Tafsir of Al-Furqan 25:24

"The inhabitants of Paradise on that Day..."

(The inhabitants of Paradise) are the believers referred to in the words of the Exalted: "Say: Is that better, or the Garden of Eternity which the righteous have been promised?"

(On that Day)—that is, on the day when the aforementioned events occur: the arrival at their deeds and their being rendered as scattered dust, or the occurrence of this [event], the absence of glad tidings, and their saying: "An inviolable ban."

(Are better in settlement): The mustaqarr (settlement) is the place where one dwells for the majority of the time for sitting together and conversing.

(And better in place of rest): The maqil (place of rest) is the place one retreats to for comfort with spouses and for enjoying their company. It is named as such because such enjoyment typically takes place during the midday rest (qaylulah). It has been said: It is originally the place for the midday rest, which is sleep in the middle of the day, and it was transferred from that meaning to the place of enjoyment with spouses because it resembles it in that both are places of seclusion and relaxation; thus, it is a metaphor. It has also been said that it is intended as a place of comfort in an absolute sense, using the specific to denote the general; thus, it is a figurative expression (majaz mursal). The reason it is not kept to its literal meaning is that there is no sleep in Paradise at all.

Ibn al-Mubarak recorded in al-Zuhd, along with 'Abd ibn Humayd, Ibn Jarir, Ibn al-Mundhir, Ibn Abi Hatim, and al-Hakim—who authenticated it—on the authority of Ibn Mas’ud (may Allah be pleased with him): "The Day of Resurrection shall not reach its midpoint before these [the believers] and those [the disbelievers] take their midday rest." Then he recited: "The inhabitants of Paradise on that Day are better in settlement and better in place of rest," and he recited: "Indeed, their place of rest is towards Hell." From this, some derived that the mustaqarr refers to the place of reckoning, and the maqil refers to the place of rest after finishing it. The meaning of "these take their midday rest" signifies that the inhabitants of Paradise will be moved to it at the time of the midday rest. It is also said that the mustaqarr and maqil refer to the place of gathering (mahshar) before entering Paradise, or the mustaqarr is within Paradise and the maqil is within it.

Ibn Jarir recorded from Sa'id al-Sawwaf that he said: "It has reached me that the Day of Resurrection will be shortened for the believer until it is like the time between the late afternoon ('Asr) and sunset, and they will indeed take their midday rest in gardens until the people have finished the reckoning; that is the meaning of the words of the Exalted: 'The inhabitants of Paradise on that Day are better in settlement and better in place of rest.'"

In describing it with the addition of "better" while affirming its goodness by coupling it to the mustaqarr, there is an indication that they possess that which they find delight in. The superiority considered in both is joy; this is either an intended absolute superiority—meaning they are at the pinnacle of the goodness of settlement and the excellence of the place of rest—or it is in comparison to what the disbelievers, who enjoyed themselves in the world, possess, or to what they themselves possess in the Hereafter, by way of mocking the disbelievers.

As for the interpretation of mustaqarr and maqil as two places, as you have heard, this is the well-known view. It is one of nine possibilities, as they allowed for both to be nouns of place, nouns of time, or verbal nouns; or for the first to be a noun of place and the second a noun of time or a verbal noun; or for the first to be a noun of time and the second a noun of place or a verbal noun; or for the first to be a verbal noun and the second a noun of place or a noun of time. You may imagine whatever you wish regarding the superiority of the time of the inhabitants of Paradise and its excellence, and likewise regarding the superiority of their settlement and the excellence of their rest on that Day.