If you say: What is the meaning of His saying, the Exalted, "The example of Paradise, which the righteous have been promised, is rivers... like one who is eternal in the Fire?"

I say: It is a statement in the form of affirmation and the meaning of denial and rejection. [Mahamud said: "It is a statement in the form of affirmation and its meaning is denial... etc." Ahmad said: Many have mentioned the interpretation of this verse, and I have not seen anything more eloquent or sweeter than these points he mentioned, except that it needs to be noted that there is something omitted in the speech that must be estimated, for there is no equivalence between Paradise and those who are eternal in the Fire except on the condition of a similar one residing in it, so that the weight of the speech is established and balanced like its two sides. From this pattern is His saying, the Exalted, "Did you make the provision of the pilgrim and the maintenance of the Sacred Mosque like one who believes in Allah and the Last Day and strives in the way of Allah?" For there must be an omitted estimation with the first or the second, so that the two sections are balanced. And with what I have estimated in the verse, the end of the speech aligns with its beginning, so the intended meaning is a comparison after the equalization between the one who clings to evil and the one who follows desires, by the equalization between the one who is blessed in Paradise and the one who is punished in the Fire based on the opposing attributes mentioned in both sides. It is from the valley of comparing something to itself, considering two states, one of which is clearer in explanation than the other, for the one who adheres to the Sunnah is the one who is blessed in the described Paradise. And the one who follows desires is the one who is punished in the described Fire. However, he rejected the equalization between them based on actions first, and clarified that by rejecting the equalization between them based on rewards second.]

This is because it is encompassed under the ruling of a statement introduced with a letter of denial, and it falls within its scope, and it is included in its context, which is His saying, the Exalted, "Is the one who is upon clear proof from his Lord like one to whom the evil of his work has been made alluring?" So it is as if it were said: Is the example of Paradise like one who is eternal in the Fire? That is, like the reward of one who is eternal in the Fire.

If you say: Why is it stripped of the letter of denial? And what is the benefit of the stripping? I say:

Its stripping from the letter of denial in it is an increase in the depiction of the stubbornness of one who equates the one who clings to proof and the one who follows his desires, and that he is like one who affirms the equalization between the Paradise in which those rivers flow and the Fire from which its people are given boiling water to drink. An example of this is the saying of one:

"Am I happy to lose the noble ones and inherit a herd of weak camels?"

This is a statement that rejects the happiness over the misfortune of the noble ones and the inheritance of the herd, while being stripped of the letter of denial, as it is encompassed under the ruling of the saying of one who said: "Are you happy about the death of your brother and the inheritance of his camels?" And the letter of denial was omitted to intend to depict the ugliness of what I have accused. It is as if he said to him: Yes, one like me is happy about the misfortune of the noble ones and to replace them with a herd that is less in value. This is from the submission that is under every denial. And the example of Paradise: is the description of the wondrous Paradise, and it is the subject, and its predicate is: like one who is eternal. And His saying: "in it are rivers" is included in the ruling of the relative clause like its repetition. Do you not see the correctness of your saying: "which has rivers in it?" And it is possible that it is the predicate of an omitted subject, which is: "it has rivers in it." And it is as if someone said: What is its example? It was said: "in it are rivers," and it may be in the position of a state, meaning: it is settled in it are rivers. And in the reading of Ali, may Allah be pleased with him: "the examples of Paradise," meaning: what are its attributes like the attributes of the Fire. And it was read: "Asan." It is said: "Asan the water and Ajin," if its taste and smell change. And I was informed by Yazid ibn Muawiya:

I have been given a drink that is not of a sour taste, like musk that has been crushed on the water of the clusters. [This refers to Yazid ibn Muawiya. And the phrase 'the man tasted the woman's saliva' means when he sips it. And 'sour' is like 'tired' in that it changes its taste, smell, or color due to its long duration. He says: I was given her saliva that has not changed. And 'the water of the clusters' is a metaphor for wine, and it is borrowed for her saliva in a direct manner. And she offered me musk while it was being crushed on her saliva similar to wine, meaning: it is like that due to its pleasantness. It is narrated: like musk, which is the apparent meaning, and the comparison is of the singular to the compound, for he does not mean to compare the drink only to musk.]

From milk that has not changed in taste as the milks of this world change, it does not become sour nor does it become 'hadhar' [the term 'hadhar' may be omitted; its original form is 'hazar' with a 'z', and in the dictionaries, 'hadhar' refers to sour milk], nor does it have any disliked tastes. 'Ladhdha' is the feminine form of 'ladh', which means delicious, or it is described by its source. It has been read with three vowel markings: the genitive for describing wine, the nominative for describing rivers, and the accusative for the reason, meaning: for the pleasure of the drinkers.

And the meaning is: it is nothing but pure enjoyment, without the loss of reason, nor intoxication, nor headache, nor any of the ailments of wine, purified and not mixed with wax or anything else, like hot water. It is said that when they come close to them, their faces are scorched, and the hair on their heads stands on end. And when they drink it, it cuts through their intestines.