The Ocean of the Quran

A verse by verse explanation of The Ultimate Scripture

Al-Zumar – Verse 73

وَسيقَ الَّذينَ اتَّقَوا رَبَّهُم إِلَى الجَنَّةِ زُمَرًا ۖ حَتّىٰ إِذا جاءوها وَفُتِحَت أَبوابُها وَقالَ لَهُم خَزَنَتُها سَلامٌ عَلَيكُم طِبتُم فَادخُلوها خالِدينَ

Those who were wary of their Lord will be driven to paradise in throngs. When they reach it, and its gates are opened, its keepers will say to them: ‘Peace be to you! Well done! Enter it to remain [forever].’

EXEGESIS

See verse 71 for sīqa, zumaran, and abwāb.

It is interesting that both the faithless and the God-wary will be driven to their final abodes. There are a few possible explanations for this: 1. It might be a subtle reference to the fact that the hereafter is not a place for voluntary action, unlike this world, and that one’s retribution will be an inevitable consequence of what he has already done. That is why both groups are driven to their destinations by the angels, which are God’s means in this process. It could also be that each group is driven by their acts and moral traits.‎[1] 2. Driving someone from the back could be with dishonour (as with the faithless), or with honour (as with the God-wary): The day We shall gather the God-wary toward the All-Beneficent, as incoming guests, and drive the guilty as a thirsty herd towards hell (19:85-86). This is Ibn Zayd’s interpretation.‎[2] It might be confirmed by many narrations that say that the God-wary will ride heavenly mounts to paradise. Thus, it is their mounts that are driven to paradise by the angels as honourable guests.‎[3] 3. They are driven to paradise because God is eager to meet them, just as they are also eager to meet their Lord (see 2:40, 2:152, and 29:5).‎[4] 4. The term driven (sīqa) is used for the God-wary only to correspond and match with how the faithless are described (called muqābalah or mushākalah).‎[5] 5. The intensity of the terror on that day will be so great that even the God-wary (or some of them) will be appalled and overtaken by it, such that they will have to be taken and escorted to paradise. 6. According to many narrations, on the Day of Resurrection and when judgement is being carried out, the people of piety and worship will be in a safe and pleasant state in God’s shade. Some will even see their Lord, with the spiritual eye: Some faces will be fresh on that day, looking at their Lord (75:22-23). This is such an immense pleasure for them that they will want to stay there, not realising that what awaits them in paradise is even greater. That is why they are driven to paradise.‎[6] 7. The God-wary (or a sub-group of them who are true Gnostics) will be so immersed in their conversation with God and the manifestation of His beauty and majesty that they cannot care any less for paradise and its pleasures. They will be driven to paradise because of their spiritual ecstasy and intoxication as a result of their love for their Lord.‎[7] This is slightly different from the previous point, as the ones discussed here have no will of themselves. 8. The God-wary (or some of them) will be unwilling to go to paradise as they see some of their close friends and relatives being driven to hell. That is why they will have to be separated from them and driven to paradise by the angels, as no ties are helpful in the hereafter except for religious and spiritual ones (6:94, 23:101, 36:59, 70:11-15, 80:34-47).‎[8] 9. Most of the God-wary had a desire for paradise and were motivated by its pleasures. This inner drive will manifest on that day of truth as being driven towards paradise.‎[9]

