His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "Indeed, We have sent down to you the Book for the people in truth. So whoever is guided, it is for his own soul; and whoever goes astray, he only goes astray against it. And you are not a guardian over them." "Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that have not died during their sleep. Then He keeps that for which He has decreed death and sends the others to an appointed term. Indeed, in that are signs for a people who reflect."

This is a declaration of the high status of Muhammad, blessings and peace be upon him, and the selection of his Lord for him. And "the Book" refers to the Qur'an.

And His saying, exalted is He: "in truth" has two meanings: one is that He means that it contains the truth in its news and rulings, and the other is that He means that He sent it down as it is necessary to send it down, and by right of it, due to what is in it of the benefit of the world and the guidance of the people. It is as if what Allah, exalted and majestic is He, did by sending a Book to His servant is to establish a proof against them, and their earning remains after that to them. So whoever is guided, it is for his own soul that he works and strives, and whoever goes astray, it is against it that he earns. Guidance and misguidance are indeed created and invented by Allah, exalted and majestic is He, and for the servant is earning, upon which reward or punishment falls. And He informed His Prophet that he is not a guardian over them nor a controller, and "the guardian" is the one who is in charge of the matter until it is completed.

Then He alerted, exalted is He, to a sign from His great signs that indicates to the observer the oneness of Allah, and that there is no partnership in it with an idol, which is the state of death. This is because Allah, exalted and majestic is He, does not take the soul completely; for it is the one that dies, and He does not take it in an incomplete manner; for it is the one that is in sleep. Ibn Zayd said: Sleep is a death, and death is a death. And a group has multiplied in this verse and this meaning, so they distinguished between the soul and the spirit, and some also distinguished between the soul of distinction and the soul of imagination, and other sayings that are predominant assumptions. The reality of the matter in this is what Allah, blessed and exalted, has reserved for Himself and concealed from His servants in His saying, glorified is He: "Say, the spirit is from the command of my Lord." (Al-Isra: 85) And it is sufficient for you that in this verse "He takes the souls," and in the authentic hadith, "Indeed, Allah takes our souls when He wills, and returns them to us when He wills," in the hadith of Bilal in the valley. The Shari'ah has spoken of taking the spirit and the soul in sleep, and Allah, exalted is He, has said: "Say, the spirit is from the command of my Lord." (Al-Isra: 85) Therefore, it is apparent that detailing and delving into all of this is a burden, even if the imams have addressed the saying in this and similar matters. Al-Thaalabi and others mentioned from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said: In the son of Adam, there is a soul by which there is reason and distinction, and in him is a spirit by which there is breathing and movement. So when the servant sleeps, Allah takes his soul but does not take his spirit. And "the appointed term" in this verse is the lifespan of every human being.

And the majority of the reciters read: "He has decreed upon it" with a فتح (fatha) on the قاف (qaf) and ضاد (dad). And Hamzah and Al-Kisai read: [قُضِيَ عَلَيْها] with a ضم (dhamma) on the قاف (qaf) and كسر (kasra) on the ضاد (dad), and this is the reading of Ibn Wathab, Talha, Al-Amash, and Isa.

Then he referred the people of thought to reflect on this and similar matters. For it is clear that this ability is possessed only by the One, the Eternal.