The Quran

Preface

وَبَشِّرِ الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَعَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ أَنَّ لَهُم جَنّاتٍ تَجري مِن تَحتِهَا الأَنهارُ ۖ كُلَّما رُزِقوا مِنها مِن ثَمَرَةٍ رِزقًا ۙ قالوا هٰذَا الَّذي رُزِقنا مِن قَبلُ ۖ وَأُتوا بِهِ مُتَشابِهًا ۖ وَلَهُم فيها أَزواجٌ مُطَهَّرَةٌ ۖ وَهُم فيها خالِدونَ

Yusuf Ali

But give glad tidings to those who believe and work righteousness, that their portion is Gardens, beneath which rivers flow. Every time they are fed with fruits therefrom, they say: “Why, this is what we were fed with before,” for they are given things in similitude; and they have therein companions pure (and holy)¹; and they abide therein (forever).

This is the antithesis to the last verse. If fire is the symbol of Punishment, the Garden is the symbol of felicity. And what can be more delightful than a Garden where you observe from a picturesque height a beautiful landscape round you, - rivers flowing with crystal water, and fruit trees of which the choicest fruit is before you. The fruit of goodness is goodness, similar, but choicer in every degree of ascent. You think it is the same, but it is because of your past experiences and associations of memory. Then there is companionship. If sex is suggested, its physical associations are at once negatived by the addition of the word Mutahharatum “pure and holy.” The Arabic epithet is in the intensive form, and must be translated by two adjectives denoting purity in the highest degree. The Companionship is that of souls and applies to both sexes in the physical world of men and women. And this felicity is not a mere passing phase but will abide beyond the realms of Time. (Cf. 4:57).