Here the verse says: When they reach it, and its gates are opened (with an ‘and’), while verse 71 says: When they reach it, its gates are opened (without an ‘and’). Several possible explanations have been presented for this difference: 1. The ‘and’ shows that the gates of paradise have already been opened before they reach it. This might be confirmed by the following verses: indeed the God-wary have a good destination – the gardens of Eden, whose gates are flung open for them (38:49-50). This itself could have different explanations: the doors of paradise are opened to them before they arrive to welcome them, just as a host goes to the door and opens it in anticipation of a dear and honourable guest.‎[10] Or, it could be a subtle reference to the precedence and supremacy of God’s mercy over His wrath, as the gates of hell are closed until the last moment. Or, it might correspond to many narrations that talk about paradise being eager to see or receive certain saints and righteous individuals.‎[11] This is also seen in the Quran, where it says, And paradise will be brought near for the God-wary (26:90; see also 50:31 and 81:13). Therefore, the God-wary and paradise will both approach one another. Or, it could be that the gates of paradise are already opened as a few other individuals – such as the prophets, the saints, and the foremost ones (al-sābiqūn, 56:10) – have surpassed the God-wary in entering it.‎[12] Another possibility is that the open gates of paradise may refer to its vastness and breadth, as opposed to hell which is a place of constriction and closedness (25:13). After all, it is a prison (83:7) and its inhabitants will be in chains (13:5, 14:49, 34:33, 40:71-72, 69:30-32, 75:4).‎[13] Yet another reason could be that the God-wary find the gates of paradise wide open, where they will be able to see the abundant and splendid rewards that await them. This itself is a harbinger, glad tiding, and a source of pleasure for them. However, the gates of hell are locked – to intensify its heat and/or to keep its people in suspense and distress concerning the huge punishment that they are about to experience. Another possibility is that when the faithless find the gates of hell being closed it only adds to their frustration and spiritual punishment. According to some narrations, they are made to stand and wait for a very long time before they are judged, then they are scrutinised in a meticulous manner and through a very long process. This involves so much humiliation and emotional pain that they just wish to enter hell right away.‎[14] 2. The ‘and’ reduces the sense of surprise in a conditional statement. That is, there is no surprise that the gates of heaven will be opened to them. This can be traced back to the first explanation.‎[15] 3. Both verses mean the same, and the addition or omission of ‘and’ is to show that both usages are correct. 4. The ‘and’ indicates an omission in the description of the reward of the God-wary. It is such a lofty reward that is indescribable. Their reward is dropped from the discussion so that the reader may ponder upon and consider all possibilities.‎[16] 5. It is a subtle reference to the eight gates of paradise, as per several narrations.‎[17] This is because the Arabs used to consider number seven as a complete number (much like ten, hundred, and thousand), which would make eight as the beginning of a new cycle. They used to indicate this new cycle by saying ‘and’ before the eighth member of a series. This is called ‘the and of eight’ (wāw al-thamāniyah). It is found in verses 9:112, 18:22, and 66:5.‎[18] The idea that paradise has eight gates while hell has seven is also a reflection of God’s mercy taking precedence over His wrath and punishment.

Ṭibtum can be best translated as well done or bravo, as an expression of applause, admiration, and encouragement. It can also be interpreted as a welcome greeting. It is from the root ṭība, which describes something that is pleasant. Ṭibtum can also be translated as ‘You are excellent!’ or ‘You are pure!’‎[19]

The letter fāʾ at the beginning of fadkhulūhā (enter it) means ‘so’ or ‘thus’ (not translated in the translation). It indicates causality: that permission to enter paradise is a consequence and result of ṭibtum (having done well, being excellent, or being purified).‎[20] Paradise is an abode of purity, and only those who live pure lives (or else are purified by God, which could be very painful for some) will enter therein. There should be a congruity between a place and its inhabitants, especially in the hereafter, which is the realm of truth. This implicit causality between purity of one’s character and entrance into paradise should make us assess ourselves, change our behaviour, and purify ourselves, especially from the biggest impurity: that of polytheism, in its most general sense.

We said all the above, but when it comes to act,

Without God’s help, we’re lost and cracked.‎[21]

EXPOSITION

These verses describe the good news that was promised to those who are wary of God and abstain (yattaqūna, from the same root as ittaqaw in this verse) from other gods: So, My servants, be wary of Me! As for those who stay clear of the worship of false gods and turn penitently to Allah, there is good news for them. So give good news to My servants (verses 16-17). Therefore, it might include anyone who abstains from polytheism, as suggested by some exegetes.‎[22] Or, by contrasting the last two verses, it would include anyone who is not arrogantly faithless.

