Page 120 - The Glad Tidings of the Messiah

118 The Glad Tidings of the Messiah (pbuh)

Allah takes back people's selves (yatawaffaa) when their
death (mawtihaa) arrives and those who have not yet died,
while they are asleep (lam tamut). He keeps hold of those
whose death (mawt) has been decreed and sends the oth-
ers back for a specified term. (Surat az-Zumar, 42)
As this verse clarifies, Allah takes back the self of the one who
is asleep, yet He sends back 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. 7
Imam al-Qurtubi makes clear that there are three meanings to
the term wafat which is from the same root as tawaffa:the wafat of
death, the wafat of sleep, and last, the wafat of being raised up to
Allah, as in the case of the Prophet Jesus (pbuh).

2) Qatala: To Kill

The Qur'an uses qatala to mean "to kill," as in the following
verse:
Pharaoh said: "Let me kill (aqtulu) Moses and let him call
upon his Lord! I am afraid that he may change your reli-
gion and bring about corruption in the land." (Surah
Ghafir, 26)

In Arabic, "let me kill Moses" is aqtulu Musa, a phrase that is
derived from the verb qatala. In another verse, the same word is
used in the following way:
... [That was because they] killed (yaqtuloona) the
Prophets without any right to do so. (Surat al-Baqara, 61)