Al-Insan · Madani · ayah 21 of 31

Al-Insan 76:21

عَـٰلِيَهُمْ ثِيَابُ سُندُسٍ خُضْرٌ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٌ ۖ وَحُلُّوٓا۟ أَسَاوِرَ مِن فِضَّةٍ وَسَقَىٰهُمْ رَبُّهُمْ شَرَابًا طَهُورًا

“Upon them [i.e., the inhabitants] will be green garments of fine silk and brocade. And they will be adorned with bracelets of silver, and their Lord will give them a purifying drink.”

Saheeh International

Essence

Silk outside, silver on the wrist, and then the Host Himself pours the last cup: a drink that washes the heart clean of every grudge.

A reflection

The Host pours the last cup Himself

Read the verbs of this whole passage, and notice who does what. Vessels are carried round (76:15). They are given to drink (76:17). Youths go round them (76:19). They are adorned with bracelets, here, in this very ayah. Gift after gift arrives, and the giver stays out of view.

Then, in the final clause of the final gift, the verb turns active and the subject is named. Wa-saqāhum rabbuhum: and their Lord gave them to drink.

The commentaries saw the weight of this. One argues that this must be a different drink from the cups of camphor and ginger. Why else would it be repeated? And Allah attributes this one to Himself, which shows an excellence the others do not have. Another says it surpasses both earlier cups, as the naming of the Lord of the worlds as its giver makes clear.

The description of the reward ends here. After this, the next ayah only speaks to them: this is your reward, and your striving is thanked (76:22). So the last thing pictured, before the words of welcome, is the Lord pouring.

At a family Eid lunch, the caterers have served all afternoon. Plates come and go; nobody notices who carries them. Then the grandmother gets up, slowly, and pours the last cup of tea herself for her grandson, home after months in hospital. Everyone falls quiet. It is the same tea. It is not the same cup.

This is what the surah has been building towards since 76:5. They drank. They were given to drink. Now their Lord gives them to drink. The honour rises with each step, and stops where it can rise no further.

The people of this surah once fed the hungry 'for the face of Allah' (76:9). They poured out what they had, for Him. At the end of everything, He pours for them.

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.