(18–27) “No indeed! The record of the righteous is surely in Illiyyīn. * And what will make you know what Illiyyīn is? * A written record, * witnessed by those brought near. * Indeed, the righteous will be in bliss, * on couches, gazing. * You will recognize in their faces the radiance of bliss. * They will be given to drink of a sealed pure wine, * whose seal is musk. For this, then, let the competitors compete. * Its mixture is from Tasnīm.”
After mentioning that the record of the wicked is in the lowest, narrowest places, He mentioned that the record of the righteous is in the highest, widest, and most spacious of them, and that their written record is “witnessed by those brought near”—the noble angels and the souls of the prophets, the eminently truthful, and the martyrs. Allah extols them in the highest assembly. Illiyyīn is the name of the highest part of Paradise.
After mentioning their record, He stated that they are in bliss—a comprehensive term encompassing the bliss of the heart, soul, and body—“on couches”; that is, [upon] beds adorned with beautiful furnishings.
They are “gazing” at the bliss Allah has prepared for them and beholding the countenance of their gracious Lord. “You will recognize,” O you who look upon them, “in their faces the radiance of bliss”; that is, the brilliance of bliss (1), its freshness and splendor. The continual succession of pleasure and joy (2) imparts light, beauty, and gladness to the face.
“They will be given to drink of a pure wine,” one of the finest and most delicious beverages, and it will be “sealed.” That drink is one “whose seal is musk.” This may mean that it is sealed against anything entering it that might diminish its delight or spoil its taste, and that the substance with which it is sealed is musk.
Alternatively, it may mean that the sediment at the bottom of the vessel from which they drink the pure wine will be richly fragrant musk. Thus, even its cloudy dregs—which are customarily poured away in this world—will be of such exquisite quality in Paradise. “For this”—the everlasting bliss whose beauty and magnitude none but Allah knows—“let the competitors compete”; that is, let them race toward it by hastening to perform the deeds that lead to it. This is the worthiest cause for which precious breaths should be expended and the most deserving goal for whose attainment men of resolve should vie.