The Ayah

وَأُزْلِفَتِ الْجَنَّةُ لِلْمُتَّقِينَ غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ

“And Jannah (paradise) will be brought close to the Muttaqeen, not that far”.

Central ideas: nearness, honour, and a promise not far from fulfilment.

أُزْلِفَتِ — Uzlifat: “was brought close”

أُزْلِفَتِ (Uzlifat) is the passive from أَزْلَفَ (Azlafa), which means to bring something or someone near or close.

أُزْلِفَتِ
Passive form — “was brought near”
أَزْلَفَ
Active verb — “to bring near/close”
زُلْفَى
Honorary proximity/nearness
زَلَف
Closeness in status and rank
  • Honorary nearness (Zulfaa)

    In the Qur’an it denotes an honorary proximity and closeness. “Jannah was brought close to meet the status of the people of Taqwaa (Al‑Muttaqeena).” This implies that Jannah is being honoured by being brought close to the people of Taqwaa.

  • Physical nearness reading

    When أَزْلَفَ (Azlafa) is understood to imply being brought physically close, then this would imply that Jannah itself comes to those of Taqwaa. Normally, it is the person that needs to get close to a place to reach it, but here the Jannah is being brought close to the Muttaqeen.

Example of Zulfaa
وَإِنَّ لَهُ عِندَنَا لَزُلْفَىٰ وَحُسْنَ مَآبٍ
“And indeed, for him is nearness (Zulfaa) to Us and a good place of return” (Sad: 40).

Takeaway: The nearness here is more than spatial — it is a distinction of honour that matches the status of the people of Taqwaa.

Visualizing the approach

Normally, people move towards a place. Here, Jannah is brought close to the Muttaqeen.

غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ — “not far”

بَعِيدٍ (Ba’eed) appears in the masculine form instead of the feminine بَعِيدَة (Ba’eedah), though جَنَّة (Jannah) is feminine. This is because غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ refers to the masculine word وَعْد (Wa’d) — “Promise” — meaning the promise is not far from being realised and fulfilled.

Agreement detail

غَيْرَ بَعِيدٍ Masculine adjective

Refers back to وَعْد (Promise, masculine), not to جَنَّة (feminine).

Key nouns

وَعْد Promise (masc.) جَنَّة Jannah (fem.)

The nearness underscores how close the divine promise is to fulfilment.

Who are Al‑Muttaqeen?

  • Definition

    المُتَّقِينَ (Al‑Muttaqeen) are the people who protect and shield themselves — those who protect themselves from divine displeasure by fulfilling Allah’s commands and avoiding His prohibitions.