Surah Aal-i-Imraan (3) — Ayah 55

(Ayah55) ➊ The meaning of {مُتَوَفِّيْكَ وَ رَافِعُكَ اِلَيَّ:} and { ’’ وَفَي يَفِيْ‘‘ } is to fulfill or to complete. The meaning of {’’اِسْتَوْفَي‘‘} and {’’ تَوَفّٰي‘‘ } is to take in full. The meaning of {’’ اِسْتَوْفَيْتُ مِنْهُ وَ تَوَفَّيْتُ‘‘} is “I have taken full right from him.” On this basis, the meaning of {”مُتَوَفِّيْكَ“} is “I am the one who will take you in full,” and this can only happen if ‘Isa (peace be upon him) was raised up with both soul and body. Some have interpreted it as “I will cause you to die (at the appointed time),” and I have translated it as “the one who will seize you.” Both meanings are included in this. Although in the Qur’an, the meaning of {’’ تَوَفِّيْ ‘‘} is also to make someone sleep, as He said: «وَ هُوَ الَّذِيْ يَتَوَفّٰىكُمْ بِالَّيْلِ » [الأنعام: ۶۰ ] “And He is the One who seizes you at night (puts you to sleep),” and He said: «اَللّٰهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْاَنْفُسَ حِيْنَ مَوْتِهَا وَ الَّتِيْ لَمْ تَمُتْ فِيْ مَنَامِهَا » [الزمر : ۴۲ ] “Allah seizes the souls at the time of their death and those who do not die, in their sleep.”
Shaykh al-Islam Imam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) has written in {’’ اَلْجَوَابُ الصَّحِيْحُ ‘‘} that in the Arabic language, the meanings of { ’’تَوَفِّيْ‘‘} are {’’اِسْتِيْفَاءٌ ‘‘} and seizing, and this can be in the form of sleep or in the form of death, and it also comes in the meaning of {’’ تَوَفِّي الرُّوْحِ مَعَ الْبَدَنِ جَمِيْعًا ‘‘} (taking both soul and body), and in this verse, this is the intended meaning. In summary, in this verse, by «مُتَوَفِّيْكَ وَ رَافِعُكَ اِلَيَّ », what is meant is the ascension of ‘Isa (peace be upon him) with his body towards the heavens, as He said: «وَ رَافِعُكَ اِلَيَّ » “And I am the one who will raise you to Myself.” Elsewhere, Allah Almighty has negated the killing and crucifixion of ‘Isa (peace be upon him) and, without using the word {’’تَوَفِّيْ‘‘}, said: «بَلْ رَّفَعَهُ اللّٰهُ اِلَيْهِ » [النساء : ۱۵۸] “Rather, Allah raised him to Himself.”
➋ {وَ جَاعِلُ الَّذِيْنَ اتَّبَعُوْكَ فَوْقَ الَّذِيْنَ كَفَرُوْۤا:} The Christians were the first followers of ‘Isa (peace be upon him), after them are the Muslims, so they have always been dominant. (Muwaddih) Hafiz Ibn Kathir (may Allah have mercy on him) writes that by them, only the Christians may be meant, and the meaning is that the Jews, who deny the Messiah (peace be upon him), the Christians will always be dominant over them. (Ibn Kathir)
It also means that near the Day of Judgment, when the Messiah (peace be upon him) will come, his followers, the Muslims, will be dominant over all the disbelievers.

55. 1. When the word "wafaat" is used for a human's death, it is because his physical faculties are completely taken away; in this sense, death is merely one of the various forms of the meaning of "wafaat." Since, in sleep as well, human faculties are temporarily suspended, the Quran has also applied the word "wafaat" to sleep, from which it is understood that its real and original meaning should be taken in full. That is, O 'Isa, I will save you from the conspiracy of the Jews and completely raise you up to Myself in the heavens. Thus, this is what happened, and then when you descend again to the world, at that time I will cause you to die. That is, you will not be killed at the hands of the Jews, but you will die a natural death. (Fath al-Qadeer)

55. 2. By this is meant purification from those accusations with which the Jews used to accuse you; your exoneration will be presented to the world through the Prophet ﷺ.

55. 3. By this is meant either the worldly dominance of the Christians, which will remain over the Jews until the Day of Resurrection, though due to their incorrect beliefs they will remain deprived of salvation in the Hereafter; or it refers to the dominance of the people of the Ummah of Muhammad, who in reality affirm 'Isa and all other prophets and follow their authentic religion.

55. (And it was Allah’s plan) when He said to Jesus: "O Jesus, I will take you and raise you up to Myself, and will purify you from those who disbelieve, and will make those who follow you superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection [53]. Then to Me you will all return, and I will judge between you regarding that in which you used to differ [54]."

[53]
The Accusations of Jews and Christians Against Sayyiduna Isa:

In this sentence, Allah Almighty made two promises to Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him) and assured him of them. The first is that Allah Almighty will purify Isa (peace be upon him) from the accusations of these disbelievers, and by disbelievers is meant the People of the Book, i.e., both Jews and Christians. The accusation of the Jews was that Hazrat Isa, God forbid, was illegitimate, and the accusation of the Christians was that he was actually crucified. Allah Almighty, through the tongue of the Messenger of Allah ﷺ, gave a detailed and comprehensive refutation of both these accusations and declared Isa (peace be upon him) free and pure from them. The second promise was that (O Isa) I will make your followers dominant over those who do not believe in you, i.e., the Jews. Then, among those who believe in Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him), Muslims are also included, and this prophecy was fulfilled in such a way that about forty years after Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him), the Roman Emperor Titus attacked the Jews and destroyed the city of Jerusalem. He even demolished Bayt al-Maqdis. He killed hundreds of thousands of Jews and took many captive and made them slaves. From that day, the remaining honor and glory of the Jews was also reduced to dust, which could not be restored in later periods either.

