Surah Al-Mutaffifin, Ayah 23

The Record Book of the Righteous and Their Reward

Allah says that truly,

إِنَّ كِتَـبَ الاٌّبْرَارِ

(Verily, the Record of Al-Abrar (the righteous believers)) These people are in a situation that is the opposite of the wicked people.

لَفِى عِلِّيِّينَ

(is in `Illiyyin.) meaning, their final destination is `Illiyyin, which is the opposite of Sijjin. It has been reported from Hilal bin Yasaf that Ibn `Abbas asked Ka`b about Sijjin while he was present, and Ka`b said, "It is the seventh earth and in it are the souls of the disbelievers." Then Ibn `Abbas asked him about `Illiyyin, so he said, "It is the seventh heaven and it contains the souls of the believers." This statement -- that it is the seventh heaven -- has been said by others as well. `Ali bin Abi Talhah reported that Ibn `Abbas said concerning Allah's statement,

يَشْهَدُهُ الْمُقَرَّبُونَ (...attended by those [ angels ] who are blessed with nearness to Allah!...83:21) The verb yash-hadu is derived from shuhud which means 'to attend, to witness, to be present, to observe'. The verse purports to say that the record of deeds of the righteous will be in the custody of angels who are blessed with nearness to Allah. [ Qurtubi ]. If shuhud is taken in the sense of 'being present', then the attached pronoun will refer to ` illiyyin instead of kitab or 'register' (and 'those who are blessed with nearness to Allah' will refer to the righteous people, and not to the angels), and the verse in that case will mean: 'The souls of those blessed with nearness to Allah will be in the place called ` illiyyin' because that is the abode of their souls, as sijjin is the abode of the unbelievers. The proof of this is the narrative of ` Abdullah Ibn Masud ؓ recorded in Muslim in which the Holy Prophet ﷺ said that the souls of the martyrs are in the crops of green birds, enjoying the rivers and gardens of Paradise, and their abode will be the lamps suspended from [ the Divine ] Throne. This indicates that the souls of the martyrs will be under the Divine Throne, and will be able to stroll in Paradise. In Surah Yasin, we came across the incident of Habib Najjar, where it is stated that:

Duly registered and inscribed, with no possibility of error or effacement.