pomegranates, fruit, the meat of birds, honey, milk, water, and wine. Yet the true nature of these things is entirely unlike that of their counterparts in this world. Were they the same, we would know what has been kept hidden for us. Rather, they are far, far greater than anything we can imagine. Although we know what a pomegranate is and know that it has a particular shape, taste, and seeds, the pomegranate in the Hereafter is not like the pomegranate here. It differs vastly from it in size, color, and taste. As Ibn Abbas—may Allah be pleased with them both—said, “Nothing in this world resembles anything in Paradise except in name.” (1) Their true nature, however, is unknown.

Regarding His words, ﴿beneath which rivers flow,﴾ the scholars said that ﴿beneath which﴾ means beneath their trees and palaces. The rivers themselves, however, flow above ground, upon the surface. Moreover, the hadiths state that these rivers require neither excavation nor the construction of channels (2). Ibn al-Qayyim says concerning this in his Nūniyya:

Its rivers flow without a channel;
Glory be to Him who keeps them from overflowing.

Rivers as we know them require excavation or a channel to prevent the water from spreading to the right and left. In Paradise, however, they require no channel. They flow wherever a person wishes; he directs them as he pleases, without digging or constructing a channel. Although the rivers are mentioned only in general terms in this verse and many others, they are described in detail in Sūrat al-Qitāl—Sūrat Muhammad—where He says: ﴿The description of Paradise promised to the God-fearing is this: in it are rivers of water that never grows stale, rivers of milk whose taste never changes, and rivers of wine—a delight