This is another famous allegation of the non Ahmadi Muslims which is not just a lie upon Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) rather a lie upon Allah and the Qur’an as well.
The claim of Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) is that Whenever tawaffa appears in the form of Bab Tafa-ul and the subject is Allah or the angels, and the object on which this verb is applied has a soul, (no night or sleep being mentioned) always infers the meaning of death.
Tawaffa has been used 25 times in the Qur’an. Here are the ayahs it has been used in
2:235; 2:241; 3:56; 3: 194; 4:16; 4:98; 5:118; 6:62; 7:38; 7:127; 8:51; 10:47; 10:105; 12:102; 13:41; 16:29; 16:33; 16:71; 22:6; 32:12; 40:68; 40:78; 47:28;6:61; 39:43 (night or sleep is mentioned which causes it to refer to sleep, others are all in reference to death)
Now the ayahs the non Ahmadis have quoted are not included in the ayahs using tawaffa rather they quote 3:185, 2:281, and 16:111 which use a word of the same root to confuse people which is waffa rather then tawaffa. It is not bab tafaul. It is a completely different verb form (Verb form II).
The challenge Promised Messiah(as) gave out was not for waffa, which is used 18 times in the Holy Quran and is always translated as to pay in full. The root word of all of these words is waw-fa-ya in the Quran but the meanings can change because of the complexity of arabic. Once a mullah brought this allegation and all his followers outside were in joy that today Ahmad(As)’s claim is done. Ahmad(As) told him to look at the verb. That same mullah left the house as an Ahmadi Muslim. Allahu Akbar
Waffa (Bab taf’eel) is used 18 times and always means to pay in full, while tawaffa (bab tafa’ul) is the challenge which Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) referred to and no one has replied to his challenge till today. Awfa is used 18 times which is also a different word which the same root. Something interesting to note is this of the official Non Ahmadi Qur’an website:
They are forced to admit that this verb form is passing away or dying:
Hadhrat Ibni Abbas(ra) a great companion made a statement which Imam Bukhari has quoted under the tafseer of Chapter 5 verses 117-118 :
“Ibni ‘Abbas (ra) states, ‘Mutawaffika means we caused you to die.’”( Sahih Bukhari, Kitabut-Tafsir, Surah Al-Ma’idah, Under the verse Falamma tawaffaitani..)
This clearly confirms what tawaffi means when used for a human being, and confirms that even when used for Isa(as) it means death. This statement is from a great sahaba which we cannot ignore.
Now to conclude the discussion on the meaning of tawaffi I will show the explanations from Lane’s lexicon, one of the most famous Arabic dictionaries:
Waw-Fa-Ya = to reach the end, keep ones promise, fulfil ones engagement, pay a debt, perform a promise. tawaffa – to die. wafaat – death.
Tawaffaa (prf 3rd. p. m. sing. V.): He causes to die.
Tawaffat (prf 3rd. p. f. sing. V.): They take away the soul.
Tawaffaitanii (prf. 2nd. p. m. sing. V.): ‘ou caused me to die.
Tatawaffaa (imp. 3rd.p.f.sing. V.): She causes to die.
Yatawaffaa (imp. 3rd. p. m. sing. V.): He causes to die.
Tawaffanii: Let me die; Let it be that I die.
Yutawaffaa (pp. 3rd. p. m. sing. V.): He has died.
Yutawaffauna (pip. 3rd. p. m. plu. V.): They die.
Mutawaffikka (ap-der. m. sing. V.): Cause you to die a natural death.
Some have tried claiming that when the word كَمَا is present it does not make the phrases the absolute same. No one claimed that the way Isa(As) died was 100% same to the Holy Prophet Muhammad(Saw) nor is their question they would be asked the same as the prophets mother was not worshiped. Tawaffa only occurs at death or sleep(when night or sleep is mentioned) are you now aware that kama is used in durood shareef? Are we not asking for blessings from the same God and the same blessings?This has no basis behind it as when kama is used it shows the resemblance between two things and the Holy Prophet Muhammad(saw) has made it clear that the resemblance is the exact same by quoting the exact same words of the ayah word for word. He could have changed them to show a resemblance but he showed that they are the exact same. Also in the Holy Qur’an we read:
Surely, the case of Jesus with Allah is like the case of Adam. He created him out of dust, then He said to him, ‘Be!,’ and he was.(Chapter 3 verse 60)
Now the word kama shows the resemblance between the two and the resemblance is the same. “Be and He was”
The words stated after kama kala for Muhammad(saw) are the exact same which Isa(as) will say on the day of judgment. Nowhere does it state it would be similar rather it is word for word the exact same.
كَمَا قَالَ الْعَبْدُ الصَّالِحُ {وَكُنْتُ عَلَيْهِمْ شَهِيدًا مَا دُمْتُ فِيهِمْ ۖ فَلَمَّا تَوَفَّيْتَنِي كُنْتَ أَنْتَ الرَّقِيبَ عَلَيْهِمْ ۚ وَأَنْتَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَيْءٍ شَهِيدٌ}
This would be read till the end of the verse and clearly shows Isa(as) has died. After kama the exact same Arabic is used of the ayah which dictates the words of Isa(as) on the day of Judgment. The Holy Prophet(saw) made it clear that his words would be exactly the same.
Kala shows the resemblance of two things and if different the Prophet(saw) would have clarified as the examples the non Ahmadis quote have different explanations after kama. The hadith we quote is exactly word for word, what isa(as) will say on the day of judgment and therefore the words are exactly the same which the Prophet(saw) will say and their tawaffa is also the same.
Challenge of the Promised Messiah (as) Regarding Tawaffi
He(as) states: “If anyone can cite a single instance from the Holy Qur’an or Hadith, or from ancient or modern Arabic poetry and prose, that the word Tawaffi, when applied to a human being, God being the subject, has been used in any connotation other than death and taking possession of the soul, for instance, in the connotation of the taking the body, I bind myself on oath that I shall pay that person one thousand rupees in cash by selling some of my property and shall always hold him in high esteem as a great scholar of the Holy Qur’an and Hadith.”(Izalah-e-Auham, Ruhani Khaza’in, Volume 3, p. 603)
Another Statement of Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad(as) :
What I discovered on checking every page of the compilations of Sahih Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Tirmadhi, Ibn-e-Majah, Abu Dawud, Nasa’i, Darimi, Mu’atta’ and Sharh-us-Sunnah etc., was that the expression Tawaffi has been used three hundred and forty six times, and in no single instance has it been used, either by the Holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) or by his companions, to mean anything other than ‘death’, or ‘taking possession of the soul’. I have gone through these books with great care line by line, and I can say that on each and every occasion the expression Tawaffi has been used only in the connotation of death or taking possession of the soul [Izala-e-Auham, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 3, pp. 583-585]