His saying, exalted and glorified is He: "Is he who is upon clear evidence from his Lord like one to whom his evil deed has been made attractive, and they follow their desires?" The example of Paradise, which the righteous have been promised, is that therein are rivers of water, non-stagnant, and rivers of milk, the taste of which does not change, and rivers of wine, delightful to those who drink, and rivers of clarified honey. And for them therein are from all fruits and forgiveness from their Lord, is he like one who is eternally in the Fire and is given to drink scalding water that cuts up their intestines?" And among them are those who listen to you, but when they go out from you, they say to those who were given knowledge, "What was it that he said just now?" Those are the ones whom Allah has sealed their hearts and they follow their desires." His saying, the Most High: "Is he who is..." This verse is a pause and a confirmation of something agreed upon. It is a comparison between these two groups. And Qatadah said: The reference in this verse is to Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, as he is the one who is upon clear evidence from his Lord, and to the disbelievers of Quraysh, as they are the ones to whom their evil deeds have been made attractive. The wording remains general for the people of these two attributes throughout time. And His saying, the Most High: "upon clear evidence from his Lord" means: upon a clear matter and a bright, evident belief. It is possible that the meaning is: "upon a clear matter and a clear religion." And the addition of the pronoun is for emphasis, like a marker and a genealogist. The one to whom His saying, the Most High, "made attractive" is the devil, and "following desires" is obedience to it, as if it goes in one direction and the person goes along with it.

And the people differed in the meaning of His saying, the Exalted: "The example of Paradise." Al-Nadr ibn Shumail and others said: "Example" means: description, as if he said: the description of Paradise is what you hear in it such and such. And Sibawayh said: the meaning is: in what is recited to you, the example of Paradise. Then he explained that which is recited by saying: in it such and such. And the reason for making "example" equivalent to "description" is that the thing being exemplified is not in the verse. It appears that the intent in the example is to the thing that a person imagines upon hearing: "in it such and such," for he envisions at that time places resembling this description. And that is the example of Paradise and its likeness. Or there is an omission in the speech that the apparent necessitates, as if the Exalted is saying: the example of Paradise is apparent in the mind of whoever comprehends these attributes. And Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "The likeness of Paradise." And Ali ibn Abi Talib also, and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, read: "The examples of Paradise." And based on all these interpretations, in His saying, the Exalted: "Is he like one who is eternal?" there is an omission whose estimation is: are these inhabitants? Or its estimation is: are these? An indication to the righteous. It is also possible in my view that the omission is at the beginning of the verse, as if the Exalted said: Is the example of the people of Paradise like one who is eternal in the Fire? And His saying would be inquiring about it without the letter of inquiry. The meaning is: Is the example of the people of Paradise - which has these attributes - like one who is eternal in the Fire? So the "kaf" in His saying, the Exalted: "like one" is confirming the comparison. And His saying, the Exalted: "In it are rivers" comes in the position of the state according to this interpretation.

And "water that is not stagnant" means: not changed, as Ibn Abbas said, and Qatadah. It is the same whether it has become foul or not. It is said: the water has become stagnant - with a fathah on the seen - and has become stagnant - with a kasrah. And the majority of the reciters read: "stagnant" on the pattern of fa'il. And Ibn Kathir read: "stagnant" on the pattern of fa'ila, and this is the reading of the people of Mecca. And "asnu" is that which is feared for it from a foul smell from water. And from it is the saying of the poet:

"The one who leaves the horn with yellowing fingers, leans in the spear like the foul-smelling stagnant."

And Al-Akhfash said: "stagnant" is a language, and the meaning is to inform about the state. And whoever said: "stagnant" on the pattern of fa'il, he means that it will be like that in the future, thus negating that in the verse. And a group read: "not stagnant" with a ya. Abu Ali said: and that is on the lightening of the hamzah. Abu Hatim narrated from Awf: thus it was in the mushaf "not stagnant" but Al-Hajjaj changed it.

And His saying, exalted is He, regarding milk: "Its taste has not changed" is a denial of all forms of corruption in milk. And His saying, exalted is He: "A delight for those who drink" combines the goodness of the taste and the removal of ailments such as headaches and others. And "a delight" is an adjective based on a relation, meaning: possessing delight. The purification of honey removes its foulness and harm. And His saying, exalted is He: "From all fruits" means: from these types, but they are far from resembling it, as there is no defect in them nor toil in any way. And His saying, exalted is He: "And forgiveness from their Lord" means: and a blessing granted by the forgiveness, and it is caused by it; otherwise, forgiveness is only before Paradise.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And they are given to drink" refers back to "who" because the intended meaning is plural.

And His saying, exalted is He: "And among them are those who listen to you" refers to the hypocrites among the people of the city. This is because they used to attend the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and hear his words and recitation. Then when they left, some of them would ask those believers who acted and benefited: "What did he say just now?" Among them were those who would say this in mockery, meaning: what is the meaning of what he said? What benefit is there in it? What is its worth? And among them were those who would say this out of ignorance and forgetfulness because at the time of the speech, he was focused on his worldly matters and in his disbelief, so the words would pass by him. Then when he left, he would say: "What did he say just now?" And this also contains a type of mockery because he would explicitly state that he intended to turn away at the time of the speech. If this were not intentional, it would not be far-fetched for it to occur to some of the believers. It has been narrated that Ibn Mas'ud and Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them, were among those who were asked this question, as reported by Al-Tabari from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him. And "just now" means: recently, as if he said: what is the saying that he has just mentioned before we separated from him? And the majority read: "just now" in the form of a doer, while Ibn Kathir alone read: "just now" in the form of a noun, and both are names of a doer from "to mention". They both follow a different verb form, just as "poor" follows "to be poor" and "poverty" has not been used. This is common, and the interpreters say: "just now" means: the last hour that is close to us, and this is an interpretation by meaning.

Then Allah, blessed and exalted, informed that He has sealed the hearts of these hypocrites who act in this way. This sealing may be literal and it may be metaphorical, and the saying regarding it has already been presented.