Surah Ar-Rahman 55:74
سُورَةُ الرَّحۡمَٰن · Medinan · Verse 74 of 78
لَمْ يَطْمِثْهُنَّ إِنسٌۭ قَبْلَهُمْ وَلَا جَآنٌّۭ
Translation
Untouched beforehand by man or jinn.
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Untouched before them by man or jinn.' Ibn Ashur and al-Saadi note the emphasis on purity and freshness, a companionship wholly new, unspoiled, given complete. Ask yourself: so much of this life is second-hand, worn, complicated by what came before, relationships carrying old wounds, joys dulled by history. The verse points to something pristine, unshadowed by any past. It names a longing I know well: for a clean beginning, a bond untainted, a joy that isn't already bruised. This world can only ever approximate that; the Gardens promise it whole. Does recognising that my ache for the unspoiled can only truly be met there stop me from demanding a flawless purity from a world that can't deliver it?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Saadi, al-Biqa'i.
Topics that discuss this verse
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