Qaf · Makki · ayah 31 of 45

Qaf 50:31

وَأُزْلِفَتِ ٱلْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ

“And Paradise will be brought near to the righteous, not far,”

Saheeh International

Essence

On that Day the Garden is brought close to those who guarded themselves, so close that the ayah adds: not far at all.

A reflection

Walked towards, not made to walk

A surgeon is between operations when she sees her old primary teacher arrive at the hospital entrance. She does not wait at the door. She runs the length of the car park to meet her. Everyone watching understands. You walk towards the person you honour.

The ayah uses the same language of honour. It does not say the righteous were brought near to the Garden. It says the Garden was brought near to them. One classical commentator stops on this. Moving the Garden is no more natural than moving the people, he notes, so why phrase it this way? To honour the righteous. They are among those who are walked towards.

Set that against the ayat just before it. The denier arrives with a driver at his back (50:21). The command is given to cast him in (50:24). He is moved like freight. The righteous are not moved at all. Their destination comes to them.

How can a place be brought near? The commentators give several possibilities. One is that Allah folds up the distance between them, each staying where it is. Another is that it is brought near in the sense of being granted. A king is said to have 'come close' to granting a request. A third is that He, who is able to do anything, moves it. The ayah does not settle the mechanism, and we need not either.

What it does settle is the feeling of that moment. Those who spent their lives drawing near to Allah, step by unseen step, find at the end that something draws near to them.

That reverses the whole effort of this life. Here, you walk towards Him. There, what He has prepared comes towards you. And it does not come slowly.

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.