مَّثَلُ ٱلْجَنَّةِ ٱلَّتِى وُعِدَ ٱلْمُتَّقُونَ ۖ فِيهَآ أَنْهَـٰرٌ مِّن مَّآءٍ غَيْرِ ءَاسِنٍ وَأَنْهَـٰرٌ مِّن لَّبَنٍ لَّمْ يَتَغَيَّرْ طَعْمُهُۥ وَأَنْهَـٰرٌ مِّنْ خَمْرٍ لَّذَّةٍ لِّلشَّـٰرِبِينَ وَأَنْهَـٰرٌ مِّنْ عَسَلٍ مُّصَفًّى ۖ وَلَهُمْ فِيهَا مِن كُلِّ ٱلثَّمَرَٰتِ وَمَغْفِرَةٌ مِّن رَّبِّهِمْ ۖ كَمَنْ هُوَ خَـٰلِدٌ فِى ٱلنَّارِ وَسُقُوا۟ مَآءً حَمِيمًا فَقَطَّعَ أَمْعَآءَهُمْ
Masalul jannatil latee wu'idal muttaqoona feehaaa anhaarum mim maaa'in ghayri aasininw wa anhaarum mil labanil lam yataghaiyar ta'muhoo wa anhaarum min khamril lazzatil lishshaaribeena wa anhaarum min 'asalim musaffanw wa lahum feeha min kullis samaraati wa maghfiratum mir Rabbihim kaman huwa khaalidun fin naari wa suqoo maaa'an hameeman faqatta'a am'aaa'ahum
Here is a picture of the Garden promised to the pious: rivers of water forever pure, rivers of milk forever fresh, rivers of wine, a delight for those who drink, rivers of honey clarified and pure, [all] flow in it; there they will find fruit of every kind; and they will find forgiveness from their Lord. How can this be compared to the fate of those stuck in the Fire, given boiling water to drink that tears their bowels?
Here is the likeness of the garden promised to the God-conscious: in it are rivers of water that never grows stale, rivers of milk whose taste never turns, rivers of wine delicious to those who drink, and rivers of clarified honey. There they have every kind of fruit, and forgiveness from their Lord. Are they like those who abide forever in the fire and are given scalding water to drink that tears their bowels apart?
Each of the four rivers is described by the way its substance fails in this world: water going stale, milk turning, honey needing to be strained. The passage opens by calling itself a likeness, and commentators lean on that word when they say the description reaches for what a reader already knows rather than reporting an inventory. The scalding drink at the close answers the same thirst the rivers do.