“The everlasting virtues are better with your Lord”
Al Kahf, ayah 46
With the mind-blowing efficiency that is so typical of Abu Su’ūd, he explains the rhetorical power of the phrase الباقيات الصالحات (translated above as “the everlasting virtues”) as below:
وإخراجُ بقاءِ تلك الأعمالِ وصلاحِها مخرَجَ الصفات المفروغِ عنها مع أن حقهما أن يكون مقصودَي الإفادةِ لا سيما في مقابلة إثباتِ الفناء لما يقابلها من المال والبنين على طريقة قوله تعالى ما عندكم ينفد وَمَا عِندَ الله بَاقٍ للإيذان بأن بقاؤها أمرٌ محقّقٌ لا حاجةَ إلى بيانه بل لفظُ الباقيات اسم له وصفٌ ولذلك لم يُذكر الموصوفُ وإنما الذي يُحتاج إلى التعرض له خيرتها
Before we unpack the shaykh’s explanation above, let us revisit the entire verse:
Wealth and children are the embellishment of the worldly life, and the everlasting virtues are better with your Lord, both in rewards and in creating good hopes
Al Kahf, 46
Previously, in explaining والباقيات الصالحات, he says: هي أعمالُ الخير
So الباقيات الصالحات are attributes of good deeds, with الباقيات referring to their everlastingness and الصالحات referring to their virtuousness.
However, in the context of the ayah, what we would normally expect is that everlastingness is predicated to good deeds in the same manner as temporality is ascribed to wealth and children as mentioned in the first part of the verse. We see such juxtaposition between temporality and permanence in another ayah:
What is with you shall perish and what is with Allah shall last.
Al-Nahl, 96
But instead of bringing an informative sentence similar to Al-Nahl 96 above stating that good deeds are everlasting (as opposed to wealth and children), والباقيات الصالحات have been brought as direct adjectives of an omitted noun: الأعمالُ (according to Ibn Ashur, it would have been الْأَعْمَالُ الصَّالِحَاتُ الْبَاقِيَاتُ).
Moreover والباقيات precedes الصالحات making والباقيات a noun with its own description (الصالحات), whereas the everlastingness actually depends on the righteousness of the deeds.
This has the effect of indicating that the everlasting nature of good deeds is an established matter of fact that doesn’t require explanation.
Rather what is explained is that these righteous, everlasting deeds are “better with your Lord”.
If it sounds too technical, here is a simple way to partially understand it. Let us take the example of an imaginary guy named Zayd who is very tall. Now, “tallness” or height is his attribute. But let’s say that everyone in his town calls him “the tall one” instead of calling him by his name, Zayd. What does that signify? It means that Zayd’s high physical stature is such a well established fact that we can just refer to him as “the tall one” without having to explain to anyone that Zayd is tall, and people would still know that we are talking about him.
Likewise, the everlasting nature of good deeds is a matter so certain that it does not require explaining. Hence, the verse simply uses the term الباقيات to directly refer to good deeds.
Thinking about this verse reminded me of the hadith of our mother ‘Aishah (may Allah be pleaced with her):
Abu Maisarah narrated from ‘Aishah that they had slaughtered a sheep, so the Prophet (may peace be upon him) said, “What remains of it?” She said, “Nothing remains of it except its shoulder.” He said, “All of it remains except its shoulder.”
Tirmidhi
We act with sincerity seeking Allah alone, and insha Allah the reward of it will remain forever.
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