الآية رقم (8) - جَزَاؤُهُمْ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ جَنَّاتُ عَدْنٍ تَجْرِي مِن تَحْتِهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا رَّضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ ذَلِكَ لِمَنْ خَشِيَ رَبَّهُ

(8) - (Their reward with Allah will be gardens of perpetual residence beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever, Allah being pleased with them and they with Him. That is for whoever has feared his Lord. (8))

Reward, recompense, and compensation will be given to them. They will be rewarded for their actions with fullest and completest reward, because they are the best of creation, and because of their faith and what they have done of good deeds. Allah (swt) says:

 ٰوَبَشِّرِ الَّذِينَ آمَنُوا أَنَّ لَهُمْ قَدَمَ صِدْقٍ عِندَ رَبِّهِمْ﴿

(And give good tidings to those who believe that they will have a precedence of honor with their Lord.) (Yunus: 2)

The sentence (Their reward with Allah) is magnificent; since when your reward is with someone who is equal to you, you may not be satisfied. but, when your reward is with Allah (swt), this is a great matter, as it is with the Supreme Lord.

Their reward with Allah (swt) will be Gardens of eternal residence.

Verify, this world is not a place of residence, but a home that we soon leave either to the Gardens of Aden for a permanent residence, or, Allah (swt) forbid, to Hell and wretched destination.

Allah (swt) gives us a picture of the rivers in Paradise, the source of these rivers is from beneath these gardens. They are not rivers that come to you from a far, or they may be cut off, rather, it is bliss beyond which there is no bliss.

(Allah being pleased with them and they with Him.): In another verse, Allah (swt) says:

وَالسَّابِقُونَ الْأَوَّلُونَ مِنَ الْمُهَاجِرِينَ وَالْأَنصَارِ وَالَّذِينَ اتَّبَعُوهُم بِإِحْسَانٍ رَّضِيَ اللَّهُ عَنْهُمْ وَرَضُوا عَنْهُ وَأَعَدَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّاتٍ تَجْرِي تَحْتَهَا الْأَنْهَارُ خَالِدِينَ فِيهَا أَبَدًا ۚ ذَٰلِكَ الْفَوْزُ الْعَظِيمُ ٰ

(And the first forerunners [in the faith] among the Muhajireen and the Ansar and those who followed them with good conduct – Allah is pleased with them and they are pleased with Him, and He has prepared for them gardens beneath which rivers flow, wherein they will abide forever. That is the great attainment.) (At-Tawba: 100)

Any one may ask: Allah’s satisfaction with the believers is known, meaning, He (swt) will bestowed them the Paradise, but how would the servants be pleased with Him? The answer is: When the believers see the reward prepared for them in the Hereafter, they say:

  ٰوَقَالُوا الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ الَّذِي صَدَقَنَا وَعْدَهُ وَأَوْرَثَنَا الْأَرْضَ نَتَبَوَّأُ مِنَ الْجَنَّةِ حَيْثُ نَشَاءُ﴿

(And they will say, “Praise to Allah, who has fulfilled for us His promise and made us inherit the earth [so] we may settle in Paradise wherever we will.) (Az-Zumar: 74)

Pleasure is to get what you hope through what you love, to be satisfied with the things that have happened to you in this worldly life, and this is beyond patience. The Messenger of Allah (saws) said in the Qudsi hadith :

(Allah, the Lord of honor and glory, will say to the inhabitants of Paradise: ‘O inhabitants of Paradise!’ They will respond: ‘Here we are! At Your service, O our Lord. All good is in Your Hand!’ He will ask them: ‘Are you pleased?’ They will reply: ‘Why should we not be pleased, O Lord, when You have given us what You have not given to any of Your creatures?’ Allah will say: ‘Shall I not give you something better than that?’ They will ask: ‘O Lord! What can be better than that?’ Allah will say: ‘I shall bestow My Pleasure upon you and I shall never be displeased with you.)[1]

Thus, the satisfaction will be at its highest level. This is what Allah (swt) says about: (Allah being pleased with them and they with Him), gratitude from Allah (swt).

At the end of this surah, Allah (swt) specifies the one who will get this great reward of the Gardens beneath which rivers flow; he is, (whoever has feared his Lord). Fear from Allah (swt) shall be accompanied with glorifying and praising Him (swt). The believer does not fear any evil, because he knows that the power is only for Allah (swt). Therefore, he fears nobody, as fear does not be except of Allah (swt); so he glorifies and fears Him (swt) alone.

 

 

[1] Sahih Al-Bukhari, Book of: To make the heart tender, Hadith No. 6183.