Surah Az-Zumar (39) — Ayah 42

(Ayah 42) ➊ { اَللّٰهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْاَنْفُسَ حِيْنَ مَوْتِهَا … :} From this verse it is understood that Allah takes the soul of a person at the time of death and also at the time of sleep. Thus, sleep is also a kind of death, but in it, despite the soul being taken, its connection with the body remains in such a way that the pulse continues, food is digested, and breathing continues. We do not know the full reality of this connection, because the knowledge of the matters of the soul is only with Allah. He said: «وَ يَسْـَٔلُوْنَكَ عَنِ الرُّوْحِ قُلِ الرُّوْحُ مِنْ اَمْرِ رَبِّيْ وَ مَاۤ اُوْتِيْتُمْ مِّنَ الْعِلْمِ اِلَّا قَلِيْلًا » [ بني إسرائیل : ۸۵ ] "And they ask you about the soul. Say: The soul is by the command of my Lord, and you have not been given knowledge except a little." But a small example of this, which is not a complete example, is the electric current, whose center is in one place but its connection is with something else thousands of miles away, like radio, television, remote, etc. This also sheds light on the punishment of the grave, that after death, despite the soul being taken, by Allah's command, some connection remains with the body so that the process of punishment and reward in the grave continues. Man, due to his limited knowledge, cannot understand this. That is why some people have denied the punishment of the grave, although there are clear proofs of it in the Qur'an and Hadith, and the duty of a believer is to accept the word of Allah and His Messenger (peace be upon him) in every situation, whether its reality is explained to him or not.

➋ Because the soul is taken during sleep, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) used the word "death" for it, even though it is a type of death before the great and final death, which comes and goes repeatedly in a person's life, as He said: «وَ هُوَ الَّذِيْ يَتَوَفّٰىكُمْ بِالَّيْلِ وَ يَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحْتُمْ بِالنَّهَارِ » [ الأنعام : ۶۰ ] "And He it is Who takes your souls by night and knows what you have earned by day." Hudhaifah (may Allah be pleased with him) says: [ كَانَ النَّبِيُّ صَلَّی اللّٰهُ عَلَيْهِ وَ سَلَّمَ إِذَا أَوٰی إِلٰی فِرَاشِهِ قَالَ بِاسْمِكَ أَمُوْتُ وَ أَحْيَا وَ إِذَا قَامَ قَالَ الْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِيْ أَحْيَانَا بَعْدَ مَا أَمَاتَنَا وَ إِلَيْهِ النُّشُوْرُ ] [ بخاري، الدعوات، باب ما یقول إذا نام : ۶۳۱۲ ] "When the Prophet (peace be upon him) would go to bed, he would say: 'In Your name I die and I live.' And when he woke up, he would say: 'All praise is for Allah Who gave us life after He caused us to die, and to Him is the resurrection.'"

➌ Some scholars have made two types of soul here: one is the animal soul and one is the self soul, and some have considered the self and the soul as separate, but this is not proven from the Qur'an or Hadith. Rather, just as the Qur'an mentions the taking of souls at the time of sleep, similarly in Bukhari, Abu Dawood, Nasa'i, and Musnad Ahmad, etc., the taking of souls at the time of sleep is mentioned. Thus, Abu Qatadah (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned that during a journey, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) and all the Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) slept during the night journey and woke up after sunrise. On that occasion, the Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him) said: [ إِنَّ اللّٰهَ قَبَضَ أَرْوَاحَكُمْ حِيْنَ شَاءَ، وَ رَدَّهَا عَلَيْكُمْ حِيْنَ شَاءَ] [بخاري، مواقیت الصلاۃ، باب الأذان بعد ذھاب الوقت : ۵۹۵ ] "Allah took your souls when He willed and returned them to you when He willed." From this discussion, it is understood that the thing that is taken at the time of sleep is called both the self and the soul.

➍ { وَ يُرْسِلُ الْاُخْرٰۤى اِلٰۤى اَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى :} The appointed time refers to the great and final death.

