(51-59) “Indeed, those mindful of Allah will be in a secure abode, amid gardens and springs. They will wear fine silk and heavy brocade, facing one another. So it shall be, and We shall wed them to beautiful, wide-eyed maidens. There they will call for every kind of fruit, secure from all harm. They will not taste death therein beyond their first death, and He will protect them from the torment of Hellfire—a bounty from your Lord. That is the supreme triumph. We have only made it easy in your language so that they may take heed. So wait; they too are waiting.”
This is the reward of those mindful of Allah, who guarded themselves against His wrath and punishment by forsaking acts of disobedience and performing acts of obedience. Since wrath and punishment have been removed from them, Allah’s pleasure and an immense reward are assured for them: dense shade cast by abundant trees and fruits, and freely flowing springs. Rivers flow beneath them, and they cause them to gush forth abundantly in the Gardens of Bliss.
They are called the Gardens of Bliss because everything they contain is pure bliss and joy, perfect in every respect, with nothing whatsoever to spoil or disturb it.
Their garments will be of green silk—fine silk and heavy brocade—according to whatever they desire. “Facing one another” in heart and countenance, enjoying perfect comfort, tranquility, love, pleasant companionship, and gracious manners.
“So it shall be”: complete bliss and perfect joy. “We shall wed them to beautiful, wide-eyed maidens”—women of such beauty and loveliness that the gaze is left bewildered by their beauty, the mind dazzled by their loveliness, and the heart captivated by their perfection. ⦗775⦘ “Wide-eyed” means that their eyes are large and beautiful.
“There they will call”—that is, in Paradise—“for every kind of fruit,” including those known by name in this world and others that have neither a name nor any equivalent here. Whatever varieties and kinds of fruit they request will be brought to them immediately, without effort or burden. They will be “secure” from its ever coming to an end, secure from any harmful effect, secure from everything that might disturb their enjoyment, and secure from ever leaving Paradise or dying. Hence He says: “They will not taste death therein beyond their first death.” That is, there will be no death there whatsoever. Had there been any death therein to be excepted, the exception would not have referred to the first death, which occurred in this world. Thus, every beloved thing they desire will be theirs in full.
“And He will protect them from the torment of Hellfire—a bounty from your Lord.” Their attainment of bliss and deliverance from punishment come through Allah’s bounty and generosity toward them. He is the One who enabled them to perform the righteous deeds through which they attained the good of the Hereafter, and He also granted them what their deeds could never have earned. “That is the supreme triumph.” What triumph could be greater than attaining Allah’s pleasure and His Paradise and being spared His punishment and wrath?
“We have only made it easy”—that is, the Quran—“in your language.” In other words, We made it easy in your tongue, which is the most eloquent and noble of all tongues, thereby making both its wording and its meaning easy. “So that they may take heed” of what benefits them and act upon it, and of what harms them and refrain from it.
“So wait”—that is, await the good and victory your Lord has promised you. “They too are waiting” for the punishment that will befall them. What a difference there is between the two kinds of waiting: the Messenger of Allah and his followers await good in this world and the Hereafter, whereas those opposed to them await evil in this world and the Hereafter.
Thus concludes the commentary on Sūrat al-Dukhān. To Allah belong all praise and favor.