Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:33
سُورَةُ الوَاقِعَةِ · Meccan · Verse 33 of 96
لَّا مَقْطُوعَةٍۢ وَلَا مَمْنُوعَةٍۢ
Translation
unfailing, unforbidden,
English translation: M.A.S. Abdel Haleem.
Meaning and reflection
'Neither ending nor forbidden.' Ibn Ashur and al-Biqa'i note this names the two ways earthly pleasure always fails, 'la maqtu'a' (it runs out, is cut off, seasonal) and 'la mamnu'a' (it is off-limits, restricted, denied), and abolishes both. The fruit of the Gardens never ends and is never withheld. Ask yourself: every delight I know disappoints in exactly one of these two ways, either I can have it but it won't last, or it would last but I can't (or shouldn't) have it. My whole experience of pleasure is bounded by 'it ends' and 'it's forbidden'. This verse removes both limits at once. It names, with startling precision, the twin frustrations at the root of all my dissatisfaction, and promises a joy free of both. Which of my current cravings is really just a longing for something endless and permitted?
Grounded in classical tafsir: Ibn Ashur, al-Biqa'i, al-Saadi.
Topics that discuss this verse
Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:33 is discussed in 8 study guides on Maani. Each guide gathers the key verses, Arabic words and lessons of one Quranic topic.
Reflect on this verse
Open Surah Al-Waqi'ah 56:33 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.