إِنَّ أَصْحَٰبَ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ٱلْيَوْمَ فِى شُغُلٍۢ فَٰكِهُونَ
Indeed the companions of Paradise, that Day, will be amused in [joyful] occupation -
Introduction
This is āyah 55 of Sūrat Yaseen (Ya Sin), the 41st sūrah in the traditional order of revelation. It was revealed in the Meccan period and sits within Juzʾ 23. Meccan verses tend to address faith, the oneness of God, and the hereafter.
This introduction is a starting point — the community and Bilal will enrich it over time.
Revelation & occasion
- Period
- Meccan
- Order revealed
- 41 of 114
- Surah
- Yaseen (36)
Surely the companions of the Garden today are in an occupation, rejoicing. Wakīʿ ibn al-JarrāḤ said, “Their occupation in paradise is listening.” This is exactly what He says elsewhere: “They will be made happy in a garden” [30:15]. “You and your spouses, made happy” [43:70]. These are reports about listening in the Garden. In paradise, the faithful servant will delight in listening. The Exalted Lord will send Seraphiel, who will stand on his right hand and recite the Qur'an, and David, who will stand on his left hand and recite the Psalms. The servant will keep on listening until he becomes happy. His spirit will come to the listening, his heart to elation, and his secret core to the work. Of the body the tongue will remain, and that's it. Of the heart the mark will remain, and that's it. Of the spirit face-to-face vision will remain, and that's it. The body will be distracted by ecstasy, the heart consumed by witnessing, the spirit drowned in finding. The eyes will hope to see the Possessor of Majesty, the heart will hope for a pure wine [76:21], the spirit will hope for listening to the Real. The Exalted Lord will lift up the curtain of majesty and show the vision. He will caress the servant with cups of wine and begin to recite Ṭāhā and Yāsīn, and then the servant's spirit will begin to listen in reality. O chevalier! The body is not able to listen because it is attached to having the upper hand. The heart is not able to listen because it is a passer-by. “Listening” is the listening of the spirit, for it does not belong here. The body does not listen because it suffers pain from itself. The heart does not listen because it is passing the days. The spirit listens because it is solitary for the Solitary. Your seeker must be solitary like You- he must be free of every defect and pain. It has also been said that the occupation of the paradise-dwellers is ten things: a kingdom without dismissal, youth without old age, constant health without sickness, continued exaltation without abasement, ease without hardship, blessing without tribulation, subsistence without annihilation, life without death, approval without anger, and intimacy without estrangement. The Pir of the Tariqah said, “This is the occupation of the generality of the faithful, concern- ing whom MuṣṬafā said, 'Most of the folk of the Garden are simpletons.
Tafsir
Hafiz Ibn Kathir
Chains of transmission
Oral — isnād
- ~610–632 CERevelation & memorisation
Received by the Prophet ﷺ and preserved by the ḥuffāẓ (memorisers) among the Companions.
- 1st century AHMutawātir transmissionawaiting curation
Carried by mass-transmission through the generations of qurrāʾ.
- TodayLiving chainsawaiting curation
Continuous ijāzah chains link reciters today back to the Prophet ﷺ.
Verified isnād chains for this āyah will be added by curators.
Written — the manuscript record
- ~650 CEʿUthmānic codicesawaiting curation
The standardised muṣḥaf sent to the great cities (e.g. the Topkapı and Samarqand codices).
- 8th–10th c.Early Ḥijāzī & Kūfic foliosawaiting curation
Surviving leaves in Birmingham, Sanaa, Paris (BnF) and beyond.
- Modern printModern printawaiting curation
The 1924 Cairo edition → today: the standard printed muṣḥaf used worldwide.
A curated chain of manuscript images for this exact āyah — roughly one per century — is coming. Help us source and verify them.
And now — what do you think?
The text, its history and the classical commentary are laid out above. Share your own understanding, ask a question, or reason with others.
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