Surah Al-Baqarah 2:25
سُورَةُ البَقَرَةِ · Medinan · Verse 25 of 286
وَبَشِّرِ ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ وَعَمِلُوا۟ ٱلصَّٰلِحَٰتِ أَنَّ لَهُمْ جَنَّٰتٍۢ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَٰرُ ۖ كُلَّمَا رُزِقُوا۟ مِنْهَا مِن ثَمَرَةٍۢ رِّزْقًۭا ۙ قَالُوا۟ هَٰذَا ٱلَّذِى رُزِقْنَا مِن قَبْلُ ۖ وَأُتُوا۟ بِهِۦ مُتَشَٰبِهًۭا ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِيهَآ أَزْوَٰجٌۭ مُّطَهَّرَةٌۭ ۖ وَهُمْ فِيهَا خَٰلِدُونَ
Translation
[Prophet], give those who believe and do good the news that they will have Gardens graced with flowing streams. Whenever they are given sustenance from the fruits of these Gardens, they will say, ‘We have been given this before,’ because they were provided with something like it. They will have pure spouses and there they will stay.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Give good news to those who believe and do righteous deeds, that theirs are Gardens beneath which rivers flow. Whenever they are provided a fruit, they will say: This is what we were provided before, for they are given things in likeness. And they will have pure spouses, abiding therein forever.' al-Saadi and Ibn Kathir note the tender detail, 'mutashabiha', the fruits resemble what is known, familiar enough to recognise yet infinitely better. Ask yourself: God describes the reward in the language of this world's delights, recognisable fruits, companionship, rivers, as a mercy to my limited imagination, so my heart can lean toward it. The reward is made graspable. And it dignifies the good things I know now as faint samples of the real ones. When I taste something good here, could I receive it both as a gift and as a whispered preview, 'this is like what is kept for you, only perfected'?
Grounded in classical tafsir: al-Saadi, Ibn Kathir, Ibn Ashur.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Baqarah 2:25 is discussed in 19 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
- Rivers (Anhar) (key verse)
- Glad Tidings (Bushra) (key verse)
- Paradise (Jannah) (key verse)
- Purity (Taharah) (key verse)
- Deeds (Amal)
- Faith (Iman)
- Sustenance (Rizq)
- Prophetic Household (Bayt al-Nubuwwah)
- Encouragement (Targhib)
- Loss (Khusran)
- Dawah
- Innate Nature (Fitrah)
- Role Model (Qudwah)
- Hastening (Musara'ah)
- Happiness (Sa'adah)
- Trees (Shajar)
- Drinking (Shurb)
- Uprightness (Salah)
- Food (Ta'am)
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Baqarah 2:25 in Maani to reflect on it through the Five Lenses: its wording, its context, what it means for you, its connections across the Quran and its lessons, grounded in classical tafsir.