This verse shows a clear contrast between how the God-wary will be treated compared with the faithless discussed in the previous two verses. The God-wary will be escorted with honour to paradise and greeted by the guardian angels there. They are praised for their good intentions, correct beliefs, and righteous deeds. Those who have faith and do righteous deeds will be admitted into gardens with streams running in them, to remain in them [forever], by the leave of their Lord. Their greeting therein will be ‘Peace!’ (14:23). Those whom the angels take away while they are pure. They say [to them]: ‘Peace be to you! Enter paradise because of what you used to do’ (16:32). This also shows the significance and merit of salām (a greeting of peace). Greeting one another with this slogan is a way of aligning ourselves with God, His angels, and the inhabitants of paradise, whose greeting therein will be ‘Peace!’ (10:10).‎[23] Overall, paradise is an abode of no conflict, rancour, or animosity, and the time to make our souls congruous with it is this life.

Peace be to you could be a message of honour and respect that increases their joy and happiness. It could also be an existential command that indicates their security from every harm and evil from there on, as they enter paradise eternally.‎[24] This absolute peace and security is because they have done well, which is also the cause of their eternal bliss: Enter it to remain [forever].‎[25]

A few meanings have been suggested for Well done: 1. You have done good and righteous deeds in the world; you were very good in the path of God’s obedience.‎[26] 2. You have achieved an excellent rank or reward as you enter paradise, as narrated from Ibn Abbas. In other words: welcome to your pleasant life and place.‎[27] 3. You smell very well (from the same root) as you have been cleansed by God’s bath of mercy and forgiveness, as narrated from Qatādah.‎[28]

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

  1. The Prophet said: ‘Paradise has eight gates. One of them is named al-Rayyān (quenched), exclusively for the entrance of those who used to fast.’‎[29]
  2. Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) said: ‘Take the lead in doing good to your brothers and be among its people, for indeed paradise has a gate called al-Maʿrūf (good deeds), exclusively for the entrance of those who used to do good in the life of this world.’‎[30]
  3. The Prophet said: ‘As long as a lady is wary of God, keeps her chastity, and obeys her husband, the eight gates of paradise will open to her and she will be told: enter from any of them that you wish.’‎[31]

Notes: 1. There are many other similar narrations that talk about the gates of paradise and name different acts of worship and charity that make one eligible to enter from its corresponding gate.‎[32] 2. These hadiths show a direct connection between one’s actions in this world and one’s reward in the hereafter. They are examples of the embodiment of actions, where one’s righteous deeds manifest as gates of paradise. The same is true about sins and the gates of hell.

  1. The Prophet said: ‘The first group that shall enter paradise from my ummah will have their faces shining like a full moon, followed by a group with faces shining like the brightest star in the sky …’‎[33]
  2. The Prophet said: ‘People will be resurrected in three groups: those who are hopeful, those who are fearful, and those who are resurrected in groups of two, five, or ten on a camel …’‎[34]

Notes: 1. The numbers two, five, and ten are apparently mentioned as examples, otherwise, people can be resurrected in groups of any size, as other numbers are mentioned in some versions of the hadith. 2. The number of people on a camel could be an allusion to the paucity of their means and their destitution on that day. 3. One will be resurrected in a small or large group with others who shared the same beliefs, acts, and moral traits in this world. God creates a camel from the actions of each group, as one’s mount in the hereafter must be sent forth from this world (53:39).‎[35] Being mounted on camels might be a symbolic way of describing the state of affairs in the hereafter. Generalising from other hadiths, one can say that the ‘camels’ of different groups will have different levels of speed, quality, and safety. 4. There could be a few interpretations for who the three groups are. It could also be that there will be three groups, all of whom will be hopeful, fearful, and mounted on camels in groups (i.e. the hadith does not talk about the points of difference between the groups, but only about their points of similarity).

