HOW ARE PROPHETS' DEATHS RECOUNTED
IN THE QUR'AN?
Examination of the stories in the Qur'an that deal
with how prophets died or were killed, and the verses that
describe the death of Jesus, reveal an important fact about
that death. In this section we shall examine the meaning of
the Arabic words used to describe the deaths of Jesus and
other prophets, and will see how they are used in the verses.
As we shall be seeing in greater detail later, a number of
special words are used in the Qur'an to describe the deaths
of prophets, such as 'katele' (to kill), 'mate' (to die),
'haleke' (to destroy) and 'salebe' (to hang). However, it
is clearly stated in the Qur'an that 'They did not kill him
(ma katelehu) and did not hang him (ma salebuhu),' meaning
he was not killed in any way. In another verse it is emphasized
that someone who resembled Jesus was put forward and that
it was he who was raised to the presence of Allah. In Sura
Al 'Imran, it is informed that Allah would take Jesus (as)
back and He would raise him up to Him.
When Allah said, "'Isa, I will take you back
(müteveffiyke) and raise you up (rafiuke) to Me and purify
you of those who are disbelievers. And I will place the people
who follow you above those who are disbelievers until the
Day of Rising…" (Surah Al 'Imran: 55)
The following are the ways in which the words referring
to death in the Qur'an and the word 'to cause to die' which
appears in Surah Al 'Imran are used"
1. TEVEFFA: TO CAUSE TO DIE
The word 'death' as used in this verse has other
meanings that simply 'death' in English. A study of the Arabic
equivalents of the words in the verses reveals that Jesus
did not die in the accepted sense. This is how his death is
described in Surat al-Ma'ida, 117:
"Nothing did I tell them beyond what You
did bid me to say: 'Worship God, who is my Sustainer as well
as your Sustainer' And I bore witness to what they did as
long as I dwelt in their midst: but since You have caused
me to die (tawaffa), You alone have been their keeper: for
You are witness unto everything. (Surat al-Ma'ida: 117)
In Arabic the word which is translated in these
verses as "to die" is "tawaffa" and comes from the root "wafa
- to fulfil". Tawaffa does not actually mean "death" but the
act of "taking the self back" either in sleep or in death.
From the Qur'an again, we understand that "taking the self
back" does not necessarily mean death. For instance in a verse
in which the word "tawaffa" is used, it is not the death of
a human being that is meant but "taking back his self in his
sleep":
It is He Who takes you back to Himself (yatawaffakum)
at night, while knowing the things you perpetrate by day,
and then wakes you up again, so that a specified term may
be fulfilled… (Surat al-An'am: 60)
The word used for "take back" in this verse is
the same as the one used in Surah Al 'Imran 55. In other words,
in verse above, the word "tawaffa" is used and it is obvious
that one does not die in one's sleep. Therefore, what is meant
here is, again, "taking the self back."
The same word is used in the below verse as follows:
Allah takes back people's selves (tawaffa)
when their death (mevt) arrives and those who have not yet
died, while they are asleep (lem temut). He keeps hold of
those whose death (el mevte) has been decreed and sends the
others back for a specified term… (Surat az-Zumar: 42)
As these verses suggest, Allah takes back the self
of the one who is asleep, yet He sends the selves of those
whose deaths have yet not been decreed. In this context, in
one's sleep one does not die, in the sense in which we perceive
death. Only for a temporary period, the self leaves the body
and remains in another dimension. When we wake up, the self
returns to the body.
Professor Süleyman Ates, Istanbul University, Faculty
of Divinity, Head of Department of Basic Islamic Sciences
and Former Turkish Minister of Department of Religious Affairs,
gives the following account of the word 'teveffa' in his commentary:
According to those who say that the word 'teveffa' is used
in the sense of sleep, which is the generally accepted view,
the verse means 'I shall put you to sleep.' As a result, we
can say that Jesus' being placed in a state resembling sleep
and raised to the presence of Allah in that way is not death
as we generally conceive of it, but a separation from this
dimension.' (Professor Süleyman Ates,
A Modern Commentary on the Great Qur'an, Vol. 2. pages 49-50)
2) KATELE: TO KILL
The word generally used for 'to kill' when speaking
of death in the Qur'an is the Arabic word 'katele.' The word
is used in this way in Surah Mu'min:
Pharaoh said, 'Let me kill Musa and let him
call upon his Lord!I am afraid that he may change your deen
and bring about corruption in the land.' (Surat al-Mu'min:
26)
The expression 'let me kill Musa' in the verse
appears in the Arabic form 'aktul Musa.' That word comes from
the verb 'katele.' In another verse, the same word is used
in this way:
…. That was because they …killed (vaktulune)
the Prophets without any right to do so. (Surat al-Baqara:
61)
The words 'they killed' in the verse appear as
'yaktulune' in the original Arabic, which again derives from
the verb 'katele.' And as the translation makes quite clear,
it means 'to kill.'
It is clear how the verb 'katele' is used in the
following verses that describe the death of prophets. All
the words whose meaning appears in brackets derive from the
verb 'katele.'
