47. Surah Muhammad
The Quranic Text & Ali’s Version:
أَفَمَن
كَانَ عَلَى
بَيِّنَةٍ مِّن
رَّبِّهِ كَمَن
زُيِّنَ لَهُ
سُوءُ عَمَلِهِ...
47: 14. Is then one who is on a clear (Path) from his Lord, no better than one to whom the evil of his conduct seems pleasing,
C4832. Clear, or enlightened; a Path on which shines the Light of Allah.
...وَاتَّبَعُوا أَهْوَاءهُمْ ﴿١٤﴾
and such as follow their own lusts?
مَثَلُ
الْجَنَّةِ
الَّتِي وُعِدَ
الْمُتَّقُونَ
فِيهَا أَنْهَارٌ
مِّن مَّاء
غَيْرِ آسِنٍ
...
47: 15. (Here is) a Parable of the Garden which the righteous are promised:
in it are
- rivers of water incorruptible:
C4833. In this description there are four kinds of drinks and all kinds of fruits; and the summing up of all delights in the "Forgiveness from their Lord".
The four kinds of drinks are:
delicious, cool, pure water, not like earthly water, for it never suffers corruption;
وَأَنْهَارٌ مِن لَّبَنٍ لَّمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ طَعْمُهُ ...
- rivers of milk of which the taste never changes;
milk which never turns Sour, whose taste is like that of fresh warm milk drawn from the udder;
... وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّنْ خَمْرٍ لَّذَّةٍ لِّلشَّارِبِينَ ...
- rivers of wine, a joy to those who drink;
wine, not like any wine on earth, for it leaves no headaches behind, and causes no intoxication, which is a kind of madness or poison, but is ever a joy to drink; and
...وَأَنْهَارٌ مِّنْ عَسَلٍ مُّصَفًّى...
- and rivers of honey pure and clear.
honey, pure and clear, with no admixture of wax or any foreign substance.
These drinks, will cool the spirit, feed the heart, warm the affections, and sweeten life. (R).
...وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَرَاتِ ...
- In it there are for them all kinds of fruits,
C4834. See n. 4671 to 43:73.
... وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ...
and Grace from their Lord.
C4835. Grace from their Lord: that is the covering up or blotting out of sin and all that was sad or unsatisfactory in the lower life;
the pure Light from the Countenance of Allah Most High: 92:20.
...كَمَنْ هُوَ خَالِدٌ فِي النَّارِ وَسُقُوا مَاء حَمِيمًا فَقَطَّعَ أَمْعَاءهُمْ ﴿١٥﴾
(Can those in such Bliss) be compared to such as shall dwell for ever in the Fire, and be given, to drink, boiling water, so that it cuts up their bowels (to pieces)?
C4836. Cf. 37:66-67, and n. 4074.
Just as the Bliss of the Blessed will penetrate their being through and through, so the agony of the condemned ones will penetrate their being through and through.
“Bowels” besides meaning their inmost being, also suggests the seat of their feelings and affection.
Asad’s Version:
47:14 CAN, THEN, he who takes his stand on a clear evidence from his Sustainer be likened unto one' 2 to whom the evil of his own doings [always] seems goodly, and unto such as would follow but their own lusts?
(47:15) [And can] the parable of the paradise which the God- conscious are promised 13 - [a paradise] wherein there are rivers of water which time does not corrupt, and rivers of milk the taste whereof never alters, and rivers of wine delightful to those
who drink it," and rivers of honey of all impurity cleansed, and the enjoyment 15 of all the fruits [of their good deeds] and of forgiveness from their Sustainer -: can this [parable of paradise] be likened unto [the parable of the recompense of"] such as are to abide in the fire and be given waters of burning despair 17 to drink, so that it will tear their bowels asunder?
[[ Asad’s notes - 1 3 My rendering of this verse is based in its entirety on the grammatical construction given to it by Zamakhshari and supported by Razi. In this construction, the parabolic description of paradise - beginning with the phrase "wherein there are rivers , etc., and ending with the words "and forgiveness from their Sustainer" - is a parenthetic passage (jumlah mu'taridah). As for the term "parable" (mathal) itself, it is undoubtedly meant to impress upon those who read or listen to the Qur'an that its
descriptions of life in the hereafter are purely allegorical: see in this connection Zamakhshari's explicit remarks cited in note 65 on 1 3 :35.
14 Cf. 37 : 4S~7, especially verse 47: "no headiness wiU there be in it, and they will not get drunk
thereon" .
15 Lit., "and wherein they [i.e., the God-conscious] will have ..., etc.