The benefits of the saying of Allah the Exalted: “Are we not to die, except for our first death, and are we not to be punished?”

Among the benefits of these verses is that the people of Paradise do not die in it, as He said: This is the ultimate degree of bliss: bliss that is not marred by any bitterness. For the bliss of this world, no matter how great it is, is marred by bitterness when a person remembers that this bliss will end, or that he will be removed from it. Undoubtedly, his tranquility is then disturbed. Therefore, the poet said:
“There is no sweetness in life as long as its essence is marred by the remembrance of death and old age.”
As long as a person remembers either death or illness, life will not be sweet for him. But among the blessings of Allah is that a person is heedless of this matter and does not remember anything but the state in which he is. However, the sensible person is decisive and works for his future. Now, if someone asks: Is there a parallel to this verse in the Qur’an? Where is it? The exception in the second verse is like the exception in the first, meaning it is a disconnected exception. However, the first death has already been tasted. One might say that the exception in it is connected. If asked what the basis for this is, we say that His saying is an exception from the state of those about whom Allah said they do not taste death in it, because the bliss of the people of Paradise is continuous, its end connected to its beginning. Indeed, the people of Paradise are granted bliss even in this world, as Allah the Exalted said: [Al-Nahl: 97]. So do not think that the good life for the believers is only in the Hereafter; rather, it is in the Hereafter and in this world as well. But the well-known view is that the exception is disconnected. Now, he says...
And among the benefits of these noble verses is the negation of punishment for the people of Paradise: It is known that this is a negative attribute, is it not? Or is it an affirmative one? It is negative. And a negative attribute in a context of praise must include an affirmation, because a negative attribute in a context other than praise is not praise. For example, one might say, “The wall is not punished.” Would that be praise for the wall? No. Therefore, this attribute must include the affirmation of perfection. What is it? The perfection of bliss. When the negation of death was mentioned, the bitterness was removed from them by it. They also mentioned the negation of punishment, because a person might remain in his life while being punished. So they said, “And we are not to be punished,” for the perfection of their life and the perfection of their bliss: that no punishment befalls them despite this permanence.