إِنَّ الَّذينَ آمَنوا وَعَمِلُوا الصّالِحاتِ لَهُم جَنّاتٌ تَجري مِن تَحتِهَا الأَنهارُ ۚ ذٰلِكَ الفَوزُ الكَبيرُ
Indeed those who have faith and do righteous deeds – for them will be gardens with streams running in them. That is the supreme success.
EXEGESIS
The plural ṣāliḥāt (righteous deeds) is used, to indicate that the faithful are always looking to do good deeds and it is not just one solitary good action that they have to their name. Alternatively, it may denote various kinds of good deeds rather than being limited to a single type.
EXPOSITION
This verse lies in the centre and heart of the surah, a decoration and a declaration that the efforts of the righteous are not in vain and they will be given their reward from God which will make any sacrifice well worth it. The focus and objective of creation and religion and trials is this; that believers will have an end result, and will be able to enter into the high stations of paradise. This verse stands in stark contrast to the previous verse which spoke of the punishment of hell. The justice of God demands that both sides of the scale are appropriately meted. Punishment is meaningless without reward and vice versa, Shall We treat those who have faith and do righteous deeds like those who cause corruption on the earth? Shall We treat the God-wary like the vicious? (38:28).
It is said that the entry of these individuals to paradise is described as supreme success because the station of martyrs in paradise will be much higher than those who have entered it without having attained such valuable actions. Just as we cannot imagine that God should treat the criminals and the righteous alike, we also cannot imagine that every believer should be treated the same either. Certainly one who suffered the most brutal persecutions and remained steadfast in their faith despite all the challenges and refused to relinquish their religion and challenged the tyrants of their time cannot be the same as one who did not accomplish such things.
There is also a subtle difference between this and the previous verse, where the previous verses begins the description of the punishment of the wicked with falahum, here it is lahum. The difference between the two is said to be that the article fa indicates the punishment of hell to be the direct result of the actions of the wicked and a just consequence of that, whereas the reward of paradise is not something that anyone can say they have earned with their actions, but rather is a result of divine mercy and God granting the believers a far greater reward than what they could ever have earned.
For a discussion on the streams of paradise, see the commentary on verses 47:15 and 76:17-18.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
- They shall neither hunger nor thirst, neither shall the heat nor sun strike them; for He who has mercy on them shall lead them, even by the springs of water He shall guide them.
[1] See also Nemuneh, 26/346.
[2] See Tibyan, 10/320; Tabrisi, 10/710.
[3] Matthew 5:10.
[4] Isaiah 49:10.