This is what we were provided with before.

Then the people of interpretation differed regarding the interpretation of His statement: "This is what we were provided with before."

Some of them said: The interpretation of that is: This is what we were provided with before this in the world.

• Mention of those who said that:

512- Mūsā ibn Hārūn narrated to me, he said: ʿAmr ibn Ḥammād narrated to us, he said: Asbāṭ, from al-Suddī in a report he mentioned, from Abū Mālik, and from Abū Ṣāliḥ, from Ibn ʿAbbās—and from Murra, from Ibn Masʿūd, and from some of the Companions of the Prophet, peace and blessings of God be upon him, who said: "This is what we were provided with before." He said: They were brought the fruit in Paradise, and when they looked (1) at it, they said: This is what we were provided with before in the world.

513- Bishr ibn Muʿādh narrated to us, he said: Yazīd ibn Zurayʿ narrated to us, from Saʿīd, from Qatāda: "They say, 'This is what we were provided with before,'" meaning in the world.

514- Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr narrated to me, he said: Abū ʿĀṣim narrated to us, from ʿĪsā ibn Maymūn, from Ibn Abī Najīḥ, from Mujāhid: "They say, 'This is what we were provided with before,'" they say: How similar it is to it!

515- Al-Qāsim narrated to us, he said: Al-Ḥusayn narrated to us, he said: Ḥajjāj narrated to me, from Ibn Jurayj, from Mujāhid, the like of it.

516- Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā narrated to me, he said: Ibn Wahb informed us, he said: Ibn Zayd said: "They say, 'This is what we were provided with before,'" in the world. He said: "And they are brought it in resemblance," they recognize it (2).

Abū Jaʿfar said: Others said: Rather, the interpretation of that is: This is what we were provided with from the fruits of Paradise before this, due to the extreme resemblance of some of it to others in color and taste. Among the reasoning of those who hold this opinion is that whenever something is plucked from the fruits of Paradise, another like it returns in its place.

517- Just as Ibn Bashshār narrated to us, he said: Ibn Mahdī narrated to us, he said: Sufyān narrated to us, he said: I heard ʿAmr ibn Murra narrate, from Abū ʿUbayda, he said: The date palms of Paradise are arranged in layers from their trunk to their top branch, and their fruit is like large clay jugs; whenever a fruit is plucked from them, another returns in its place (3).