(21–23) “Or do they have partners who have prescribed for them as religion that which Allah has not authorized? Were it not for the decree of judgment, the matter would have been decided between them. Indeed, the wrongdoers will have a painful punishment. * You will see the wrongdoers fearful of what they have earned, but it will surely befall them. Those who believe and do righteous deeds will be in the verdant meadows of the Gardens. They will have whatever they wish with their Lord. That is the great bounty. *”
Allah Most High tells us that the polytheists adopted partners whom they support and with whom they share in disbelief and its practices. These are human devils who call others to disbelief and who “have prescribed for them as religion that which Allah has not authorized,” including polytheism, religious innovations, forbidding what Allah has permitted, permitting what Allah has forbidden, and other things dictated by their desires.
Yet religion can only be what Allah Most High has prescribed for His servants to follow and by which to draw near to Him. The fundamental rule, therefore, is that no one may prescribe anything as religion without authority from Allah and His Messenger. What, then, of these wicked people who, together with their forefathers, are united in disbelief?
“Were it not for the decree of judgment, the matter would have been decided between them.” That is, were it not for the appointed term that Allah has established as the dividing point between the differing groups, and until which He will grant them respite, the matter would have been decided between them here and now by granting felicity to the upholder of truth and destroying the follower of falsehood. The grounds for their destruction are already present, but a painful punishment awaits them in the Hereafter—both these people and every other wrongdoer.
On that Day, “you will see the wrongdoers”—those who wronged themselves through disbelief and sin—“fearful,” that is, afraid and trembling “of what they have earned,” lest they be punished for it.
A person may or may not suffer what he apprehensively fears, so Allah states that “it will surely befall them.” The punishment they feared will overtake them because they have brought about the complete cause necessitating it, with nothing to counteract it, such as repentance or anything else. They have reached a stage at which no reprieve or respite remains possible.
“Those who believe” in their hearts in Allah, His Books, His messengers, and what they brought, “and do righteous deeds”—which encompasses every righteous deed of the heart and limbs, whether obligatory or recommended—“will be in the verdant meadows of the Gardens.” That is, meadows belonging to the Gardens, and what is annexed to something shares its character. So do not ask about the splendor of those delightful meadows: the flowing rivers, the lush grassy lowlands, the beautiful views, the fruit-bearing trees, the singing birds, the sweet and captivating melodies, reunion with every beloved companion, and the fullest enjoyment of fellowship and intimate conversation. These are meadows that, however long the ages pass, only increase in beauty and magnificence, while their inhabitants only grow in longing for and love of their delights.
“They will have whatever they wish” therein—that is, in the Gardens. Whatever they desire will be present, and whatever they request will be granted: things no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no human heart has ever conceived. “That is the great bounty.” What triumph could be greater than attaining the pleasure of Allah Most High and delighting in nearness to Him in His abode of honor?