The answer is no, because a spring or river cannot be carried. Why, then, did He not say, “Those brought near drink from it”? This difficulty may be answered in one of two ways. Some scholars said that the preposition bā’ (“by” or “with”) is used in the sense of min (“from”); thus, “drink by means of it” means “drink from it.” Others said that “drink” has been made to convey the meaning of “be quenched”; thus, “those brought near drink by means of it” means that they are quenched by it. This meaning—or this interpretation—is better than the preceding one, for it contains two features that make it preferable. First, it retains the preposition in its original sense. Second, the verb “drink” has been made to convey a meaning beyond mere drinking, namely, having one’s thirst quenched. Many a person drinks without being quenched, but whoever is quenched has certainly drunk. Accordingly, the second interpretation is better: the verb “drink” is made to convey the meaning of “be quenched.”

“Indeed, those who committed crimes used to laugh at those who believed. And when they passed by them, they would wink at one another. And when they returned to their families, they returned gleefully. And when they saw them, they said, ‘These people are truly astray,’ though they had not been sent as guardians over them. But on that Day, those who believed will laugh at the disbelievers, reclining upon couches and looking on. Have the disbelievers been repaid for what they used to do?”

“Indeed, those who committed crimes”—that is, they perpetrated crime, meaning sin and disobedience. “Used to”—that is, in this world—“laugh at those who believed,” mocking, ridiculing, and belittling them. “And when they passed by”: the subject may validly be understood as the believers when they passed by the criminals, or as the criminals when they passed by the believers. A principle that ought to be understood in exegesis is that if a verse admits two meanings, neither of which conflicts with the other, then it must