كَلّا إِنَّ كِتابَ الأَبرارِ لَفي عِلِّيّينَ
No indeed! The record of the pious is indeed in ʿilliyyīn.
EXEGESIS
Abrār is the plural of bārr, and it comes from birr which signifies the expansion in doing goodness. The meaning of birr is best explained by the following verse: Piety (birr) is not to turn your faces to the east or the west; rather, piety is [personified by] those who have faith in Allah and the Last Day, the angels, the book, and the prophets, and who give their wealth, for the love of Him, to relatives, orphans, the needy, the traveller, and the beggar, and for [the freeing of] the slaves, and maintain the prayer and give the zakat, and those who fulfil their covenants, when they pledge themselves, and those who are patient in stress and distress, and in the heat of battle. They are the ones who are true [to their covenant], and it is they who are the God-wary (2:177).
ʿIlliyyīn is the plural of ʿillī, which means a high place or people living at the top of a high mountain. In the context of this verse it means the highest place which indicates an exalted status.
EXPOSITION
Verses 7-17 discuss the deeds and beliefs of the vicious transgressors in this life and the consequences that await them on the Day of Judgement. On the other hand, verses 18-28 present only the rewards that await the pious people, who are at the opposite, contrary side of the fujjār. The verses indicate that there is an inevitable high reward decreed to them. This set of verses does not discuss what they did in their life to attain such reward. Naming them as abrār indicates that they believed and were expanding in doing goodness.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Similar to the discussion in the previous verses, the commentators have tried to explain the meanings of the words kitāb and ʿilliyyīn. There is an agreement that these two words are the counterparts of kitāb and sijjīn that were mentioned earlier in the surah. Makārim Shīrāzī states that kitāb al-abrār (the record of the pious) could be a reference book containing the record of deeds of the pious people and the believers, and ʿilliyyīn is a high, noble place in which such a book will be located, which indicates their high status elevated by God. He also argues that this opinion is in agreement with that of Tabatabai, who said that kitāb is the decreed destiny, because having the record of deeds of the abrār situated at the highest place indicates that their destiny will be at the highest status with close proximity to the manifestation of God. Other scholars provide many possible meanings for ʿilliyyīn including the seventh heaven under the Throne, the tree of the ultimate boundary (sidrat al-muntahā), or a high majestic rank. Tabatabai, however, comments that such opinions do not rely on any solid evidence.
Ṭabrisī states that there are two possible meanings of the word kallā in verse 18: 1. It signifies a negation that indicates that the vicious transgressors will never believe in the Day of Judgement and will meet the stated consequences of their actions; in this case it is connected to the previous sets of verses. 2. It means ‘indeed’ or ‘verily’, which comes to support and emphasise the next sentence: The record of the pious is indeed in ʿilliyyīn.
[1] Raghib, p. 114.
[2] Amthal, 20/32.
[3] Amthal, 20/33.
[4] Amthal, 20/33.
[5] Tabrisi, 10/692.
[6] Tabrisi, 10/692.