وَيَنقَلِبُ إِلىٰ أَهلِهِ مَسرورًا
And he will return to his folks joyfully.
EXEGESIS
Yanqalibu (he will return) is derived from the root qalaba, meaning to be turned upside down or from one side to another. The seventh form of the verb, inqalaba, means to turn away from something or turn back to something. Here it means to turn back to their folks.
Ahl (folks) means any group of people that are brought together by faith, family ties, nationality, household, or something similar. When speaking of a man’s ahl it usually intends his family and relatives. In its general sense, it is used to intend those who share a commonality with regards to something. So those who follow a divine scripture are deemed the ahl al-kitāb, or those who live in the same city are called the ahl al-madīnah (9:101) or ahl al-qurā (12:109). God describes Himself as being ahl al-taqwā wa ahl al-maghfirah in 74:56, since He is attuned to these qualities, deserving to be feared and deserving to forgive.
EXPOSITION
One of the blessings for the people of paradise is that they will be joined with their righteous family members in paradise.
It is only natural for a person to wish good for their family members and to desire sharing the joys of paradise with them. Because of this natural emotion, God promises the believers, The faithful and their descendants who followed them in faith – We will make their descendants join them (52:21) in paradise. Some reports even tell us how they will already meet them at the gates of paradise and enter together, hand-in-hand.
As for family members who were wicked and taken to hell, the people of paradise will not wish to join with them, because the relationships and attachments on that day will not be based on the apparent qualities that determine them in this life. Hence, one of the names of the Day of Judgement is the Day of Separation (yawm al-faṣl) (77:13). God informed Prophet Noah (a) regarding his son: Indeed He is not of your family (ahlika). Indeed, he is [personification of] unrighteous conduct (11:46). Hence, relations, both practically and emotionally, will be cut off between the people of paradise and the people of hell.
The verse speaks generally about the people of paradise returning to their folks, while not every believer may have folks deserving paradise. Probably because of this some have suggested that the ahl here means the ḥūr and the wives and young servants (ghilmān) that have been prepared for them in paradise. It is also possible in this case that their folks may not be their immediate family members, but their believing descendants and forefathers.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some have suggested that ahl in this verse simply means other people like him. In other words, other people of faith and righteousness. While this meaning may not be so obvious and probably should not be considered the primary intended meaning, there is nevertheless a certain beauty to it. No matter how lonely or estranged a believer may feel in this world, his community of brothers and sisters in faith is waiting for him in paradise. In this sense, paradise is a homecoming and a return to where the believer belongs.
Makārim Shīrāzī points out that these different interpretations are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
INSIGHTS FROM OTHER TRADITIONS
- ‘Those who sow in tears shall reap with joy. He who goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall come home with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him.’
- ‘Yet He sets the poor on high out of affliction, and makes their families like a flock. The righteous see it and rejoice, and all wickedness shuts its mouth.’
[1] See Raghib, p. 681, q-l-b.
[2] Raghib, p. 96, ʾ-h-l.
[3] Zamakhshari, 4/726; Ibn Kathir, 8/352; Alusi, 15/289.
[4] See for example Kafi, 5/334; Tahdhib, 7/401, h. 1598; Wasail, 20/55, h. 25022.
[5] Tabrisi, 10/699; Baghawi, 5/229; Qurtubi, 19/272; Mizan, 20/243; Munyah, 30/90-91.
[6] For example Zamakhshari, 4/726.
[7] Nemuneh, 26/303.
[8] Psalms 126:5-6.
[9] Psalms 107:41-42.