Mujahid said: “It is swift, flowing with force (1) (2).” Abu al-‘Aliyah (3) and Muqatil ibn Hayyan said: It was called Salsabil because it flows over them in their pathways and springs forth in their dwellings. It issues from the base of the Throne, from the Garden of Eden, to the inhabitants of the Gardens. The drink of Paradise has the coolness of camphor, the taste of ginger, and the fragrance of musk.
Al-Zajjaj said: It was called Salsabil because of its utter smoothness as it slips down the throat. The meaning of His words, “called,” is “described,” for most scholars hold that Salsabil is a description, not a name.
“And there will circulate among them youths made eternal. When you see them, you would think them scattered pearls. (19) And when you look there, you will see bliss and a great kingdom. (20) Above them will be garments of fine green silk and brocade. They will be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord will give them a purifying drink. (21)”
“And there will circulate among them youths made eternal. When you see them, you would think them scattered pearls.” ‘Ata’ said: This refers to the whiteness and beauty of pearls. When pearls are scattered from their string upon a carpet, they are more beautiful than when they are strung together. The scholars of language said: They were likened to scattered pearls because they disperse in service; had they stood in rows, they would have been likened to strung pearls.
“And when you look there”: that is, when you see (4) with your eyes and look there—meaning, in Paradise—“you will see indescribable bliss and a great kingdom.” Even the least in rank among them will look upon his dominion over a distance of a thousand years’ journey, seeing its farthest extent just as he sees its nearest part. Muqatil and al-Kalbi said: This means that an angelic messenger of the Lord of Might will not enter upon him except by his permission. It was also said: an everlasting dominion.
“Above them will be garments of fine silk.” The reciters of Medina and Hamzah read it as ‘aliyhim, with the yā’ unvowelled and the hā’ carrying kasrah, making it a nominative subject, whose predicate is “garments of fine silk.” The others read it with the yā’ in the accusative and the hā’ carrying dammah, as an adjective, meaning “above them”; it is an adverbial accusative (5).
“Garments of green silk and brocade.” Nafi‘ and Hafs read “green” and “brocade” in the nominative, coordinated with “garments.” Hamzah and al-Kisa’i read both in the genitive. Ibn Kathir and Abu Bakr read “green” in the genitive and “brocade” in the nominative, while Abu Ja‘far and the reciters of Basra and Syria read the reverse. Thus, the nominative is based on (7)