Tawaffi (taking in full, and the taking of souls)

التوفّي (معنى الأخذ التام وتوفّي الأنفس)

Sha'rawi holds that the root tawaffa basically means taking a thing in full. Death and sleep are two of its senses. He separates death from killing, since killing breaks the body while death takes the soul and leaves the body whole, and he reads the verse addressed to Jesus in Al Imran 55 through this sense, adding that the Arabic 'and' does not imply order between the events ¹².

Summary

Sha'rawi explains the root tawaffa from its usage. He holds that the common sense, death, is not its only meaning. The basic sense is taking a thing in full, as a creditor who receives his due in full is said to have taken it in full ¹³.

Sleep and death

Sha'rawi cites two verses that call sleep tawaffi, al-An'am 60 and al-Zumar 42, and says that sleep is called so because it removes a person from the sense of life ¹³.

Death and killing

Sha'rawi separates death from killing. Killing breaks the body that the soul inhabits; death takes the soul while the body stays whole, and only God can do that. He gives the image of electricity and a lamp to show that the soul dwells only in a body with particular characteristics ⁴².

Taking and raising in Al Imran

In the address to Jesus in Al Imran 55, Sha'rawi reads tawaffi as taking Jesus in full, in soul and body, so that no human can reach him. He says that the Arabic 'and' does not require order between events, so the raising need not come after the taking. He holds that mentioning the taking first is not a claim that Jesus escapes death, since death comes to all ²⁵.

Note on this entry

This is Sha'rawi's reading alone, presented under his name from a scanned copy whose edition is not yet verified. A lexical reading from the dictionaries and other commentaries has not yet been added. See also The descent of Jesus before the Hour and Jesus son of Mary.

Opinions on the question

The question: Should tawaffi in the Qur'an be read as death alone, or does its context point to other senses as well?

First opinion · Sunni tradition (the museum's frame)Main reference

Tawaffi is taking a thing in full; sleep and death are two of its senses

Sha'rawi holds that the root basically means taking in full, that the Qur'an calls sleep tawaffi, so the word should not be confined to death, and he separates death from killing. He says the 'and' in the Al Imran verse does not require the raising to come after the taking. He presents this without a verdict on the manner of the raising {cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p.1501}{cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p.1502}{cite:tafsir-sharawi-khawatir-scan-vol-2 p.1504}.

Held by: Muhammad Mutawalli al-Sha'rawi

More opinions (1)

Academic viewSecondary opinion

A lexical reading of the root w-f-y in the dictionaries and commentaries

No academic reading is set out in this entry; it needs a named source (needs_source).

Sources

Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p.1501

Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p.1504

Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p.1502

Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p.1503

Sha'rawi's Khawatir around the Holy Quran, volume one (scan copy) , p.1505