The Quran

مَثَلُ الجَنَّةِ الَّتي وُعِدَ المُتَّقونَ ۖ فيها أَنهارٌ مِن ماءٍ غَيرِ آسِنٍ وَأَنهارٌ مِن لَبَنٍ لَم يَتَغَيَّر طَعمُهُ وَأَنهارٌ مِن خَمرٍ لَذَّةٍ لِلشّارِبينَ وَأَنهارٌ مِن عَسَلٍ مُصَفًّى ۖ وَلَهُم فيها مِن كُلِّ الثَّمَراتِ وَمَغفِرَةٌ مِن رَبِّهِم ۖ كَمَن هُوَ خالِدٌ فِي النّارِ وَسُقوا ماءً حَميمًا فَقَطَّعَ أَمعاءَهُم

Muhammad Asad

[And can] the parable of the paradise which the God-conscious are promised¹ - [a paradise]wherein there are rivers of water which time does not corrupt, and rivers of milk the taste whereof never alters, and rivers of wine delightful to those who drink it,² and rivers of honey of all impurity cleansed, and the enjoyment³ of all the fruits [of their good deeds] and of forgiveness from their Sustainer -: can this [parable of paradise] be likened unto [the parable of the recompense of⁴] such as are to abide in the fire and be given waters of burning despair⁵ to drink, so that it will tear their bowels asunder?

My rendering of this verse is based in its entirety on the grammatical construction given to it by Zamakhshari and supported by Razi. In this construction, the parabolic description of paradise - beginning with the phrase "wherein there are rivers , etc., and ending with the words "and forgiveness from their Sustainer" - is a parenthetic passage (jumlah mu'taridah). As for the term "parable" (mathal) itself, it is undoubtedly meant to impress upon those who read or listen to the Qur'an that its descriptions of life in the hereafter are purely allegorical: see in this connection Zamakhshari's explicit remarks cited in note 65 on 13:35.
Cf. 37 : 4S~7, especially verse 47: "no headiness wiU there be in it, and they will not get drunk thereon".
Lit., "and wherein they [i.e., the God-conscious] will have ..., etc.
This interpolation reproduces literally Zamakhshari's explanation of the above ellipticism.
Lit., "exceedingly hot [or "boiling"] water". For an explanation of this metaphor, see note 62 on 6:70.