وَدَخَلَ جَنَّتَهُ وَهُوَ ظالِمٌ لِنَفسِهِ قالَ ما أَظُنُّ أَن تَبيدَ هٰذِهِ أَبَدًا

He entered his garden while he wronged himself. He said: ‘I do not think that this will ever perish.

EXEGESIS

Aẓunnu (I think) means to assume and is a degree lower than knowledge.^{‎[1]Raghib, p. 539.}

Tabīda (perish) is the present tense of bāda meaning to perish or be destroyed.^{‎[2]Alusi, 8/262.}

Hādhihi (this) should be referring to his garden, although some different suggestions have been made, none of which are worth noting.^{‎[3]For some of these see Alusi, 8/262. For example Ṭabrisī reports that this is referring to the worldly life (dunyā) (Tabrisi, 6/723).}

EXPOSITION

This is a continuation of the argumentative conversation between the two men. Perhaps the owner of the gardens had taken his friend with him to show him the gardens and flaunt his wealth.

He entered his garden while he wronged himself: we may imagine that the wealthy man looked upon his garden when the trees were heavily laden with fruit, and he felt extremely pleased with himself as his eyes grazed over his wealth and his thoughts mused at his own enterprise. God plans and prepares moments like this and places them before a person to test their faith and beliefs, Indeed your Lord is in ambush (89:14). Some fail, some succeed. Some are misled by their hubris when conceit seizes him sinfully (2:206), while some may turn to God in thankfulness, This is by the grace of my Lord, to test me if I will give thanks or be ungrateful (27:40).

Naturally, it is not God who is hurt by the one who turns away ungratefully, but rather it is the person who is hurt. This is why God describes it as he wronged himself.

Zamakhsharī importantly points out that garden (jannah) is used in the singular here, whereas earlier we were told of two gardens (jannatayn). He proposes that this is because jannah is here supposed to evoke the jannah of paradise, to convey that what this man enjoyed now was the only garden that he would have, and there would be no garden of paradise for him in the hereafter.^{‎[4]Zamakhshari, 2/721.} Among the people there are those who say: ‘Our Lord, give us in this world,’ but for such there is no share in the hereafter (2:200).

We may also note that when God described the bounties of the garden He said, Both gardens yielded their produce without stinting (taẓlim) anything of it (verse 33). There was no wrongdoing or injustice (ẓulm) in their bounties, giving without prejudice equally to all and being sufficient for all. Yet in this verse we read that He entered his garden while he wronged (ẓālim) himself.[5] The injustice is due to the actions of man. As we discussed previously, God has given enough bounties for all mankind, as represented in this story by the two men and the two gardens, but it is man’s refusal to share that charitably (and this is what God is testing him with) that results in poverty and need. This point requires careful consideration.^{‎[6]See also the commentary on verse 33.}

He said: ‘I do not think that this will ever perish: this may have been a reply to his friend who may have reminded him that his wealth would not last forever and he too would one day die.^{‎[7]Alusi, 8/262.}

Though think is used, it is actually a type of hope that the thinking belies. Sane and impartial reason would conclude that no garden would last forever. Yet because he had banked all his hopes on that, the man allowed himself to believe the fantasy of his garden being an eternal one. It is like the wealthy tech industrialists of today, who have fooled themselves into believing that they can bioengineer their bodies to grant themselves immortality, or who have frozen or plan to freeze themselves through cryogenics, in the hope that one day they can be reborn.

Even amongst the wealthy Muslims there are those who share such false hopes – even though they might not declare it openly – but their actions belie what lies in their hearts.^{‎[8]Zamakhshari, 2/722.}

This is the nature of the human being who loves permanence, and disdains that the things which he likes should be temporary and disappearing. This is because God has created his innate nature (fiṭrah) in such a fashion, placing therein as well the desire for worldly things, in order to test man. So if man turns away from his Creator his heart will innately seek contentment and fulfilment in worldly things, and he refuses to accept or ignores the fact that it is all temporary. Should his reason from time to time remind him that all of these are vanishing, he turns away from it, closing his eyes to the truth that makes him so uncomfortable.^{‎[9]Mizan, 13/311.} Or perhaps these moments spark in him an existential crisis, the void of which he seeks to fill with distractions such as entertainment or to fog his mind with substances such as alcohol, repeating to himself the mantra of ‘focus on the moment’ in order to soothe the ache in his soul.

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Abū Ḥayyān criticises Zamakhsharī’s interpretation of why the singular jannah is used, arguing that it is only expressed in this way because a person cannot enter both gardens at a time.^{‎[10]Muhit, 7/176.} Unfortunately, this is a very superficial way of looking at the profound and eloquent expressions of the Quran, which always have layers upon layers of meaning. Tabatabai lauds Zamakhsharī’s subtle point while saying that at the same time the apparent meaning is also that the singular is used because the type (jins) of ‘garden’ is intended.^{‎[11]Mizan, 13/310.}

It has been argued that ever means in the lifetime of the man. It is said because no one would imagine that his garden would actually last forever.^{‎[12]Razi, 21/463; Muhit, 7/176.} However, as we mentioned earlier, it is the love for worldly possessions which has caused such a person to fool themselves into believing the impossible.^{‎[13]Alusi, 8/262.}

INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS

1. They that trust in their wealth, And boast themselves in the multitude of their riches; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, Nor give to God a ransom for him: (For the redemption of their soul is precious, And it ceaseth for ever:) That he should still live for ever, And not see corruption. For he seeth that wise men die, Likewise the fool and the brutish person perish, and leave their wealth to others. Their inward thought is, that their houses shall continue for ever, And their dwelling places to all generations; They call their lands after their own names.^{‎[14]Psalms 49:5-11. The translation here is taken from the King James version. The New International Version gives the final sentence as: ‘Their graves become their perpetual homes, and their dwelling places to all generations, though they call their lands after their own names.’}
2. He says in his heart, “I shall not be moved; for generations I shall not meet adversity.”^{‎[15]Psalms 10:6.}

[1] Raghib, p. 539.
[2] Alusi, 8/262.
[3] For some of these see Alusi, 8/262. For example Ṭabrisī reports that this is referring to the worldly life (dunyā) (Tabrisi, 6/723).
[4] Zamakhshari, 2/721.
[5] Nemuneh, 12/442.
[6] See also the commentary on verse 33.
[7] Alusi, 8/262.
[8] Zamakhshari, 2/722.
[9] Mizan, 13/311.
[10] Muhit, 7/176.
[11] Mizan, 13/310.
[12] Razi, 21/463; Muhit, 7/176.
[13] Alusi, 8/262.
[14] Psalms 49:5-11. The translation here is taken from the King James version. The New International Version gives the final sentence as: ‘Their graves become their perpetual homes, and their dwelling places to all generations, though they call their lands after their own names.’
[15] Psalms 10:6.