Commentary
And when He clarified by the verse about the emigrants that the beneficial aspect of faith is what necessitates steadfastness during trials; and since those conditions may not exist; He mentioned the general description of piety for individuals; which necessitates happiness; then He followed the threat to the disbelievers with what pertains to their opposites, the pious; who are the winners of what the supplication has previously called them to; by His saying (Exalted is He): "Say, shall I inform you of something better than that?" [Al-Imran: 15]; then He said (Exalted is He): "But those who fear their Lord"; meaning: they have taken on the attribute of piety; by adhering to what the Benefactor has commanded them; and refraining from what He has prohibited them; in gratitude for His kindness; and out of fear of His great status; "For them are gardens"; and what gardens they are; then He described them by saying: "beneath which rivers flow"; indicating the permanence of their variety; and their blooming; and the greatness of their joy.
And when He described them in contrast to what is in the Fire; He described their being in it in contrast to what the disbelievers have, as they are in the hospitality of the Most Generous, the Forgiving; and He said: "Abiding therein"; and when the hospitality is what is prepared for the guest upon his arrival; He said - magnifying what is for the one who pleases Him -: "a hospitality"; and when something is honored by the honor of the one from whom it comes; He emphasized its greatness by saying: "from Allah"; adding to the greatest name; and by indicating that all the gardens are a hospitality; He pointed to the great bliss they have after that with Him - glorified and exalted is He - which cannot be comprehended by humans in terms of the reality of its description; and for this reason He said - magnifying - because if He had implied it, it would have been assumed to be specific to the hospitality -: "And what is with Allah"; meaning: the greatest King; of hospitality and other than it; "is better for the righteous"; than what the disbelievers have; and better than anything that could possibly come to mind of bliss.
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