Ad-Dukhaan (The Smoke)

51. Verily, the pious will be in place of security.

52. Among gardens and springs.

53. Dressed in fine silk and in thick silk, facing each other.

Sundus and istabraq indicate fine and thick silk fabric respectively. The word hur is the plural form of huriyya which is used in the sense of women with black eyes and white complexion.

The word ‘ayn the pluralized form of which is ‘ayna’ indicates “having wide, lovely eyes.” The pious are certainly placed in place of security, enjoying the bounties of Paradise and secure from the torments of Hell.

God Almighty says:

“Verily, the pious will be in the midst of gardens and rivers in a seat of truth, near the Omnipotent King”1 . “Place of security”2

and

“seat of truth”3

are reserved for those who are ranked third among the pious.

They are the people whose hearts are secure through having faith and their hearts are free from all existent beings besides God. They have struggled against the hosts of estimative, irascible, and concupiscent powers and have succeeded in subjugating them.

They have detached themselves from the attractions of the mundane world and have blocked the way in this world through which powers of darkness used to frequent their hearts; as a consequence of which their hearts are frequented by angels of Mercy. They have stepped out of the abyss of illusions and vain desires so that their hearts have turned into the Threshold of Divine Mercy.

According to a Prophetic tradition,

“The believer’s heart is the Threshold of the All-Merciful.”

In short, the blessed Verse refers to those whose hearts are secure in this world through faith. They are placed in the place of security. They are secure in their worldly life from concupiscent and satanic desires enjoying the protection of God Almighty. They will also be secure from any affliction in proximity to God in the Hereafter.

The following Verse says that such person derives pleasure from perceiving spiritual and Divine bounties as well those of physical pleasures of Paradise since in the same manner that man is essentially composed of soul and body, his pleasures are to be consistent with his corporeality and spirituality.

The Verse apparently makes a reference to both dimensions since the place of security is consistent with spiritual states attained by human soul upon attainment to perfection. Thus, through perceiving corporeal knowledge, man acquires the knowledge of the spiritual realm of the Hereafter through which he attains to the place of security.

Verse 53 is concerned with the ranks of the corporeal bounties of the pious whose clothes are made in Paradise from sundus and istabraq (fine and thick silk respectively).

Some exegets also maintain that istabraq indicates the carpets prepared for them and the word:

mutaqabilin (“facing each other”)

refers to the couches in Paradise facing each other so that they enjoy meeting each other.