[^3] Death as stated by the Qur’an and Hadith ﴿الله يتوفى...

[^3] Death as stated by the Qur’an and Hadith ﴿الله يتوفى الانفس حين موتها و التي لم تمت في منامها فيمسك التي قضى عليها الموت و يرسل الاخرى الى اجل مسمى﴾ “Allah completely retracts souls at the time of their deaths and also retracts those that have not died, while they sleep. So, He holds souls upon which He has decreed death and returns the rest until an appointed end.” [^4] In this verse, death is represented with the term tawaffa an-nafs (complete retraction of the soul).

Tawaffā happens at death and in sleep. During each phenomenon the soul’s connection with the body—and thus the natural world—is severed is some way. During each phenomenon, the soul is withdrawn; however, one is temporary and partial and the other is permanent and complete. At the moment of death, our essence or soul, which is the body’s sustaining agent, is completely retracted. Thus, the soul completely abandons…