Tafseer Ibn Kathir of ATH THUUR [17]

17. Verily, those who have Taqwa will be in Gardens and Delight. 18. Enjoying in that which their Lord has bestowed on them, and (the fact that) their Lord saved them from the torment of the blazing Fire. 19. ”Eat and drink with happiness because of what you used to do.'' 20. They will recline on thrones Masfufah. And We shall marry them to Hur (fair females) with wide lovely eyes. Allah the Exalted described the destination of the happy ones,

(Verily, those who have Taqwa will be in Gardens and Delight.) in contrast to the torment and punishment of the miserable;

(Enjoying in that which their Lord has bestowed on them,) meaning, enjoying the various types of delight that Allah has granted them therein, such as various types of foods, drinks, clothes, dwelling places, mounts, and so forth,

(and (the fact that) their Lord saved them from the torment of the blazing Fire.) He saved them from the torment of the Fire, which is a bounty itself. Added to this blessing is the fact that they were entered into Paradise, which has delights that no eye has ever seen, no ear has ever heard, nor has a heart ever imagined. The statement of Allah the Exalted,

(”Eat and drink with happiness because of what you used to do'') is similar to another of His statements,

(Eat and drink at ease for that which you have sent on before you in days past!)(69:24) meaning this is the just reward for your deeds; surely, all this is a favor from Allah and a reward from Him. Allah the Exalted said,

(They will recline (with ease) on thrones Masfufah.) Ath-Thawri reported from Husayn, from Mujahid, from Ibn `Abbas: ”Thrones in howdahs.'' And the meaning of, (Masfufah) is they will be facing each other,

(Facing one another on thrones.)(37:44) Allah said next,

(And We shall marry them to Hur (fair females) with wide lovely eyes.) We made for them righteous spouses, beautiful wives from Al-Hur Al-`Ayn. We mentioned the description of Al-Hur Al-`Ayn in several other places in this Tafsir, and therefore, it is not necessary to repeat their description here.