Ayah
Word by Word
إِلَّا
Except
مَن
(one) who
تَابَ
repented
وَءَامَنَ
and believed
وَعَمِلَ
and did
صَٰلِحٗا
good (deeds)
فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ
Then those
يَدۡخُلُونَ
will enter
ٱلۡجَنَّةَ
Paradise
وَلَا
and not
يُظۡلَمُونَ
they will be wronged
شَيۡـٔٗا
(in) anything
إِلَّا
Except
مَن
(one) who
تَابَ
repented
وَءَامَنَ
and believed
وَعَمِلَ
and did
صَٰلِحٗا
good (deeds)
فَأُوْلَٰٓئِكَ
Then those
يَدۡخُلُونَ
will enter
ٱلۡجَنَّةَ
Paradise
وَلَا
and not
يُظۡلَمُونَ
they will be wronged
شَيۡـٔٗا
(in) anything
Translation
Except those who repent and believe, and work righteousness: for these will enter the Garden and will not be wronged in the least,-
Tafsir
whereas those who repent and believe and act righteously - such shall enter the Paradise and shall not be wronged, they shall [not] be diminished, in any way, in their reward;
They were succeeded by Wicked People and Good People
Allah says:
فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعۡدِهِمۡ خَلۡفٌ أَضَاعُوا الصَّلَةَ وَاتَّبَعُوا الشَّهَوَاتِ
فَسَوۡفَ يَلۡقَوۡنَ غَيًّا
Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have lost the Salah and have followed lusts. So they will meet Ghaiy.
After Allah mentioned the party of blessed ones -- the Prophets and those who followed them by maintaining the limits set by Allah and His commandments, fulfilling what Allah ordered and avoiding His prohibitions -- then He mentions,
خَلَفَ مِن بَعۡدِهِمۡ خَلۡفٌ
(there has succeeded them a posterity).
This means later generations.
أَضَاعُوا الصَّلَةَ
who have lost Salah,
Losing their prayers is when they do not consider the prayers obligatory. Therefore they lose, because the prayer is the pillar and foundation of the religion. It is the best of the servants' deeds. Thus, these people will occupy themselves with worldly desires and delights, and they will be pleased with the life of this world. They will be tranquil and at ease in the worldly appetites. Therefore, these people will meet with Ghaiy, which means loss on the Day of Resurrection.
Al-Awza`i reported from Musa bin Sulayman, who reported from Al-Qasim bin Mukhaymirah that he said concerning Allah's statement,
فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعۡدِهِمۡ خَلۡفٌ أَضَاعُوا الصَّلَةَ
(Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have lost the Salah),
This means that they will not keep up with the proper times of the prayer, because if it meant complete abandonment of the prayer, this would be disbelief.
It is also reported that it was said to Ibn Mas`ud,
Allah often mentions the prayer in the Qur'an. He says,
الَّذِينَ هُمۡ عَن صَلَـتِهِمۡ سَاهُونَ
Those who neglect their Salah. (107:5)
And He says,
عَلَى صَلَتِهِمۡ دَايِمُونَ
Those who remain constant in their Salah. (70:23)
And He says,
عَلَى صَلَتِهِمۡ يُحَافِظُونَ
Who guard their Salah. (23:9)
Then, Ibn Mas`ud said,
This means at its designated times.
The people said, We thought that this was referring to the abandonment of the prayer.
He replied,
That would be disbelief.
Masruq said,
No one who guards the five daily prayers will be written among the heedless. In their neglect is destruction. Their neglect is delaying them past their fixed times.
Al-Awza`i reported from Ibrahim bin Zayd that Umar bin Abdul-`Aziz recited the Ayah,
فَخَلَفَ مِن بَعۡدِهِمۡ خَلۡفٌ أَضَاعُوا الصَّلَةَ وَاتَّبَعُوا الشَّهَوَاتِ
فَسَوۡفَ يَلۡقَوۡنَ غَيًّا
Then, there has succeeded them a posterity who have lost the Salah and have followed lusts. So they will meet Ghayy.
Then, he said,
Their loss was not their abandonment of the prayers, but it was by not offering them during their proper and prescribed times.
Allah said,
فَسَوۡفَ يَلۡقَوۡنَ غَيًّا
So they will meet Ghayy.
Ali bin Abi Talhah reported from Ibn Abbas that he said,
This means loss.
Qatadah said,
This means evil.
