gardens, rugs, partners, and food in paradise, and promises that these will be provided, but then what are humans really looking for? Look at television, publications, and internet usage, you will see that approximately seventy percent of it is connected to these very subjects. Thirst, hunger, and other human instincts are needs that God has placed within the human being. If the Qur’an spoke about something else which we had no inclination towards, we would almost certainly not be drawn to it.If you tell a small child, “I am going to buy a computer for you,” the child will say, “Don’t buy it, why would I want it?”Of course, the child wants toys. Therefore, the Qur’an tells the human being about those things which he likes. This does not mean that the Qur’an is lying. When paradise is the size of the entire cosmos, you will still enjoy these things, and you will be given them. However, the difference is that these instincts will come across things which are infinite in scope, which no human being has ever been able to understand. Those trinkets that God has given you will have no value incomparison to these. Therefore, you must remember – because many people recite these verses and refer to them on television – what promises the Qur’an is really giving you. Remember what the real meaning of these examples is.

[55:58]Like rubies and coral-stone.
Thesebeings are compared to rubies and coral. Ruby is a precious stone, while coral is usually a white substance which is brought out from the sea, and sometimes comes in other colors too. This is for us to understand that these things are similar to coral and rubies.

[55:59]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:60]Is the reward of goodness other than goodness?
Notice that God does not say: “Is the recompense of the Muslims anything other than goodness?” Is prayer anything other than this? This means that whoever does a good deed falls within the scope of this verse. Any good deed, any noble act, no matter who did it, it is because they are a good person. Is it possible that someone could do a good deed and God, who is the doer of good, would do to themother than what is good? In fact, when we look at the meaning of ihsān, it also means kindness. Therefore a reward that is ihsān will not be equal to the act that it is recompensing, in fact it will be greater than the act it recompenses. Therefore, the requital for goodness is most certainly goodness.

[55:61]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?
The following verses describe another group of the inhabitants of paradise. It appears that the blessings described thus far are for good persons, and the next ones describe the paradise of “those brought near” (muqarrabīn). Beyond this, the following verses describe a different paradise.There are two more paradises at the next level below them.

[55:62]And beside them are two other gardens.

[55:63]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:64]Both are dark green.
In describing the features of this paradise, the Qur’an portrays it as extremely verdant and abounding in fruit.

[55:65]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:66]Wherein are a pair of gushing springs.
This paradise has supernatural springs which gush. Compare this to the previous paradise, in which there were springs that flowed. This suggests that there is more water in the springs of those “brought near.” These near ones would have been great thinkers like the prophets, whose ideas continued flowing for centuries and millennia after they had lived. Here, the Qur’an says that the two springs in this paradise do not come forth gradually or drop-by-drop, but all at once for everyone. Of course, like the trees mentioned above, the springs are a highly symbolic image – this does not only refer to a water source.

[55:67]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:68]In which is fruit, the date palm and pomegranate.
This paradise contains dates, pomegranates, and other fruit. Once again, we see these words appear in the indefinite, to show that they are being mentioned as examples and metaphors to help us grasp what that world will resemble.

[55:69]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:70]Fair ones, sheltered in pavilions.

[55:71]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:72] Wherein are found good natured, beautiful maidens.

[55:73]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:74]Whom no man or jinn has touched before.

[55:75]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:76]Reclining on green cushions and splendid carpets.

[55:77]So which of your Lord’s bounties will you deny?

[55:78]Blessed be the Name of your Lord, Mighty and Glorious.

Translator: Alexander Hainy (Khaleeli)
Editor: Hamid Mavani