Or were you witnesses when death approached Yaqub

الآية رقم (133) - أَمْ كُنتُمْ شُهَدَاء إِذْ حَضَرَ يَعْقُوبَ الْمَوْتُ إِذْ قَالَ لِبَنِيهِ مَا تَعْبُدُونَ مِن بَعْدِي قَالُواْ نَعْبُدُ إِلَـهَكَ وَإِلَـهَ آبَائِكَ إِبْرَاهِيمَ وَإِسْمَاعِيلَ وَإِسْحَقَ إِلَـهًا وَاحِدًا وَنَحْنُ لَهُ مُسْلِمُونَ

(133) - “Or were you witnesses when death approached Yaqub, when he said to his sons, ‘What will you worship after me?’ They said, ‘We will worship your God and the God of your fathers, Ibrahim and Ismail and Ishaq - one God. And we are Muslims [in submission] to Him.’”

Here the verse is addressed to the Jews in Madinah: Were you all present at that time? They were reminded of this incident with Yaqub u while he was on his death bed with his sons (the grandchildren of Ibrahim) around him. “And to Yaqub u came death” is in the passive voice. Death here is the subject that is placed after the object in the sentence, while the object is Yaqub. It is as if death is something that is disconnected from us. Then it comes to us, as if we have no connection to it. It comes all of a sudden and surprises us, without any choice given to us. It comes in any place and time. Nobody is able to flee from death nor can anyone request for it to be delayed for whatever reason that they may have. Allah U says:

﴾أَينَما تَكونوا يُدرِككُمُ المَوتُ﴿

“Wherever you may be, death will find you” [Surah An-Nisaa’: 78].