➎ { اِنَّ فِيْ ذٰلِكَ لَاٰيٰتٍ لِّقَوْمٍ يَّتَفَكَّرُوْنَ:} There are many signs in this for those who reflect, the first of which is the oneness of Allah, that the process of death and life, causing to sleep and awakening, is only in His hand. If He had a partner, this authority or a part of it would also be with him. Therefore, Allah alone is worthy of all kinds of worship. This is the same argument that Allah's friend (Abraham) presented: « رَبِّيَ الَّذِيْ يُحْيٖ وَ يُمِيْتُ» [ البقرۃ : ۲۵۸ ] "My Lord is the One Who gives life and causes death." The second sign is that the Lord who gives death every day and grants life after death is also able to resurrect all the dead on the Day of Resurrection, and He will certainly resurrect them, and He alone will decide for all, and no one will be able to intercede without His permission, as is coming in the next verse.

42. 1 This is the major death in which the soul is seized and does not return.
42. 2 That is, those whose time of death has not yet come, their souls are also seized at the time of sleep, and they are subjected to minor death.
42. 3 This is the same major death that has just been mentioned, in which the soul is withheld.
42. 4 That is, until their appointed time comes, their souls are returned for that period; this is minor death. The same subject is mentioned in Surah Al-An'am, although there the mention of minor death comes first and major death after, whereas here it is the opposite.
42. 5 That is, the seizing of the soul and its sending back is evidence that Allah is capable of everything, and on the Day of Resurrection, He will surely resurrect the dead.

It is Allah Who takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die (He takes) during their sleep. Then He withholds those for whom He has decreed death and sends the others back for an appointed term. Surely in this are many [58] signs for people who reflect.

[58] From this verse, the following matters become evident; in other words, the following signs are present in it.
1.
The Animal Soul and the Rational Soul:

There are two types of soul. One is the animal soul, which is related to the circulation of blood, and it remains within the body even during sleep. The other is the rational soul or the speaking self, which, during sleep or in a dream, leaves the body and wanders about, encountering all kinds of events in the dream. It is this soul that Allah addresses.

The Rational Soul is Enduring:

And it is this soul that is enduring. When this soul leaves the body, there is a significant decrease in the five senses of a person. During sleep, the faculties of sight, touch, and taste do not function at all. The faculty of hearing also becomes dull. However, if there is a loud noise or someone calls the sleeping person in a loud voice and wakes him up, the rational soul returns to its body. This soul loves its body to the extent of passion, because it is through this body that the desires of this soul are fulfilled.
2.
The Nature of the Punishment of the Grave:

There is a very deep and close relationship between these two types of souls, because they are two parts of the same entity. If the rational soul enjoys something in a dream, the person appears cheerful upon waking. And if this rational soul encounters an unpleasant incident in a dream, sometimes the person starts screaming and shouting in his sleep, and when he wakes up, he is extremely distressed. And if he is beaten in the dream, it is astonishing that sometimes the effects and marks of that beating appear on the person’s body, which he himself can observe after waking. From this reality, the nature of the punishment of the grave or the torment of the intermediate realm (Barzakh) can be understood to some extent.
3.
The Animal Soul Perishes with Death:

The animal soul is related only to the body. If there is no body, this soul has no existence at all. In fact, this soul does not even wait for the body to decay or perish, but ceases to exist at the moment of death. With its cessation, the body is no longer called a body, but is referred to as a corpse, dead body, or cadaver.
4. If either of these two types of souls ceases, the other type of soul’s connection with the body automatically ends. To understand this, consider the example of a person who, while sleeping, dreams that someone else kills him in his sleep. Now, wherever the rational soul may be wandering, it will not re-enter that body; rather, Allah will seize it right there. Conversely, if Allah seizes a person’s rational soul during a dream, the person lying on the bed will die without any accident or illness.
5.
Sleep is Half Death:

Allah seizes the rational soul both at the time of death and during sleep. And it is this soul that is called the “I” or (EGO). In this sense, sleep is very much like death. That is why the supplication taught to us at the time of sleeping is: ﴿اللّٰهُمَّ باسْمِكَ أمُوْتُ وَأحْيٰي﴾ meaning, “O Allah! In Your name I die and in Your name I live again.” And upon waking, the supplication taught is: ﴿ألْحَمْدُ لِلّٰهِ الَّذِيْ أحْيَانَا بَعْدَمَا أمَاتَنَا وَإلَيْهِ النُّشُوْرُ﴾ “All praise is due to Allah, Who gave us life after causing us to die, and to Him is the Resurrection.”
6.
The Resemblance Between Rising from Sleep and Resurrection:

The Allah Who puts us to sleep every day, showing us a sample of death, and then brings us back to life, is fully capable of resurrecting us after real death as well.