Tafsir of Muhammad 47:12

(Indeed, Allah will admit those who have believed and done righteous deeds to gardens beneath which rivers flow)—this is an exposition of the ruling of His—the Exalted—guardianship over them and its otherworldly fruit.

(And those who disbelieve enjoy)—that is, they benefit from the provisions of this world for a few days—(and eat as the grazing livestock eat)—the ka (particle of comparison) is in the position of an accusative: either as a circumstantial qualifier (hal) referring to the pronoun within the verbal noun, as Sibawayh maintains—meaning, they eat it, i.e., the eating, resembling the eating of livestock; or it is an attribute of an omitted verbal noun, as the majority of grammarians maintain—meaning, an eating like the eating of livestock. The meaning is that their eating is devoid of reflection and consideration, just as one might say to an ignorant person, "You live as the beast lives," not intending a comparison in the absolute sense of living, but rather in its specific characteristics and requirements. The gist is that they eat while being heedless of their consequences and the end of their affairs.

His saying—the Exalted—: (And the Fire is a dwelling for them)—that is, a place of residence for them. This is a prospective circumstantial qualifier (hal muqaddara) related to the waw in (eat); it is also permitted that it be an incipit (isti'naf).

It is as if His saying—the Exalted—: (They enjoy and eat) is in opposition to His saying—Glorified be He—: (And done righteous deeds). This is because it contains an indication that they (the believers) knew that the bliss of this world is a false illusion and a vanishing shadow, so they abandoned worldly desires and devoted themselves to righteous deeds; thus, their consequence was lasting bliss in an honorable station. These (the disbelievers), however, were heedless of that, so they grazed in their filth like beasts until abandonment (by Allah) drove them to their abode in the depths of the Fire. This is what the eminent scholar al-Tibi mentioned in explaining the correlation between the two verses.

Some of the distinguished scholars said: There is ihtibak (ellipsis/reciprocal omission) in the discourse. It is that He mentioned righteous deeds and entering Paradise first as evidence for the omission of corrupt deeds and entering the Fire second, and He mentioned enjoyment and the dwelling second as evidence for the omission of asceticism and the (eternal) abode first. The first (interpretation) is better and more precise.

He attributed the admission into Paradise to Allah—the Exalted—and did not follow this path in His saying—the Exalted—: (And the Fire is a dwelling for them). The two sentences were varied—one verbal and one nominal—to signal the precedence of mercy, to announce the destiny of the believers, and to promise that their end is that Allah—the Glorified—will admit them into gardens, while the disbelievers’ abode is the Fire, which they are currently present in, yet they do not know, eating like beasts.