…We will write down what they said and their
killing (katlehum) of the Prophets without any right to do
so … (Surah Al 'Imran: 181)
...Did you grow arrogant, and deny some of
them and murder others? (taktulune) (Surat al-Baqara: 87)
...Say, 'Why then, if you are muminun, did
you previously kill (taktulune) the Prophets of Allah?' (Surat
al-Baqara: 91)
As for those who reject Allah's Signs, and
kill (yaktulune) the Prophets without any right to do so,
and kill (yaktulune) those who command justice…(Surah Al 'Imran:
21)
… So why did you kill (kateltumuhum) them
if you are telling the truth? (Surah Al 'Imran: 183)
… The one said, 'I shall kill (Le aktulenneke)
you.' …(Surat al-Ma'ida: 27)
Even if you do raise your hand against me
to kill (taktuleni) me, I am not going to raise my hand against
you to kill (aktuleke) you…(Surat al-Ma'ida: 28)
"Kill (uktulu) Yusuf or expel him to some
land ..." (Surah Yusuf: 9)
The wife of Pharaoh said, 'A source of delight
for me and for you; do not kill (la taktulu) him…….' (Surat
al-Qasas: 9)
... 'Musa, the Council are conspiring to
kill (li yaktulu) you...' (Surat al-Qasas: 20)
The only answer of his (Ibrahim's) people
was to say: 'Kill (uktuluhu) him (Ibrahim) or burn him!' (Surat
al-'Ankabut: 24)
3) HALEKE: TO KILL
Another verb used with the meaning of 'to kill'
in the Qur'an is 'haleke.' This verb is used in verses in
the sense of 'to be destroyed, die'. For instance, Surat al-Mu'min
34 reads:
… when he died (haleke), you said, "Allah
will never send another Messenger after him."... (Surat al-Mu'min:
34)
In the verse, the expression translated in English
as 'when he died' is 'iza heleke' in Arabic, used in the sense
of 'to die.'
4) EL MEVTE: DEATH
Another word used in the Qur'an in the context
of prophets' deaths is 'el mevte.' The word 'mate' is used
to mean 'to die' in the verses. One of these concerns the
death of the prophet Solomon in Surah Saba':
Then when We decreed that he (Sulayman) should
die (el mevte), nothing divulged his death (mevtihi) to them
except the worm which ate his staff... (Surah Saba': 14)
Another word from the same root is used in reference
to the Prophet Yahya:
Peace be upon him the day he was born, and
the day he dies (yemutu), and the day he is raised up again
alive. (Surah Maryam: 15)
The word translated here as ‚when he dies' is the
Arabic words 'yemutu.' The same word appears in verses in
the context of the death of the prophet Yakub. It appears
in Surah Baqara, for instance:
Or were you present when death (el mevte)
came to Ya'qub?... (Surat al-Baqara: 133)
The word ‚el 'mevte' in the verse comes from the
same root and means death. In a verse about the Prophet Muhammad
(saas) the verbs 'katele' and ‚mate' are used at one and the
same time:
Muhammad is only a Messenger and he has been
preceded by other Messengers. If he were to die (mate) or
be killed (kutile), would you turn on your heels?... (Surah
Al 'Imran: 144)
The word ‚mevt,' which comes from the same root
as ‚mate' (to die) appears in other verses to do with the
death of prophets:
… She said, 'Oh if only I had died (mittu)
before this time and was something discarded and forgotten!'
(Surah Maryam: 23)
We did not give any human being before you
immortality (el hulde). And if you die (mitte), will they
then be immortal? (Surat al-Anbiya': 34)
'He who will cause my death (yumituni), then
give me life' (Surat ash-Shu'ara': 81)
5) HALID: IMMORTAL
Another word that appears in verses without
directly meaning ‚to die' or ‚to kil'' but which means ‚immortality'
is ‚halid.' The meaning of ‚halid' is along the lines of being
permanent, The word‚ halid' is used in that sense in Surah
Anbiya': We did not give them bodies which did not eat food,
nor were they immortal (halidiyne). (Surat al-Anbiya': 8)
6) SALEBE: TO HANG
One of the words used in the Qur'an when speaking
of the death of prophets is the verb‚ salebe' (to hang). The
verb carries meanings such as‚ to hang, crucify and execute.'
The verb is used in verses as follows:
… They did not kill him and they did not
crucify (ma salebu) him …(Surat an-Nisa': 157)
'…One of you will serve his lord with wine,
the other of you will be crucified (yuslebi) …..' (Surah Yusuf:
41)
… they should be killed or crucified….(yusallebu)
(Surat al-Ma'ida: 33)
I will cut off your alternate hands and feet
and then I will crucify (usallibennekum) every one of you.'
(Surat al-A'raf: 124)
'...I will cut off your hands and feet alternately
and have you crucified (usallibennekum) ...' (Surah Ta Ha:
71)
'… I will cut off your alternate hands and
feet and I will crucify every one of you.' (Surat ash-Shu'ara':
49)
As can be seen from the verses, very different
words are used in verses dealing with the death of Jesus and
those of other prophets. Allah has revealed in the Qur'an
that Jesus was not killed, nor hanged, that someone who resembled
him was shown in his place, and that he was caused to die
(in other words that his soul was taken as if in sleep). While
the word‚ teveffa' meaning‚ to take the soul' is used in the
context of Jesus, expressions such as‚ katele' and‚ mate,'
expressions of normal death, are used to refer to other prophets.
These facts demonstrate once again that the situation of Jesus
is an extraordinary one.
To conclude, we can say that Jesus (as) may have
been in a special state, raised up to the presence of Allah.
What he actually experienced was not death in the sense with
which we are familiar, but merely a departure from this dimension.
Surely, Allah knows best.
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