Tafsir of Az-Zumar 39:42

(God takes the souls) meaning He seizes them from their bodies by severing their attachment—the attachment of disposing of them—(at the time of their death) meaning at the time of their expiration, (and those that have not died) meaning and He takes the souls that have not died (in their sleep). This is linked to "takes"; that is, He takes them during their sleep. Given that "sleep" (manām) is a noun of time, it is also permitted that it be an infinitive of the form mafʿal (meaning, by His Glory, He seizes their attachment to the bodies—the attachment of disposing of them—away from them as well). Thus, the taking of souls at the time of death and their taking at the time of sleep are both in the sense of seizing them from the bodies and severing the attachment of disposition. However, the taking at the time of death involves the severing of the attachment of disposition both outwardly and inwardly, while the taking during sleep is the severing of that disposition outwardly only.

It is as if the "taking" that occurs at death—because it is a single event at the onset of death and after days have passed—is described as "at the time of their death." The "taking" that occurs during sleep, because it varies in the beginning of sleep and after some time has passed in terms of strength and weakness, is described as "in their sleep," meaning at the time of their sleep. This is what has been said, so contemplate it; the sound mind has a capacity for interpretation.

Ascribing death and sleep to the souls is said to be a metaphorical attribution (majāz 'aqlī), because they are states of the bodies, not states of the souls. Al-Tabarsi claimed that the speech is based on the omission of a genitive, namely "the bodies." Al-Zamakhshari considered "the souls" to be an expression for the entire entity (body and soul), rather than what corresponds to the bodies. He interpreted their "taking" as causing them to die and depriving their parts of health entirely, such that they no longer remain living, sensitive, or perceptive, as if their essence had been taken away. Since this meaning is not realized in the "taking" at the time of sleep—because it is not the complete removal of health and the voluntary movements and other things resulting from it—he said regarding the verse: (And those that have not died in their sleep), meaning He takes them when they sleep, comparing sleepers to the dead. From this is His saying: (And it is He who takes you by night), where you have no discernment or agency, just as the dead do not. The hesitation one might feel regarding the combination of literal and metaphorical meaning is dispelled by reflection.

The fronting of the Majestic Name and constructing the verb "takes" upon it is for restriction, or for strengthening, or for both; and considering it as restriction is more appropriate to the context than considering it as strengthening alone. That is: God takes the souls in truth, no one else, Exalted is He. (Then He keeps those) meaning the souls for whom He has decreed in eternity (upon whom death is ordained) and does not return them to their bodies, but rather keeps them in the state they were in, to which is added the severing of the attachment of disposition inwardly. He expressed this as "keeping" (imsāk) to correspond with "taking" (tawaffī).

Hamza, al-Kisa’i, ‘Isa, Talha, al-A‘mash, and Ibn Wathab read "decreed" (quḍiya) in the passive voice and elevated "death" (al-mawtu). (And sends the others) meaning the other souls, which are the sleeping ones, back to their bodies, so they become as they were during wakefulness, attached to them with the attachment of outward and inward disposition. He used "sending" (irsāl) out of regard for contrast. (Until a specified term) is the time appointed for actual death, and it is the end-point for the genus of sending which occurs after keeping, not for a single instance of it which is instantaneous and has no duration, for it has no end-point. Some considered the end-point to apply to the genus so that there would be no objection regarding the necessity that no sleep should occur after the first waking, and this is sound. It is also said that "sends" is infused with the meaning of "protecting," the meaning being: He sends the others, protecting them from actual death until a specified term.

It is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbas that in the son of Adam there is a nafs (self/soul) and a rūḥ (spirit), between them is like the radiance of the sun. The nafs is that by which there is intellect and discernment, and the rūḥ is that by which there is breathing and movement. Both are taken at the time of death, and the nafs alone is taken at the time of sleep. This is the view that distinguishes between the nafs and the rūḥ, and some have attributed this to the majority. The nafs is expressed as the "rational soul," the "commanded spirit," and the "divine spirit," while the rūḥ is the "animal spirit" and the "animal soul." The second is like a throne for the first.

Some of the divine philosophers said: In the cone-shaped heart there is a subtle vapor which is a throne for the animal spirit and a guardian of it and an instrument upon which its effects depend. The animal spirit is a throne and a mirror for the divine spirit, which is the rational soul, and it is an intermediary between it and the body; through it the ruling of the soul's management reaches the body. A group held the view of non-differentiation, which is the opinion of Ibn Jubayr and one of two opinions of Ibn ‘Abbas. What was narrated from him initially in the verse agrees with what we have mentioned, in that the nafs in it is not in the sense of the "entire entity," as Al-Zamakhshari said. He claimed that the correct view is what he mentioned rather than this narration, by evidence of their death and sleep, and the pronoun refers to the souls, and that which is intended from it is what is characterized by death and sleep, and it is the entire entity that is characterized by them.

