Al-Fath · Madani · ayah 5 of 29

Al-Fath 48:5

لِّيُدْخِلَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنِينَ وَٱلْمُؤْمِنَـٰتِ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا وَيُكَفِّرَ عَنْهُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِهِمْ ۚ وَكَانَ ذَٰلِكَ عِندَ ٱللَّهِ فَوْزًا عَظِيمًا

“[And] that He may admit the believing men and the believing women to gardens beneath which rivers flow to abide therein eternally and remove from them their misdeeds - and ever is that, in the sight of Allāh, a great attainment –”

Saheeh International

Essence

To the question 'and what about us?', Allah answered with gardens, sins covered, and a triumph made great by being with Him.

A reflection

Your hope written into the same sentence as his

The Companions' question, 'and what about us?', is told in the ayah before. Look now at how the answer is built.

The ayah opens with li: so that. So that He may admit the believing men and women into gardens. But so that what? One early commentary traces it back to the surah's first line. We have opened for you a clear opening, so that Allah may forgive you; and so that He may admit the believers. It notes there is no 'and' before it. The sentence simply repeats its purpose, with new people named.

That is a quiet honour. The Companions' share is not tacked on in a separate clause. It hangs on the same opening that brought the Prophet ﷺ his forgiveness. Other commentaries offer other links: to the stillness sent down, to the faith that grew from it, to the help promised. Each one ties their Garden to the very events they had just found so bitter.

A further reading goes deeper. Allah arranged what He arranged so that they would recognise His favour in it and give thanks. Thanks would bring them into the Garden. So the treaty that tasted like defeat was already on the road to their reward.

That should change how we read our own disappointing days. A day we would never have chosen may be one link in a chain whose last link is a garden. We cannot see the chain from inside it. We are told its end.

So when you wonder what Allah intends for you, read this ayah's first letter. Your hope was written into the same sentence as the best of creation.

The full entry has 5 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.