'Abdullāh Ibn 'Abbās / Muḥammad al-Fīrūzabādī
تفسير : (allah receiveth (men's) souls) allah takes to himself the souls of people (at the time of their death) their sleep, (and that (soul) which dieth not (yet) in its sleep. he keepeth that (soul) for which he hath ordained death and dismisseth the rest till an appointed term. lo herein) in keeping and releasing souls (verily are portents) signs and admonitions (for people who take thought) for people who reflect on this.
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Maḥallī
تفسير : god takes the souls at the time of their death, and, he takes, those that have not died in their sleep, in other words, he takes them during sleep. then he retains those for whom he has ordained death and releases the others until an appointed term, that is, until the time of their death. the one that is released is the soul [that possesses the faculty] of discernment, without which the soul [containing the force] of life is able to remain [temporarily] — but this cannot be the other way round. truly in that, mentioned, there are signs, indications, for a people who reflect, and then realise that the one with the power to do this also has the power to resurrect — quraysh, however, never reflected on this [fact].
Sahl al-Tustari
تفسير : god takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that have not died, in their sleep…he said:when god takes the souls (anfus) to himself, he extracts the luminous spirit (rūḥ nūrī) from the subtle substance (laṭīf) of the dense natural self (nafs al-ṭabʿ al-kathīf). the taking up [of souls] (al-tawaffī) in god’s book is of three kinds: the first is death (mawt), the second, sleep (nawm), and the third, ascension (rafʿ). death is as we have just mentioned. sleep is as [described] in his words: and those that have not died, in their sleep, which means that he also takes unto himself (yatawaffā) those who have not died, in their sleep (manām). [god also] said, it is he who takes you at night [6:60] meaning, in sleep. ascension (rafʿ) is mentioned in relation to jesus <img border="0" src="images/alyhialsalam.jpg" width="34" height="19">, to whom god said, ‘o jesus, i am gathering you and raising you to me’ [3:55]. thus when a person dies, he [god] removes (yanziʿu) from him the subtle substance (laṭīf) of the luminous spiritual self (nafs al-rūḥ al-nūrī) [separating it] from the subtle substance (laṭīf) of the dense natural self (nafs al-ṭabʿ al-kathīf), and by this [luminous spiritual self] he comprehends things (yaʿqilu al-ashyāʾ), and is given the vision (rūʾyā) in the heavenly kingdom (malakūt). however, when a person sleeps, he extracts from him the subtle substance of the dense natural self, not the subtle substance of the luminous spiritual self. therefore, when the sleeping person awakens, he recovers a subtle breath (nafas laṭīf) from the subtle substance of the spiritual self, for if this were to part from him, it would leave him without motion (ḥaraka), and lifeless (mayyit). thus, the dense natural self has a subtle substance (laṭīfa) and likewise the spiritual self has a subtle substance (laṭīfa). the life of the subtle substance of the natural self is by virtue of the light of the subtle substance of the spiritual self (nūr laṭīf nafs al-rūḥ). the spiritual life of the subtle substance of the spiritual self (ḥayāt rūḥ laṭīf nafs al-rūḥ) is by virtue of remembrance [of god] (dhikr), just as he has said: rather they are living with their lord, provided for [by him] [3:169], that is, they are sustained by remembrance, due to what they attained through the subtle luminous self. the life of the dense nature (ṭabʿ kathīf) isthrough eating, drinking and [physical] enjoyment (tamattuʿ).whoever cannot reconcile these two opposites, by which i mean, the natural self and the spiritualself, so that the two together are sustained by remembrance (dhikr) and by the endeavour [to accomplish] remembrance, is not a mystic (ʿārif) in reality.ʿumar b. wāṣil said, ‘the grammarian al-mubarrad used to say that the spirit (rūḥ) and the soul [or self, nafs] are two interconnected things; the one cannot subsist without the other.’ he continued, ‘i mentioned this to sahl and he said’:he is mistaken. the spirit subsists by his grace (bi-luṭfihi) within its own essence (bi-dhātihi), independent from the dense natural self. do you not see that god, exalted is he, addressed everyone while still in a molecular form, by virtue of the existence of the spiritual self, the understanding of the intellect, the intuition of the heart, and the presence of a subtle kind of knowledge, without the presence of [man’s] dense nature (ṭabʿ kathīf).his words:
