'In the name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful' His saying, exalted and glorious is He: "Did the news of those before them not come to them? The people of Noah, 'Aad, and Thamud, and the people of Ibrahim, and the companions of Madyan, and the overturned cities? Their messengers came to them with clear signs. So Allah would not wrong them, but they were wronging themselves." "And the believing men and the believing women are allies of one another. They enjoin what is right and forbid what is wrong, and they establish prayer and give zakah, and they obey Allah and His Messenger. Those are the ones whom Allah will have mercy upon. Indeed, Allah is Exalted in Might and Wise." "Allah has promised the believing men and the believing women gardens beneath which rivers flow, abiding therein forever, and goodly dwellings in gardens of 'Adn, and acceptance from Allah is greater. That is the great success." He, exalted and glorious is He, says to His Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: Did not these hypocrites receive the news of the past nations that disobeyed Allah by denying His messengers and were destroyed? 'Aad and Thamud are two tribes, and the people of Ibrahim: Nimrod and his companions and the followers of his state, and the companions of Madyan: the people of Shu'ayb, and the overturned cities: the people of the four villages, and it is said the seven to whom Lut was sent, blessings be upon him. The meaning of the overturned cities is those that were turned upside down, as they were made to have their tops as their bottoms. And it has come in the Qur'an in a singular form indicating the plural. From this word is the saying of Imran ibn Hattan: 'With a clear speech that is not ambiguous, by which the tongue speaks, and I am not turned upside down.' Meaning: not turned over, nor reversed, nor confused. And from this, it is said of the wind: it is 'mu'tafikah' for its changing nature. And from this: (How are they turned away?). And 'ifk' is the diversion of speech from truth to falsehood. The pronoun in His saying: "Their messengers came to them" refers back to these mentioned nations, and it is said: specifically to the overturned cities. And He made for them messengers, although their prophet was one, because he would send a messenger to each village calling them. So they are the messengers of the Messenger of Allah. This was mentioned by al-Tabari. And the first interpretation regarding the return of the pronoun to all the nations is clearer. And His saying: "With clear signs" means: with miracles, which are evident in themselves in relation to the truth, not in relation to those who deny them.

And when he finished mentioning the hypocrites with the matters that should deter from hypocrisy and forbid it, he followed that by mentioning the believers with the matters that encourage faith and invigorate it, out of kindness from Him, blessed and exalted is He, towards His servants, there is no Lord other than Him. And the guardianship was mentioned here, as there is no guardianship among the hypocrites, nor intercession for them, nor does one call upon another. It is as if the intended meaning here is the guardianship in Allah alone. And His saying: ﴿with what is good﴾ means: with the worship of Allah and His oneness and all that follows that. And His saying: ﴿and forbidding what is wrong﴾ means: forbidding the worship of idols and all that follows that. Al-Tabari reported from Abu al-Aliyah that he said: Everything that Allah mentioned in the Qur'an regarding the command to do good is a call from polytheism to Islam, and everything mentioned regarding the prohibition of wrongdoing is the prohibition of the worship of idols and devils. Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with both of them, said regarding His saying, the Exalted: ﴿and they establish prayer﴾, it refers to the five prayers.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: According to this, the obligatory zakat is established, and praise, in my opinion, is more eloquent in the supererogatory acts, as whoever establishes the supererogatory acts is more deserving of establishing the obligatory. And His saying: ﴿and they obey Allah and His Messenger﴾ encompasses the recommended acts. And the 's' in His saying: ﴿He will have mercy on them﴾ is an entry into the promise, a respite, so that the souls may enjoy His hope, and His grace, exalted is He, is a guarantee of fulfillment.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Allah has promised the believers﴾, the verse, His promise in this verse is a clear text of good. And His saying: ﴿from beneath them﴾ means either from beneath their trees, or from beneath their lofty places, or from beneath their seats in addition to this, as you say about two neighboring houses that are equal in location: this is beneath this.

And Al-Tabari mentioned in His saying: ﴿and pleasant dwellings﴾ from Al-Hasan that he said: I asked about it Imran ibn al-Husayn and Abu Huraira, and they said: You have fallen upon the knowledgeable. We asked the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and he said: "A palace in Paradise made of pearl, in it are seventy houses made of red ruby, in each house are seventy beds made of green emerald." And similar to this is what resembles these words or is close to them, so I have abbreviated it seeking brevity. And as for His saying: ﴿in the Gardens of Eden﴾, its meaning is: in gardens of permanence and stability. It is said: 'Adna' (عَدَنَ) something in a place if it resides in it and is established. From it is the term 'ma'din' (مَعْدِنٌ), meaning the place of the establishment of something. From it is the saying of Al-A'sha:

And if they invite to his forbearance, They would be invited to a wise one who has settled.

This is the linguistic statement. And Ka'b al-Ahbar said: The Gardens of Eden are in Persian: the gardens of vineyards and grapes.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And I think this is an illusion mixed with Al-Firdaws. And Al-Dahhak said: The Gardens of 'Adn are the city of Paradise and its greatness. In it are the Prophets, the scholars, the martyrs, and the leaders of justice, and the people around them thereafter, and the gardens around it. Ibn Mas'ud said: 'Adn is the innermost part of Paradise and its delight. And 'Ata said: 'Adn is a river in Paradise, whose gardens are on its banks. And Al-Hasan said: 'Adn is a palace in Paradise, which no one enters except a Prophet, a truthful person, a martyr, or a just ruler, and he raised his voice with it.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And the verse rejects this specification, as Allah has promised it to all the believers.

As for His saying: "And the pleasure of Allah is greater," it has been narrated that Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, says to His servants when they settle in Paradise: "Are you pleased?" They say: "And how could we not be pleased, O our Lord?" He says: "Indeed, I will give you better than all of this, My pleasure. I am pleased with you, and I will never be angry with you." This is the hadith. And His saying: "greater" means: greater than all that has preceded, and the meaning of the verse and the hadith is consistent.

Al-Hasan ibn Abi Al-Hasan said: The pleasure of Allah reaches their hearts with the delight and joy that is more delightful to them and more pleasing to their eyes than anything they have attained from the delights of Paradise.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

It appears that His saying, the Exalted, "And the pleasure of Allah is greater," is an indication of the abodes of the close ones who drink from Tasnim, who are seen as the distant star in the horizon. And everyone in Paradise is pleased, and the abodes are different. And the bounty of Allah, blessed and exalted is He, is vast. And success is salvation and deliverance: "So whoever is removed from the Fire and admitted to Paradise has indeed succeeded" [Al-Imran: 185]. And the close ones are in the great success. And my expression about their state with joy and perfection is better than expressing it with delight, and delight is also used in this.