Al-Furqan · Makki · ayah 76 of 77

Al-Furqan 25:76

خَـٰلِدِينَ فِيهَا ۚ حَسُنَتْ مُسْتَقَرًّا وَمُقَامًا

“Abiding eternally therein. Good is the settlement and residence.”

Saheeh International

Essence

For people who lived by striking camp, the reward is a home never packed up again, beautiful to see and good to rest in.

A reflection

Forever is not a long holiday

A common worry about Paradise is quietly honest. Forever sounds tiring. Even the best holiday becomes tedious by the third week. A sceptic asks it openly; many believers wonder it privately. Would an eternity of anything not end in boredom?

The commentaries answer from the Quran's own words. One explains khālidīna fīhā: they stay, they never strike camp, never move on, never die, never leave. Then it adds another ayah: they will not wish to move from it (18:108). The desire to leave, the restlessness that turns every pleasure stale, is itself absent. Boredom is a symptom of something missing. The ayah describes a place where nothing is missing.

And the second half names what kind of dwelling it is. Ḥasunat mustaqarran wa-muqāman. One commentary glosses it as beautiful to look at, and good to rest in, the way a shaded spot is good for the midday rest. Not a resort to be used up, but a home to live in.

A woman has moved eleven times in fifteen years for work. Each new flat looks lovely in the photos. In each one she leaves half the boxes taped, because she knows she will be moving again. When a friend asks what she wants most, she does not say a bigger place or a better view. She says: to unpack, once.

That is closer to what the ayah offers than any holiday. Eternity in the Garden is not an endless trip. It is the end of all trips: the boxes opened, for good.

The full entry has 6 more reflections, questions to sit with, and "Live it today" - with the words, the roots and the tafsir alongside. Free, no account, works offline.