How can the meaning of an afternoon nap (maqīlan) in Allah's (SWT) saying about the people of Paradise, "That Day will be better for settlement and better for a resting place [or midday nap]," be reconciled with the statements of most preachers that there is no sleep in Paradise?

The people of Paradise do not sleep, based on the hadith: "Sleep is the brother of death, and the people of Paradise do not sleep." The interpretation of Allah's saying: ﴿The Companions of Paradise, that Day, will be best in abode and best in resting-place﴾ [Quran 25:24] is understood in two ways:

1. That al-Maqeel (resting-place) refers to al-Qaylulah (midday nap), and the meaning is that the reckoning ends by midday, so the people of Paradise go to their homes. Or, that the people of Paradise will not experience in the Day of Resurrection but the time from daytime until the Qaylulah, until they inhabit their dwellings in Paradise, and al-Maqeel here is the place of Qaylulah. 2. That al-Maqeel is the refuge and dwelling, meaning that the companions of Paradise on the Day of Resurrection will be best in abode and best in refuge and dwelling.

The conclusion is that the people of Paradise do not sleep, and what is meant by the verse is that midday will not pass for them until they have taken their places and dwellings in Paradise.