Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (At its side is the Garden of Refuge)
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Exegesis of the saying of Allah the Exalted: (At its side is the Garden of Refuge)]
Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Najm: 15] So: Paradise is above the seventh heaven; if the Lote Tree is above the seventh heaven and Paradise is at its side, what is the result? It necessitates that Paradise is above the seventh heaven, and that is the case. Its highest and middle part is al-Firdaus—may Allah make us and you among its people—above which is the Throne of the Most Merciful (Exalted and Majestic is He),For this reason, Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Mutaffifin: 18] And al-'Illiyyin is an exaggeration of height,Meaning: in the highest place,The important thing is that Allah says: (At its side) means: at the side of this Lote Tree (the Garden of Refuge). Al-Ma'wa means: the destination. And the refuge of whom? The refuge of those who combined faith and righteous deeds. It is their refuge; they take refuge in it and abide in it forever. As for the Fire, it is the abode of the disbelievers—may Allah protect us from it.
And in this is clear evidence that the ultimate destination of the creation—jinn and humans—is either to Paradise or to the Fire, and there is no third option. So jinn and humans are either in the Fire or in Paradise,Al-Safarini (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his creed:
and every human and every jinn is in a home of Fire or a home of bliss, a Garden.
There is no home other than these two.
Are the graves an abode and a refuge? No.
They are not an abode, nor for the dead either, because the graves are a passage and a transit point, since behind the graves is the Resurrection.
It is mentioned that some Bedouin from the desert heard a reciter reciting the saying of Allah the Exalted: [Surat al-Takathur: 1-2] So the Bedouin said, by his fitrah and his Arabic: By Allah, the visitor is not a resident, and there is something beyond that.
What is the meaning of: Is the visitor not a resident? The visitor visits and then departs. Likewise, the graves: people stay in them as long as Allah wills for them to stay, and then they come out of them.Allah the Exalted said: [Surat al-Mu'minun: 100] So people must be resurrected.
And the expression we sometimes hear or read: That the man was carried to his final abode—Meaning: to the cemetery—is an incorrect expression. Why? Because the graves are not the final abode. And if the one who said it believed its meaning, it would necessitate that he denies the Resurrection.
Allah the Exalted said:
Near it is the Garden of Refuge -
عِنْدَهَا جَنَّةُ الْمَأْوَىNo! Indeed, the record of the righteous is in 'illiyyun.
كَلَّا إِنَّ كِتَابَ الْأَبْرَارِ لَفِي عِلِّيِّينَAnd in this is clear evidence that the ultimate destination of the creation—jinn and humans—is either to Paradise or to the Fire, and there is no third option. So jinn and humans are either in the Fire or in Paradise,Al-Safarini (may Allah have mercy on him) said in his creed:
and every human and every jinn is in a home of Fire or a home of bliss, a Garden.
There is no home other than these two.
Are the graves an abode and a refuge? No.
They are not an abode, nor for the dead either, because the graves are a passage and a transit point, since behind the graves is the Resurrection.
It is mentioned that some Bedouin from the desert heard a reciter reciting the saying of Allah the Exalted:
The competition for more has distracted you until you visit the graveyards.
أَلْهَاكُمُ التَّكَاثُرُ * حَتَّى زُرْتُمُ الْمَقَابِرَWhat is the meaning of: Is the visitor not a resident? The visitor visits and then departs. Likewise, the graves: people stay in them as long as Allah wills for them to stay, and then they come out of them.Allah the Exalted said:
and behind them is a barrier until the Day they are resurrected.
وَمِنْ وَرَائِهِمْ بَرْزَخٌ إِلَى يَوْمِ يُبْعَثُونَAnd the expression we sometimes hear or read: That the man was carried to his final abode—Meaning: to the cemetery—is an incorrect expression. Why? Because the graves are not the final abode. And if the one who said it believed its meaning, it would necessitate that he denies the Resurrection.