إِنَّ ٱلْأَبْرَارَ يَشْرَبُونَ مِن كَأْسٍ كَانَ مِزَاجُهَا كَافُورًا 5
Translations
Indeed, the righteous will drink from a cup [of wine] whose mixture is of Kāfūr,
Transliteration
Inna al-abrara yashraboon min ka'sin kana mizajuha kafuran
Tafsir (Explanation)
This ayah describes one of the rewards for the righteous (al-abraar) in Paradise—they will drink from a cup whose mixture is camphor (kafur), a fragrant substance symbolizing purity, coolness, and divine blessing. Classical scholars like Ibn Kathir and Al-Qurtubi explain that kafur represents the refreshing, pure nature of the drinks of Paradise, contrasting with the mixture of zaqqum for the disbelievers, and emphasizing that the righteous will experience only the finest and most pleasant provisions.
Revelation Context
Surah Al-Insan (Chapter 76) is a Medinan surah focused on contrasting the rewards of the righteous with the punishment of the disbelievers. This ayah appears within a passage (verses 4-22) that vividly describes the blessings and delights awaiting the believers in Paradise, established to motivate obedience and righteous conduct.
Related Hadiths
The Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported in Sahih Muslim to have described the rivers and drinks of Paradise, with emphasis on their purity and superior qualities. Additionally, Tirmidhi records hadiths about the various drinks prepared for the inhabitants of Paradise, affirming the Quranic descriptions.
Themes
Key Lesson
This ayah reminds believers that righteous conduct in this life yields incomparable rewards in the next, and encourages mindfulness that every action has eternal consequences; it also invites reflection on the nature of true pleasure—not in material excess, but in purity, peace, and divine favor.
Related Ayahs
يَلْبَسُونَ مِن سُندُسٍ وَإِسْتَبْرَقٍ مُّتَقَـٰبِلِينَ
Wearing [garments of] fine silk and brocade, facing each other.
يَـٰٓأَيُّهَا ٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ تُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ تَوْبَةً نَّصُوحًا عَسَىٰ رَبُّكُمْ أَن يُكَفِّرَ عَنكُمْ سَيِّـَٔاتِكُمْ وَيُدْخِلَكُمْ جَنَّـٰتٍ تَجْرِى مِن تَحْتِهَا ٱلْأَنْهَـٰرُ يَوْمَ لَا يُخْزِى ٱللَّهُ ٱلنَّبِىَّ وَٱلَّذِينَ ءَامَنُوا۟ مَعَهُۥ ۖ نُورُهُمْ يَسْعَىٰ بَيْنَ أَيْدِيهِمْ وَبِأَيْمَـٰنِهِمْ يَقُولُونَ رَبَّنَآ أَتْمِمْ لَنَا نُورَنَا وَٱغْفِرْ لَنَآ ۖ إِنَّكَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ
O you who have believed, repent to Allāh with sincere repentance. Perhaps your Lord will remove from you your misdeeds and admit you into gardens beneath which rivers flow [on] the Day when Allāh will not disgrace the Prophet and those who believed with him. Their light will proceed before them and on their right; they will say, "Our Lord, perfect for us our light and forgive us. Indeed, You are over all things competent."
أَذَٰلِكَ خَيْرٌ نُّزُلًا أَمْ شَجَرَةُ ٱلزَّقُّومِ
Is that [i.e., Paradise] a better accommodation or the tree of zaqqūm?
يُسْقَوْنَ مِن رَّحِيقٍ مَّخْتُومٍ
They will be given to drink [pure] wine [which was] sealed.