(107–108) “Indeed, those who believe and do righteous deeds will have the Gardens of Firdaws as their lodging, * abiding there forever, never wishing to move elsewhere.”
That is, those who believe with their hearts and perform righteous deeds with their limbs. This description encompasses the whole religion: its beliefs and deeds, its foundations and branches, both outward and inward. Such people—despite their differing ranks in faith and righteous deeds—will have the Gardens of Firdaws.
It may be that the Gardens of Firdaws refer to the highest, central, and finest part of Paradise, and that this reward is for those whose faith and righteous deeds are complete: the prophets and those brought near.
Alternatively, the expression may refer to all the dwellings of Paradise. This reward would then encompass every rank among the believers—those brought near, the righteous, and those of moderate standing—each according to his condition. This is the more likely of the two interpretations because of its generality; because the word “Gardens” occurs in the plural and is annexed to Firdaws; and because Firdaws can denote a garden containing grapevines or densely intertwined trees, a description that applies to all of Paradise.
The Garden of Firdaws is thus lodging and hospitality for the people of faith and righteous deeds. What hospitality could be more sublime, greater, or more magnificent than this—hospitality containing every delight for hearts, souls, and bodies? Therein is all that souls desire and eyes delight in: elegant dwellings, verdant gardens, fruit-bearing trees, birds singing enchanting melodies, delicious foods, delectable drinks, beautiful women, servants and youthful attendants, flowing rivers, delightful vistas, physical and spiritual beauty, and everlasting bliss. Supreme over all of that—its finest, greatest, and most sublime delight—is the enjoyment of nearness to the Most Merciful and the attainment of His pleasure, which is the greatest bliss of Paradise, together with the joy of beholding His noble Face and hearing the speech of the Most Kind, the Most Merciful. What hospitality Allah has prepared! How sublime and beautiful, how enduring and complete it is!
It is far beyond the capacity of any creature to describe or any heart to imagine. If Allah’s servants truly knew even part of that bliss with knowledge that reached their hearts, their hearts would soar toward it with longing, their souls would be torn apart by the pain of separation, and they would set out toward it in groups and singly. They would never prefer to it a fleeting world and its marred, vanishing pleasures, nor would they waste hours that pass in fruitless loss, when every moment of them is matched by countless thousands of ages of bliss. Yet heedlessness has become pervasive, faith has grown weak, knowledge is scarce, and resolve has given out (1). Thus, what happened has happened. There is no might or power except through Allah, the Most High, the Magnificent.
His words, “abiding there forever,” describe the completion of bliss. Paradise contains perfect bliss, and part of its perfection is that it never ends. “Never wishing to move elsewhere”—that is, they desire neither change nor departure, because they see nothing except what pleases and delights them, gladdens them, and brings them joy, and they see no bliss greater than that which they enjoy.