عُرُبًا أَترابًا

Loving and submissive.

EXEGESIS

ʿUrub is the plural of ʿarūb or ʿarūbah, which is from the same root as Arab and Arabic, meaning clear, lucid, and pure. In this context, it means that the heavenly wives have a pure and unmixed love for their spouses.^{‎[1]Raghib; Tahqiq, under ʿ-r-b.} It has also been interpreted to mean joyous and jubilant wives who are full of good spirit, humour, and coquetry.^{‎[2]Maqayis; Tahqiq, under ʿ-r-b.} It may also be a reference to their eloquence in speech, such that it is very attractive and beautiful.

Atrāb is the plural of tarib, meaning humble and submissive (toward their husbands). This is the same root as turāb, meaning dust or earth.^{‎[3]Tahqiq, under t-r-b.} Atrāb has been used to describe the heavenly spouses in two other places in the Quran (38:52, 78:33). It is more commonly interpreted to spouses ‘of like age’. This is because tarib means one who is born in the same year as another, for they play on dust (turāb) together. Derivatives of the same root – like tarāʾib or tarbiyah – are used for the parts of the body that image one another, such as the ribs, the fingers, the thighs, the eyes, and the hands.^{‎[4]Maqayis; Raghib; Lisan; Qamus, under t-r-b.} In this sense, the heavenly spouses are of like age with their mates, making them a perfect match. This would be emphasised if one reads atrāban and the next verse together as one unit: they are of like age with the people of the right hand.^{‎[5]Furqan, 28/75.} It may also mean that the heavenly wives are all of the same noble qualities,^{‎[6]Mizan, 19/124.} and particularly that there is no envy or enmity between them,^{‎[7]Qurtubi, 18/211, narrating from Mujāhid.} or that they are all of the same young age and do not get old.

However, it seems that the first meaning is more direct and relevant in these verses. That is because being humble and submissive is unanimously accepted as a merit for a wife (especially in the context of Quran and hadith), while the desirability of having wives of like age with their mates or with themselves is not certain – unless ‘of like age’ is interpreted to ‘not ageing’, which is not likely because this quality is already captured by the attribute abkāran (verse 36). The first meaning is also more congruent with ʿurub as they both relate to behaviour. It is also more compliant with marfūʿah as together they would mean wives of elevated stations and qualities that are nonetheless humble and modest.

EXPOSITION

Of course, paradise is neither a place for orders nor submission and obedience. However, the submission and obedience in this world will manifest there. The noble and loving wives of paradise might be a reward for those who treat their wives with nobility, love, and kindness.

It is important to keep in mind that the appearance or the outward is a reflection of the core or the inward. Hence, the bounties and attributes mentioned in these verses should not be taken at face value while dismissing their deeper levels of meaning. The virginity of the heavenly wives is also emphasised elsewhere in the Quran: In them are maidens of restrained glances, whom no human has touched before, nor jinn (55:56, also 55:74). This is the reward of those who keep themselves chaste from the impurities in this world, and seek refuge in God from the evil insinuations and temptations of jinn and men (114:1-6).

Though there are different levels and kinds of rewards and pleasures in paradise, both physical and spiritual, these noble verses go far beyond a description of merely carnal and lustful matters. Loving (ʿurub) is not only an attribute of the heavenly wives, but an attribute of everyone in paradise. There is an atmosphere of love that prevails over paradise, because paradise is a place of existential perfection, which is pure goodness, and that which is good is worthy of love. That is why paradise is filled with love as opposed to reducing these verses to romantic and sensual love.^{‎[8]Sadra, 7/39.}

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. Concerning ʿurub, the Prophet said: ‘Their language is Arabic.’^{‎[9]Suyuti, 6/159.}

Note: There are also other narrations that suggest that the language spoken in paradise is Arabic. However, it is important to keep in mind that most such narrations should not be taken at face value. One cannot assume that language and communication in the hereafter will be the same as in this world. Rather, it is more likely for these narrations to be symbolic and suggestive of higher and deeper meanings. In this case, since the highest revelation of God in this world (the Holy Quran) was formulated in Arabic, it makes Arabic clearly distinguished from other languages. Thus, these narrations primarily point to the content and type of speech that is spoken in paradise – which is of the type of the Quran – as opposed to the words and the alphabet – though that might also be true in its place. Another interpretation is that Arabic in these narrations refers to the aspect of eloquence and beauty of speech and language, in whatever form heavenly communication may be.

2. Abū Baṣīr once asked Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) to describe the heavenly bounties for him so as to increase his yearning. The Imam described paradise for him in detail, including the following passage which describes the speech of the people of paradise and how they do not age: ‘They have a speech the like of which people have not heard … They say: “We are everlasting, and shall never die; we are smooth [or well-off], and shall never go rugged [or poor]; we are settled, and shall never depart; we are pleased, and shall never be displeased. Blessed is one for whom we are created. We are such that if the tress of one of us is hanged over the sky, its light will cover the sights.”’^{‎[10]Qummi, 2/82-83.}

Note: Abū Baṣīr was one of the select students and special companions of Imam al-Bāqir (a) and Imam al-Ṣādiq (a). A lesson to learn from this narration is how such individuals cared about directing their aspirations and ambitions towards paradise and the hereafter. They were most cautious about becoming worldly as they had realised the true worth of this world. They would take every opportunity to increase their determination for good deeds, for they had a firm belief in the eternal life.

Do not deny this claim of ours:

In morals and manners, our beloved has no match.

People of merits are abundant indeed;

But his merits are unique; our beloved has no match.

The pen of creation draws a million shapes;

But in fineness and beauty, our beloved has no match.

The world is filled with bills and cash;

But his coin is peerless; our beloved has no match.^{‎[11]Ḥāfiẓ, ghazal 156.}

[1] Raghib; Tahqiq, under ʿ-r-b.
[2] Maqayis; Tahqiq, under ʿ-r-b.
[3] Tahqiq, under t-r-b.
[4] Maqayis; Raghib; Lisan; Qamus, under t-r-b.
[5] Furqan, 28/75.
[6] Mizan, 19/124.
[7] Qurtubi, 18/211, narrating from Mujāhid.
[8] Sadra, 7/39.
[9] Suyuti, 6/159.
[10] Qummi, 2/82-83.
[11] Ḥāfiẓ, ghazal 156.