  1. Imam Ali (a) said: ‘Those who were wary of their Lord will be driven to paradise in throngs, until they arrive at its gate, where there is a tree with two springs at its root. They will head towards one of them and drink from it as if they have been ordered to do so. This will make any impurity, illness, or dirt leave their bodies. Then they will head towards the other one and make ablution (wuḍūʾ) there as if they have been ordered to do so. This will make the freshness of bliss appear on their bodies. Thus, their hairs will never be dishevelled again and their clothes will never be worn out.’‎[36]

Notes: 1. There are different variations of this hadith, and they all continue with an elaborate description of the blessings that they will face in paradise. 2. ‘Gate’ in this hadith might be the same as gates in this verse. It might also be that there is one main gate among the gates of paradise. A third possibility is that ‘gate’ is the one gate that each person or each group will enter through.

  1. Imam Ali (a) said: ‘Those who were wary of their Lord will be driven to paradise in throngs. They are safe from chastisement, away from punishment, and are kept aloof from the fire. Their abode will be peaceful, and they will be pleased with their lodging and place of stay. These are the people whose deeds in this world were pure, their eyes were tearful, their nights in this world were like days because of fearing [God] and seeking [His] forgiveness, and their days were like nights because of the feeling of loneliness and separation. Therefore, God made paradise the place of their [eventual] return, a reward in recompense. They were the worthiest of it and deserved it [48:26], in the eternal domain and everlasting bliss.’‎[37] 
[1] Alusi, 12/292.
[2] Tabari, 24/23-24.
[3] Zamakhshari, 4/147.
[4] Alusi, 12/287.
[5] Tabrisi, 8/795.
[6] Alusi, 12/287.
[7] Furqan, 25/393.
[8] Razi, 27/479.
[9] Alusi, 12/292.
[10] Alusi, 12/288.
[11] Amali.S, p. 560; Jāmiʿ al-Akhbār, p. 111; Haythami, 9/155; Kanz, 11/754, h. 33763, 13/256, h. 36758, and 14/467, h. 39285; Bihar, 22/331-332 and 40/11-12; Bursawi, 8/146.
[12] Bursawi, 8/144.
[13] Alusi, 12/286, with some elaboration.
[14] Bursawi, 8/142. For the hadiths see Tabarani, 9/155, and Kanz, 14/357-358, h. 38925-38926.
[15] Tabari, 24/25, with some elaboration.
[16] Mizan, 17/297.
[17] Ahmad, 4/14, 386; Khisal, 2/407-408; Rawḍat al-Wāʿiẓīn, 2/397, 475, 505; Kanz, 3/293-294, 758-759; Daqaiq, 11/343.
[18] Tibyan, 9/49-50; Nemuneh, 12/387.
[19] Raghib; Lisan; Bahrayn; Qamus, under ṭ-y-b.
[20] Bursawi, 8/145.
[21] Rūmī, Mathnawī, v. 1, lines 1887.
[22] Tabari, 24/24; Bursawi, 8/143.
[23] Qaraati, 8/205, with some elaboration.
[24] Tabrisi, 8/796.
[25] Mizan, 17/298.
[26] Tabari, 24/25, narrated from Mujāhid.
[27] Maybudi, 8/438.
[28] Tabrisi, 8/796.
[29] Ahmad, 5/333; Bukhari, 2/226; Muslim, 3/158; Maani, p. 409, h. 90.
[30] Kafi, 2/195, h. 10; Qurb, p. 120.
[31] Ṭabarānī, al-Muʿjam al-Awsaṭ, 5/76; Haythami, 4/306; Suyuti, 5/343.
[32] Suyuti, 5/342-343.
[33] Ahmad, 2/230, 232, 253; Bukhari, 4/86, 88; Muslim, 8/146.
[34] Bukhari, 7/194; Muslim, 8/157; Nasai, 4/116.
[35] Bursawi, 8/144.
[36] Tabari, 24/24; Suyuti, 5/342.
[37] Nahj, sermon 190; Ghurar, h. 5934.