الآية رقم (60) - وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُم بِاللَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحْتُم بِالنَّهَارِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُكُمْ فِيهِ لِيُقْضَى أَجَلٌ مُّسَمًّى ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ

(60) - (And it is He who takes your souls by night and knows what you have committed by day. Then He revives you therein that a specified term may be fulfilled. Then to Him will be your return; then He will inform you about what you used to do.)

(… وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُم بِاللَّيْلِ) (And it is He who takes your souls by night ): The Arabic word used in this verse for (takes your souls) is derived from the word which means death. Why did Allah (swt) name sleep as death? Are the laws of sleep the same as the laws of death? What is the connection between sleep and death?

The answer: Firstly, we must understand what sleep consists of. Sleep is not an act of choice by the human being. This is proven by the fact that if Allah (swt) overcomes a person with worries, he might not be able to sleep. Therefore, sleep is a restrictive operation that Allah (swt) has created in human beings to stop them from movement. However, death is the departing of the soul from the body. So here in this verse, it is as if Allah is saying to us: ‘Beware of thinking that the existence of the soul in the body is the one which gives life, movement and authority to the human being. For verily, I will keep the soul in the body during sleep, but the body is unable to act by choice’. This is because, during sleep, a person is unable to dispose of his power according to his choice, as he cannot move his hand or leg or do anything out of his own choice. Thus, sleep is one of the blessings of Allah (swt). So, when a person wants to sleep, it is not within his power to do so, but within the power of Allah (swt).

The scholars have said: ‘Sleep is a guest; if you search for it, it will cause you to get tired, but if it searches for you, it gives you rest.’ As such, sleep itself is a great sign. Sleep too does not necessarily have to be only at night, but could also be during the daytime, as there are people who work during the night.

Additionally, during sleep, we see dreams and colours. But how do we see them, whereas the eye is closed? From here, we realize that the laws of sleep differ from the laws of wakefulness. For example, when we are awake, we need time to carry out movements or actions. Whereas during sleep, we can travel to the end of the earth and back, and we can do many things, whereas they do not take more than seven seconds! So, during sleep, we also depart from the laws of time too.

All the above shows us that Allah (swt) wants to explain to us that sleep has laws specific to it, and He wills to bring this idea closer to us. So, He (swt) leaves the soul in the body, but at the same time, stalls the voluntary movements we have during wakefulness, such as moving our hands, while leaving the involuntary movements, such as the beating of the heart, to go on. So, Allah (swt) names sleep as death, and waking up from sleep as resurrection, as the Prophet (saws) said:

“By Allah, you will die as how you sleep, you will be resurrected as how you wake up, you will be recompensed for what you have done, and it is indeed either Paradise or Hellfire eternally.”[1]

(… ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُكُم بِمَا كُنتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ) (Then to Him will be your return; then He will inform you about what you used to do ): There is life, death and an appointed term, as Allah (swt) says:

 وَلَوْ يُؤَاخِذُ اللّهُ النَّاسَ بِظُلْمِهِم مَّا تَرَكَ عَلَيْهَا مِن دَآبَّةٍ وَلَكِن يُؤَخِّرُهُمْ إلَى أَجَلٍ مُّسَمًّى فَإِذَا جَاء أَجَلُهُمْ لاَ يَسْتَأْخِرُونَ سَاعَةً وَلاَ يَسْتَقْدِمُونَ

(If Allah were to punish people (immediately) for their wrongdoing, He would not have left a single living being on earth. But He delays them for an appointed term. And when their time arrives, they cannot delay it for a moment, nor could they advance it) (An-Nahl: 61)

When death comes, they cannot delay it a moment, nor can they advance it. They will also not be able to decline the Angel of Death when their appointed time is over. Due to this, Umar Bin Abdul Aziz (may Allah be pleased with him) used to say:

‘O dweller of the grave tomorrow, what deludes you of the world, whereas do you know whether you will remain there, or whether it will remain for you? The command from the sky has come, the predominant decree has come, the mighty command which is refused has come. How impossible it would seem, O the one who will shut the eyes of his father, son or brother and shroud him, O the one who bathes the dead and leaves him, O the one who abandons him and departs from him, what will you say to the Angel of Death?’

Among the sayings regarding preparing for death is:

Your mother gave birth to you,

O son of Adam, while you were crying,

While everyone around you was laughing in joy,

So, carry out deeds for yourself, lest they cry,

On the day of your death, you will be laughing in joy.

A person cannot be laughing in happiness on the day of his death except if he has beneficial deeds to present. So, this is the meaning of this verse.

(… ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ) (Then to Him will be your return; ): i.e., you will go back to Allah (swt). As such, we that in the following verse:

 مِنْهَا خَلَقْنَاكُمْ وَفِيهَا نُعِيدُكُمْ وَمِنْهَا نُخْرِجُكُمْ تَارَةً أُخْرَى

(From the earth We created you, and into it We will return you, and from it We will bring you back again) (Taha: 55)

Allah (swt) explains that the human being is in between two brackets: ‘From Allah’ and ‘To Allah’. For Allah (swt) created us and will raise us on the Day of Standing. Then, He (swt) will count our deeds and inform us of what we used to do.

[1] Ar-Raheeq al-Makhtum, The Second Stage, Declaration of the Da’wa, Volume 1, page 59.