Surah Aal-i-Imraan
Chapter 3 · Verse 55 · Revealed in Madinah
“[Mention] when Allah said, "O Jesus, indeed I will take you and raise you to Myself and purify you from those who disbelieve and make those who follow you [in submission to Allah alone] superior to those who disbelieve until the Day of Resurrection. Then to Me is your return, and I will judge between you concerning that in which you used to differ.”
Translation: Saheeh International
Listen to recitation
Mishary Rashid Alafasy
Reflection — Ibn Kathir
Meaning of `Take You
Allah said,
إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ وَرَافِعُكَ إِلَىَّ
Reflection — Maarif ul Quran
The word, مُتَوَفِّيكَ 'Mutawaffi' in إِنِّي مُتَوَفِّيكَ takes 'tawaffi' as its verbal noun with its root being 'wafyun.' Lexically, the word means 'to take in full'. This being its real meaning, its derivations wafa, ifa' and 'istifa' are used to convey that sense. In fact, the real meaning of tawaffi is 'to take in full' which is universally confirmed by all lexicons of the Arabic language. Since man completes his appointed time at the hour of death and the spirit or soul given by Allah is taken back fully and conclusively, it is in that context that this word is also used figuratively in the sense of death. A simple form of death is the daily sleep of human beings. For this too, the Holy Qur'an uses the same word when it says:
اللَّـهُ يَتَوَفَّى الْأَنفُسَ حِينَ مَوْتِهَا وَالَّتِي لَمْ تَمُتْ فِي مَنَامِهَا
What does this verse bring up for you today?