خُلْدِ

34:43.

Important Words:

عذاب الخلد (the abiding punishment). خلد (khalada) means, he or it remained or stayed; or he or it remained or stayed long. اخلد الی الارض means, he inclined and clove to the earth (Taj & Aqrab).

Commentary:

The expression عذاب الخلد (the abiding punishment) means, a punishment that will come to stay with and cleave to disbelievers. It does not mean a punishment which knows no end and which can in no circumstances be removed. The word خلد (khuld) i.e. lasting, thus only expresses the firm adherence of the punishment to those afflicted by it, so that it will not be averted and will, as it were, stick to evildoers.

2:37; 7:21.

Important Words:

شیطان (Satan) is either derived from شطن or شاط and means, (1) the being who is not only himself far from truth but also turns others away from it; and (2) the being who burns with hate and anger and is lost (Aqrab & Mufradat). See also 2:15.

Commentary:

In common usage شیطان signifies (1) the Evil Spirit i.e. Satan; (2) anybody who greatly transgresses proper limits and is excessively proud and rebellious; (3) any evil propensity or inclination. شیطان (Satan) is a very general term and is of much wider significance than ابلیس (Iblis), for whereas Iblis is the name given to the Evil Spirit who belonged to the jinn and refused to serve Adam, thereafter becoming the leader of the forces of evil, شیطان is any evil or harmful being or thing, whether a spirit or a human being or an animal or a disease, etc. The Quran mentions ابلیس and شیطان side by side wherever the story of Adam is given, but everywhere a distinction is observed between the two. Wherever the Quran speaks of the being who, unlike the angels, refused to serve Adam, it invariably mentions the name Iblis and wherever it speaks of the being who beguiled Adam and became the means of his being turned out of جنة (garden) it mentions the name "Satan". This distinction, which is most significant and which has been maintained throughout the Quran, shows that Iblis and Satan are two aspects of the same being or person. When he refuses to believe in Adam and to submit to him, he is called Iblis but when he translates his refusal into action and opposes him and puts all sorts of obstacles in his way and creates difficulties for him, he is called Satan. It may further be added that الشیطان mentioned in connection with Adam was one of his own people.

As for شجرة الخلد (the tree of eternity), the Quran elsewhere makes mention of two شجرة (trees) i.e. شجرة طیبة (good tree) and شجرة خبیثة (evil tree). See 14:25 & 27. In the Quran pure things are likened to the former and impure things to the latter. In view of this explanation it appears that Adam was enjoined to avoid quarrels and useless wranglings which are calculated to create discord and disharmony in a family, otherwise there exists in the world no such tree as "tree of eternity" the eating of whose fruit makes a man naked or provides him with the knowledge of good and evil. The "tree" as mentioned in the present verse and elsewhere in the Quran was a certain family or tribe from which Adam was bidden to keep aloof because its members were his enemies.

21:104; 41:31.

Commentary:

In reply to the disbelievers’ taunt that the Holy Prophet was quite an ordinary man and his followers were devoid of wealth and other material comforts (vv. 8-9), the Quran had predicted that the Prophet and his followers would be given all these things in abundance (v. 11). In the present verse, however, reference is made to the fact that over and above these material benefits and comforts, Muslims will reside in Gardens of Eternity where they will bask in the Sun of Divine love, the greatest of all blessings, and this blessing will know no diminution or end.