He said in al-Kashf: Because the distinction between the two souls is something he saw as being refuted by proof, and the occurrence of the "taking" also necessitates an interpretation, one should not turn away from the famous, appropriate view—meaning, interpreting "taking" as causing to die, because its origin is taking a thing from the one taken from, fully and completely, and depriving him of it entirely. Then it was shifted from that to "causing to die" because it is present therein, until it became what is suggested to the understanding from it. In this there is a tremor of doubt. What bears witness to this are many authentic traditions, namely that the taker is the souls which correspond to the bodies, not the entire entity. The two Sheikhs (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) recorded in their Sahihs from Abu Hurairah, who said: The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said: "When one of you goes to his bed, let him shake it with the inside of his garment, for he does not know what he left behind on it. Then let him say: 'In Your name, my Lord, I have laid down my side, and in Your name I raise it. If You keep my soul, then have mercy on it, and if You send it back, then protect it with that which You protect Your righteous servants.'"

Ahmad, Al-Bukhari, Abu Dawood, Al-Nasa’i, and Ibn Abi Shaybah recorded from Abu Qatada that the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) said to them on the night of the Valley: "God Almighty seized your souls when He willed, and returned them to you when He willed." Ibn Marduwayh recorded from Anas bin Malik saying: I was with the Prophet (may God bless him and grant him peace) on a journey, and he said: "Who will guard us tonight?" I said: "I will." So he slept, the people slept, and I slept, and I did not wake up except by the heat of the sun. The Messenger of God (may God bless him and grant him peace) said: "O people, these spirits are a loan in the bodies of the servants, so God seizes them when He wills and sends them back when He wills."

Ibn Abi Hatim and Ibn Marduwayh recorded from Sulaym bin ‘Amir that ‘Umar bin al-Khattab said: "It is strange that a man sleeps and sees something that never occurred to his mind, so his vision is like taking by the hand, and a man sees a vision and it is nothing." Ali (may God honor his face) said: "Shall I not inform you of that, O Commander of the Faithful? God Almighty says: (God takes the souls at the time of their death and those that have not died in their sleep. Then He keeps those upon whom death is ordained and sends the others until a specified term). God Almighty takes all the souls. Whatever it sees while it is with Him, Glorified be He, in the heavens, that is the true vision, and whatever it sees when it is sent back to its bodies, that is the false one; for when it is sent back to its bodies, the devils meet it in the air and lie to it and inform it of falsehoods, so it is lied to regarding it." ‘Umar marveled at his saying, may God be pleased with both of them.

The outward meaning of this narration is that the sleeping, taken soul is in the heavens until it is sent back. Such is a matter which must be interpreted if one holds the view of the abstraction of the soul, and it is not necessary if one holds the other view. Yes, you might perhaps choose it, as if you were saying: The soul is noble, heavenly, descended from the most elevated place and sent from a protected sanctuary; it busied itself with the management of its dwelling during its day and night, and it never ceased waiting for an opportunity to return to that sanctuary and the exalted place. At sleep, it seizes that opportunity, and that grief is made easy for it to a degree, so it obtains a type of orientation towards the world of light and the place of joy, free from evils, such that it gains some readiness to accept some of its effects and to be illuminated by something of its lights. Making it such is its "taking," and by it, by my life, is its expansion and contraction. Whenever it sees a vision while in that state, overflowing from that world described as perfect, it is true; and whenever it sees while it is returning backwards to what it is afflicted with—the management of a dwelling in which the devils of illusions circle and crowd—its vision is false. Then, in both states, it varies among individuals regarding what it possesses of readiness, and grasping the reality of the matter is not completed except through kashf (unveiling), not through talk and gossip.

(Indeed in that are signs for a people who reflect). The indication to what was mentioned—of taking, keeping, sending, and the individualizing for the sake of its interpretation by what was mentioned or the like. The form of the distant (that) is in regard to its inception, or what its mention requires, or the remoteness of its rank. The nunation in "signs" is for multiplication and glorification, meaning: Indeed, in what was mentioned are many, great signs indicating the perfection of His power, Exalted is He, and His wisdom, and the inclusiveness of His mercy, Glorified be He, for a people who reflect on the manner of the attachment of souls to the bodies, and their taking from them at one time completely at death—and keeping them remaining, not perishing with their (body's) perishing, until God Almighty restores the creation, and what befalls them of happiness and misery—and at another time from their outward aspects only, as in sleep, and their sending time after time until their terms expire.