Sufyan Ath-Thawri, Shu`bah and Muhammad bin Ishaq all reported from Abu Ishaq As-Sabi`i, who reported from Abu Ubaydah, who reported from Abdullah bin Mas`ud that he said,
فَسَوۡفَ يَلۡقَوۡنَ غَيًّا
(So they will meet Ghayy),
This is a valley in the Hellfire which is very deep and its food is filthy.
Al-A`mash reported from Ziyad, who reported from Abu Iyad, who commented Allah's statement,
فَسَوۡفَ يَلۡقَوۡنَ غَيًّا
(So they will meet Ghayy), He said,
This is a valley in Hell made of puss and blood.
Allah said
إِلاَّ مَن تَابَ وَامَنَ وَعَمِلَ صَالِحًا
Except those who repent and believe and work righteousness.
This means, Except those who recant from giving up the prayers and following the desires, for verily, Allah will accept their repentance, give them a good end and make them of those who inherit the Garden of Delight (Paradise).
For this reason Allah says,
فَأُوۡلَيِكَ يَدۡخُلُونَ الۡجَنَّةَ
وَلَا يُظۡلَمُونَ شَيۡيًا
Such will enter Paradise and they will not be wronged in aught.
This is because repentance wipes away that which was before it.
In another Hadith, the Prophet said,
التَّايِبُ مِنَ الذَّنۡبِ كَمَنۡ لَاذَنۡبَ لَه
The one who repents from sin is like he who has no sin.
Because of this, those who repent will not lose anything from the (good) deeds that they did. They will not be held accountable for what they did before their repentance, thus causing a decrease in their reward for deeds that they do after their repentance. That is because whatever they did before repenting is lost, forgotten and not taken to account. This is an honor from the Most Generous and a kindness from the Most Gentle. This is an exception that is made for these people, similar to Allah's statement in Surah Al-Furqan,
وَالَّذِينَ لَا يَدۡعُونَ مَعَ اللَّهِ إِلَـهَا ءَاخَرَ وَلَا يَقۡتُلُونَ النَّفۡسَ الَّتِى حَرَّمَ اللَّهُ إِلاَّ بِالۡحَقِّ
And those who invoke not any other god along with Allah, nor kill such person as Allah has forbidden, except for just cause...) until Allah's statement,
وَكَانَ اللَّهُ غَفُوراً رَّحِيماً
and Allah is Oft-Forgiving, Most Merciful. (25:68-70
The Description of the Gardens of the Truthful and Those Who repent
Allah, the Exalted, says;
جَنَّاتِ عَدۡنٍ الَّتِي وَعَدَ الرَّحۡمَنُ عِبَادَهُ بِالۡغَيۡبِ
They will enter `Adn Gardens which the Most Gracious has promised to His servants in the unseen.
Allah, the Exalted, says that the Gardens (of Paradise), which the penitent will enter, will be Gardens of `Adn, meaning, eternity.
These are Gardens that the Most Beneficent promises His servants in the unseen.
This means that these Gardens are from the unseen things that they believe in, even though they have never witnessed them. They believe in the unseen out of their strong conviction and the strength of their faith.
Concerning Allah's statement,
إِنَّهُ كَانَ وَعۡدُهُ مَأۡتِيًّا
Verily, His promise must come to pass.
This affirms the fact that this will occur, and that it is a settled matter. Allah does not break His promise, nor does He change it.
This is similar to His statement,
كَانَ وَعۡدُهُ مَفۡعُولاً
His promise is certainly to be accomplished. (73:18)
This means that His promise will be and there is no avoiding it.
Allah's statement here,
مَأۡتِيًّا
(must come to pass),
This means that it will come to His servants who are striving towards it and they will reach it.
There are those commentators who said,
مَأۡتِيًّا
(must come to pass),
This means it is coming, because everything that comes to you, you also come to it.
This is as the Arabs say, `Fifty years came to me, and I came to fifty years.' They both mean the same thing (I'm fifty years old).
Concerning Allah's statement
لَاا يَسۡمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغۡوًا
They shall not hear therein any Laghw.
This means that in these gardens of Paradise there is no ignorant, wasteful and useless speech, like there is in this life.
He said,
إِلاَّ سَلَمًا
but only Salam.
