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.