His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, the companions of Paradise today are in occupation, rejoicing. They and their spouses are in shades, reclining on couches. For them therein is fruit, and for them is what they call for. Peace, a word from a Merciful Lord. And separate yourselves today, O criminals. Did I not enjoin upon you, O Children of Adam, that you not worship Satan? Indeed, he is to you a manifest enemy. And worship Me; this is a straight path." This is news from Allah, exalted and majestic is He, about the state of the people of Paradise after mentioning the horrors of the Day of Resurrection and the state of the disbelievers. Nafi', Ibn Kathir, Abu 'Amr, Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn 'Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, Talhah, and Khalid ibn Ilyas read: "in occupation" with a dammah on the sheen and a sukoon on the ghain. The others read: "in occupation" with a dammah on both, which is the reading of the people of Medina and Kufa. Mujahid and Abu 'Amr also read with a fatha on both. Ibn Hubayrah read on the pulpit with a fatha on the sheen and a sukoon on the ghain. All of these have the same meaning. People differed regarding the specification of this occupation. Ibn Mas'ud, Ibn 'Abbas, and Ibn Al-Musayyib said: it is the breaking of virgins. Al-Niqash reported from Ibn 'Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them: it is the listening to musical instruments. Mujahid said: its meaning is a delight that has occupied them. This is the correct saying, and specifying one thing over another cannot be measured. Since all delight is of one type in that it is a singular delight, He said: "in occupation." If there had been a difference, He would have said: in occupations. Al-Thalabi reported from Tawus that he said: if the people of Paradise knew about what they were occupied with, it would not have pleased them what they were occupied with. Al-Thalabi said: some scholars were asked about his saying, blessings and peace be upon him: "Most of the people of Paradise are fools," and he said: because they were occupied with delight from the Bestower. The majority of people read: "rejoicing," and its meaning is: companions of fruit, as it is said: a date-palm, a grape, a blacksmith, and a butcher. Abu Rajaa', Mujahid, Nafi', and Abu Ja'far also read: "happy," and its meaning is: joyful and carefree, derived from: al-fukahah, meaning: they have no worries. Talhah, Al-A'mash, and a group read: "fruitful," placing the news in the circumstance which is His saying: "in occupation," and the accusative of "fruitful" is in the state. His saying, exalted is He: "They and their spouses are in shades"; "They" is the subject, "and their spouses" is conjoined to it, "in shades" is its predicate. It is possible that "They" is a substitute for His saying: "rejoicing," and His saying: "in shades" is in the position of a state, as if He said: they are shaded. The majority read: "in shades," which is the plural of "shade"; for Paradise has no sun in it, and its air is cool, like the time of dawn before the sun rises. It is possible that it is the plural of (dhullat), Abu Ali said: like burmah and biram, and others. Al-Mundhir ibn Sa'id said: shades is the plural of dhillah with a kasrah on the dhāl. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And it is a language in shade. Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: "in shades," which is the plural of shade. This is the reading of Abdullah, Talhah, and Abu Abdur-Rahman. This expression refers to clothing and ranks from curtains and coverings and similar things that provide shade, and it is an adornment.

And "the couches": the furnished beds. Some people said: One of its conditions is that there should be a canopy over it; otherwise, it is not a couch. Thus, Ibn Abbas, Mujahid, Al-Hasan, and Ikrimah restricted it. Some of them said: The couch is the bed whether it has a canopy or not.

And His saying: ﴿What they claim﴾ is like: what they wish for. Abu Ubaidah said: The Arabs say: "Claim against me what you wish," meaning: wish for me. And they say: "So-and-so in what he claimed," meaning: in what he called for; because it is derived from the root of دعا (du'a). The original form of this verb is يَدْتَعِيُونَ (yad'ta'iyoon), the vowel of the ياء (ya) was transferred to the عَيْن (ayn) before it, and the ياء (ya) was omitted due to its conjunction with the silent و (waw), so it remained يَدْتَعُونَ (yad'ta'oon). The تاء (ta) was turned into دال (dal) and assimilated into the other letter, and the دال (dal) was specifically retained without the تاء (ta) because it is a letter of strength, while the تاء (ta) is a letter of whispering. Al-Rummani said: The meaning is that whoever claims something, it is for him; because their natures have been refined, so they do not claim except what is good from them.

And His saying: ﴿Peace﴾, it was said: It is an attribute of "what," meaning: it is given to them and is pure. It was said: It is a beginning, and it was said: It is a news of a beginning. Ibn Mas'ud, Isa Al-Thaqafi, Ubayy ibn Ka'b, and Al-Ghanawi read: "Peace" in the accusative as a source. Muhammad ibn Ka'b Al-Qurazi read: "Submission," which means (Peace). And "saying" was placed in the accusative as a source.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And distinguish yourselves today" (the verse), contains an omission whose meaning is: He says to the disbelievers. This is equivalent to His saying to the people of Paradise: "Peace." And "distinguish yourselves" means: separate and incline; because the people in the standing are mixed together. Then He addressed them with what they would be distinguished by, as a reprimand to them and a reminder of His covenant with them and their violation of His covenant. The majority read: "I had made a covenant" with a fatḥah on the letter 'h', while al-Hudhali and Ibn Waththab read: "Did I not make a covenant" with a kasrah on the letter 'm' and a fatḥah on the letter 'h', which is in the dialect of those who break the first of the present tense except for 'yā'. It has also been narrated from Ibn Waththab as "make a covenant" with a kasrah on the letter 'h'. It is said: he made a covenant and he covenanted. And "the worship of Satan" refers to obeying him and submitting to his helpers. Ibn Kathir, Nafi', Ibn 'Amir, and al-Kisai read: "And that you should worship Me" with a ḍammah on the letter 'n' from "that", and they followed it with a ḍammah on the letter 'b', 'd', and the 'w' of the plural as well. And 'Asim, Abu 'Amr, and Hamzah read: "And that you should worship Me" with a kasrah on the letter 'n' according to the original kasrah for the sake of meeting. And His saying: "This is a straight path" is a reference to the laws. The meaning of this is that Allah made a covenant with the children of Adam at the time of bringing forth their souls from his back: that they should not worship Satan and that they should worship Allah. And it was said to them: these laws are present, and Adam, peace be upon him, was sent to his descendants, and the earth has not been devoid of a law until the conclusion of the message with Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him. And "the path" is the way, and it is said that it is an addition in the speech of the Arabs and it has been Arabized.