[54] This difference is not only among Jews and Christians but also among Muslims. Despite these clear statements of the Quran and Hadith, there is a sect among Muslims that denies miracles. These people do not consider Hadiths worthy of attention at all and make such far-fetched interpretations of Quranic verses that even reason is ashamed of them. The birth and death of Isa (peace be upon him) have also been made a target by these people. It is impossible to discuss all miracles in these footnotes. However, those who wish to see these details may refer to my books "Aql Parasti aur Inkar-e-Mu'jizat" and "Aina Parveziyat." On this occasion, I will say something regarding the birth and death of Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him). Regarding his birth, there is a detailed mention in two places in the Holy Quran: Surah Al-Imran and Surah Maryam, from which it is clearly known that the birth of Isa (peace be upon him) was miraculously without a father. Now, if, for the sake of argument, we accept the view of the deniers of miracles and assume that the birth of Hazrat Isa also occurred according to the general law of Allah and that Hazrat Maryam (God forbid) had a husband, then the following objections arise:

A Few Questions for Those Who Consider the Birth of the Messiah as Natural:

1. Wherever Allah Almighty has mentioned any prophet or any other person in the Holy Quran, He has never mentioned their sonship. What is the peculiarity in Isa (peace be upon him) that wherever his name appears, the mention of sonship, i.e., the suffix "son of Maryam," is considered necessary?
2. Allah Almighty says regarding lineage:
﴿ اُدْعُوْهُمْ لِاٰبَايِٕهِمْ ﴾
That is, attribute every person to his father's name. If Isa (peace be upon him) really had a father, then according to His own established rule, Allah Almighty should have mentioned his name. Why did Allah Almighty, at every place, mention only the name of Isa's mother and attribute him to her?
3. The Jews of that time accused Hazrat Maryam (peace be upon her) of adultery. If they knew of a husband of Hazrat Maryam, what was the point of making such an accusation? Then, if they could not know of a husband, how did people of today come to know?
4. If the birth of Isa (peace be upon him) also occurred naturally like other people, what was the need for Allah Almighty to give details about his birth at several places? Could Allah Almighty not have answered the Jews that Isa's father is so-and-so, so how are you making this accusation? And this matter could have been conveyed in just one sentence or verse.
5. Regarding the birth of Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him), in Surah Maryam, verse 21,
﴿ ايَٰةً لِّلنَّاسِ ﴾
is stated, and in Surah Al-Mu’minun, verse 50, both Hazrat Maryam and Hazrat Isa are called
﴿ ايَٰةً لِّلنَّاسِ﴾
If Hazrat Isa was born according to the general rule, then how did he and his mother become a sign for the people?
6. If the birth of Hazrat Isa (peace be upon him) occurred according to the general rule, then why did Hazrat Maryam (peace be upon her) go alone to a distant place, and why did she wish for death at the time of childbirth?

Arguments for the Ascension of Isa (peace be upon him):

Now consider the matter of the ascension (raf‘) of Isa (peace be upon him). The entire emphasis of the deniers is on the word ﴿توفي﴾, whose literal meaning is to take up completely. This word has been used in the Quran for the taking of the soul at the time of sleep and death, although in the state of sleep the entire soul is not taken, rather it remains in the body as well. Then, if this word is used for the taking of both soul and body, then, linguistically, this meaning is even more correct. The words ﴿رَافِعُكَ اِلَيَّ﴾ further support this meaning, and at another place, it is stated in even clearer words:
﴿ وَمَا قَتَلُوْهُ وَمَا صَلَبُوْهُ وَلٰكِنْ شُبِّهَ لَهُمْ﴾ [4: 157]
In this verse, three arguments are given for his life and ascension:
1. It is certain that the Jews could not kill Isa (peace be upon him).
2. Then, it is further clarified that Allah Almighty raised him up to Himself.
3. Later,
﴿ وَكَان اللّٰهُ عَزِيْزًا حَكِيْمًا ﴾
is stated, clarifying that this ascension was of the soul along with the body; otherwise, there was no point in using the word ﴿عَزِيْزا﴾ here, because the ascension of the soul happens to every good and bad person, and the raising of ranks is for every righteous person. Therefore, necessarily, the ascension must be of the soul along with the body.

The Reason for Denial of Miracles:

It should be clear that two things become obstacles in accepting the established matters of Shariah:
(1) Being overawed by philosophical or scientific theories, and
(2) Following one's own desires.
The deniers of miracles reject supernatural matters and then interpret them because they do not conform to the material standards of the present age. Therefore, all rationalists have interpreted the birth of Hazrat Isa without a father, his other miracles, and his being raised to the heavens. However, among them, Mirza Ghulam Ahmad Qadiani, the false claimant to prophethood, is unique, who accepts all other miracles but denies the ascension of Hazrat Isa to the heavens and his return to this world before the Day of Judgment. The reason is that he himself claimed to be the Promised Messiah, and if he accepted the ascension of Isa, then his own claim would not stand. Thus, he did this due to the second reason, i.e., following his own desires.