30–32. “And it is said to those who feared Allah, ‘What has your Lord sent down?’ They reply, ‘Goodness.’ For those who do good, there is good in this world; but the abode of the Hereafter is better. How excellent indeed is the abode of the God-fearing: Gardens of Eden, which they will enter, with rivers flowing beneath them. There they will have whatever they wish. Thus does Allah reward the God-fearing—those whose souls the angels take while they are pure, saying, ‘Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise because of what you used to do.’”
After mentioning what the deniers said about what Allah had sent down, Allah mentions what the God-fearing said. They acknowledged and affirmed that what Allah sent down was a tremendous blessing and an immense good that He graciously bestowed upon His servants. They therefore accepted that blessing, welcomed it with acceptance and submission, and thanked Allah for it. They learned it and acted in pursuit of it. “For those who do good”—by worshipping Allah Most High with excellence and showing kindness to Allah’s servants—there is “good in this world”: abundant provision, a pleasant life, tranquility of heart, security, and joy.
“But the abode of the Hereafter is better” than this abode and all the pleasures and desirable things it contains. The bliss of this world is meager, fraught with afflictions, and transient, unlike the bliss of the Hereafter. Hence He says: “How excellent indeed is the abode of the God-fearing: Gardens of Eden, which they will enter, with rivers flowing beneath them. There they will have whatever they wish.” That is, whatever their souls desire and their wills incline toward will be granted to them in the most perfect and complete manner. They cannot seek any kind of bliss that delights hearts and gladdens spirits without finding it present before them. For this reason, Allah gives the people of Paradise everything they ask of Him. He will even remind them of delights that had never occurred to their hearts.
Blessed is He whose generosity has no end and whose bounty knows no limit. Nothing is comparable to Him in His essential attributes, His attributes of action, the effects of those attributes, or the grandeur of His kingdom and dominion. “Thus does Allah reward the God-fearing”—those who guard themselves against Allah’s wrath and punishment by fulfilling the prescribed duties and obligations He has imposed upon them, whether pertaining to the heart, body, or tongue and whether concerning His rights or the rights of His servants, and by abandoning what Allah has forbidden them.
“Those whose souls the angels take” while they remain steadfastly God-fearing, “while they are pure”—that is, pure and cleansed of every deficiency and stain that could affect them and impair their faith. Their hearts became wholesome through knowing and loving Allah, their tongues through remembering and praising Him, and their limbs through obeying Him and turning devotedly toward Him. They say, “Peace be upon you”—that is, the perfect greeting is yours, together with safety from every affliction.
You have been delivered from everything you detest. “Enter Paradise because of what you used to do”—namely, your faith in Allah and submission to His command. Deeds are the cause, the substance, and the foundation of entering Paradise and being saved from the Fire. Yet those deeds were made possible through Allah’s mercy and favor toward them, not through any power or strength of their own.