لَكُم فيها فاكِهَةٌ كَثيرَةٌ مِنها تَأكُلونَ
Therein are abundant fruits for you from which you will eat.’
EXEGESIS
Fākihah: most exegetes and lexicographers state that fākihah means fruits. However, Fayyūmī states that fākihah is anything that is enjoyed through eating, whether fresh or dried. Based on this, some modern exegetes have also stated that in descriptions of the blessings of paradise, the terms fākihah and fawākih are used for that from which a person derives enjoyment, pleasure, and happiness.[1] Some exegetes glean from this lexical understanding that everything the inhabitants of paradise eat is solely for gratification and relish. The food does not decay, thus removing the very need to eat for sustenance or out of hunger.[2]
Fākihatun kathīrah (abundant fruits) has been understood by many exegetes as indication to the vast quantity as well as variety of fruits in paradise.[3] Ibn ʿĀshūr adds that this includes both fresh and dry fruits.[4]
Minhā (from which) is composed of the preposition min and the object pronoun hā. The former is used here in a partitive meaning, i.e. only some of the fruits shall be eaten. In other words, the fruits of paradise will be so abundant that no matter how much one was to consume, they would only have eaten a part of it.[5]
EXPOSITION
Whilst the previous verses had indicated towards the generality of bounties that are available in paradise such that whatever anyone wants will be provided for them, this verse points out another specific bounty – the abundance of fruits. For other verses that mention fruits in paradise, see 36:57, 37:41-42, 38:51, 44:55, 47:15, 55:22, 55:52-54, 55:68, 56:20, 56:32, and 77:41-42.
Some exegetes mention that the reason why the Quran frequently mentions food and drinks, including fruits, as one of the bounties of paradise, is because these are pleasures innate to human nature.[6]
From a different angle, some exegetes have understood the frequent mention of fruits in Quranic descriptions of paradise to allude to the ‘fruits’ of one’s actions – suggesting that the rewards in the hereafter will be both abundant and variegated, corresponding to the diversity of deeds performed in the world. This interpretation finds strong support in verse 2:25: And give good news to those who have faith and do righteous deeds, that for them shall be gardens with streams running in them: whenever they are provided with their fruit for nourishment, they will say: ‘This is what we were provided before,’ and they were given something resembling it.
On this reading, the fruits of paradise are not merely physical sustenance but symbolic manifestations of deeds rendered perceptible. The dwellers’ exclamation – This is what we were provided before – suggests a recognition that echoes their earthly actions. The phrase something resembling it further implies continuity with the virtues they practiced in life, yet elevated in form and essence: what was once a moral or spiritual act in the world returns to them as a tangible, everlasting delight.
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
According to Rāzī, whilst Prophet Muhammad (s) was sent as a universal messenger, his primary audience were the Arabs who usually struggled to obtain sufficient food and water in general, and fruits in particular. As such, these verses were meant to encourage them and entice them towards the right path, for this is what they longed for the most.[7]
The early Sunni exegete Thaʿlabī, reports a narration from Thawbān, who heard the Prophet say: ‘No one from the people of paradise will pick a fruit from its trees except that a similar one would be restored in its place.’[8]
[1] Qamus, 5/200.
[2] Bursawi, 8/392; Mudarrisi, 12/520.
[3] Alusi, 13/101.
[4] Ibn Ashur, 25/290.
[5] Amthal, 16/96.
[6] Ibn Ashur, 25/290.
[7] Razi, 27/642-643; Baghawi, 5/96.
[8] Thalabi, 8/344.