This is an indifferent exception, similar to Allah's statement,
لَا يَسۡمَعُونَ فِيهَا لَغۡواً وَلَا تَأۡثِيماً
إِلاَّ قِيلً سَلَـماً سَلَـماً
No Laghw will they hear therein, nor any sinful speech. But only the saying of:Salam! Salam! (56:25-26)
Concerning His statement,
وَلَهُمۡ رِزۡقُهُمۡ فِيهَا بُكۡرَةً وَعَشِيًّا
And they will have therein their sustenance, morning and afternoon.
This means, in what is similar to mornings and evenings. This does not mean that there is a night and a day (in Paradise), but they will be living in times that alternate. They will know its lighted times from its lights and illumination.
This is as Imam Ahmad recorded from Abu Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah said,
أَوَّلُ زُمۡرَةٍ تَلِجُ الۡجَنَّةَ صُوَرُهُمۡ عَلَى صُورَةِ الۡقَمَرِ لَيۡلَةَ الۡبَدۡرِ لَا يَبۡصُقُونَ فِيهَا وَلَا يَتَمَخَّطُونَ فِيهَا وَلَايَتَغَوَّطُونَ انِيَتُهُمۡ وَأَمۡشَاطُهُمُ الذَّهَبُ وَالۡفِضَّةُ وَمَجَامِرُهُمُ الاَۡلُوَّةُ وَرَشۡحُهُمُ الۡمِسۡكُ وَلِكُلِّ وَاحِدٍ مِنۡهُمۡ زَوۡجَتَانِ يُرَى مُخُّ سَاقِهَا مِنۡ وَرَاءِ اللَّحۡمِ مِنَ الۡحُسۡنِ لَا اخۡتِلَفَ بَيۡنَهُمۡ وَلَا تَبَاغُضَ قُلُوبُهُمۡ عَلَى قَلۡبِ رَجُلٍ وَاحِدٍ يُسَبِّحُونَ اللهَ بُكۡرَةً وَعَشِيًّا
The first group to enter into Paradise will have forms like the form of the moon on a night when it is full. They will not spit, nor will they blow their noses therein. They also will not defecate. Their containers and combs will be made of gold and silver and their censers will be of aloes wood. Their sweat will be the fragrance of musk and each of them will have two wives. The marrow of their shins will be visible from beneath the skin due to their beauty. They will not have any disputes between them, or any hatred. Their hearts will be united like the heart of one man. They will glorify Allah in the morning and evening.
Al-Bukhari and Muslim both recorded this narration in the Two Sahihs.
Imam Ahmad also recorded that Ibn Abbas said that the Messenger of Allah said,
الشُّهَدَاءُ عَلَى بَارِقِ نَهۡرٍ بِبَابِ الۡجَنَّةِ فِي قُبَّةٍ خَضۡرَاءَ يَخۡرُجُ عَلَيۡهِمۡ رِزۡقُهُمۡ مِنَ الۡجَنَّةِ بُكۡرَةً وَعَشِيًّا
The martyrs will be upon the banks of a river by the gates of Paradise. Over them will be a green dome. Their sustenance will be brought out to them from Paradise, morning and evening.
Ahmad is the only one who collected this narration.
Ad-Dahhak reported that Ibn Abbas said,
وَلَهُمۡ رِزۡقُهُمۡ فِيهَا بُكۡرَةً وَعَشِيًّا
(And they will have therein their sustenance, morning and afternoon),
This means the amount of time equal to night and day.
Allah said,
تِلۡكَ الۡجَنَّةُ الَّتِي نُورِثُ مِنۡ عِبَادِنَا مَن كَانَ تَقِيًّا
Such is the Paradise which We shall give as an inheritance to those of Our servants who had Taqwa.
This means, `This Paradise that We have described with these magnificent attributes, it is that which We will cause are pious servants to inherit.'
They are those who obey Allah in happiness and times of hardship. They are those who suppress their anger and they pardon people's offenses.
This is as Allah says at the beginning of Surah Al-Mu'minun,
قَدۡ أَفۡلَحَ الۡمُوۡمِنُونَ
الَّذِينَ هُمۡ فِى صَلَتِهِمۡ خَـشِعُونَ
Successful indeed are the believers. Those who are humble in their Salah. (23:1-2) Until His saying,
أُوۡلَـيِكَ هُمُ الۡوَرِثُونَ
الَّذِينَ يَرِثُونَ الۡفِرۡدَوۡسَ هُمۡ فِيهَا خَـلِدُونَ
These are indeed the inheritors. Who shall inherit the Firdaws. In it they shall dwell forever. (23:10-11)
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