Some scholars believe that tawaffā in the verse is used in the sense of death, but in order of occurrence in time, it is after the event of ‘raising’. That is, the sequence in the expression of the words of the verse: innī mutawaffīka wa rāfi‘uka ilayya is not chronological. In this expression, tawaffā bi hi meaning death, although mentioned first, is subsequent in occurrence. And rafa‘a bi hi, meaning he raised him, though mentioned later, is prior in occurrence. The pre-positioning (taqdim) of tawaffā alludes to the great event mentioned in the hadiths, which will start with the descent of Jesus and be completed upon his death. He will be saved from being killed and crucified, and will be given a natural death with full honor and respect. Moreover, this pre-positioning refutes the false notion of the divinity of Jesus (PBUH) held by Christians and clarifies that Jesus (PBUH) belongs to humanity and will experience death like all humans.
If someone objects to this interpretation and says that the word rāfi‘uka is conjugated with mutawaffīka and, therefore, the order of presentation requires that the event of death must come before the event of ascension, he should be informed that the wāw (the Arabic particle meaning ‘and’) does not imply order in the things conjugated using this particle. The Qur’an provides examples where events occurring later are narrated first.
Mufti Muhammad Usmani writes:
This narrative from Ibn Abbas has been mentioned in Tafsir al-Durr al-Manthur, in these words: Narrating from Jawohar on the authority of al-Dahhak, 'Ishaq b. Bishr and Ibn Asakir have reported the following interpretation by Ibn Abbas regarding the verse innī mutawaffīka wa rāfi‘uka ilayya ('I will take you and raise you to Myself'): I will raise you to Myself, then in the end times, I will give you a natural death.' (2/36) To sum up, this interpretation means that tawaffā implies death. However, the words in the expression have been pre-positioned and post-positioned. The act implied in rāfi‘uka will chronologically be realized first and then mutawaffīka will happen. The reason for and wisdom in pre-positioning the term mutawaffīka is to indicate the whole event that is to occur later: I am not calling you back to Myself permanently. It will be temporary. You will come to this world again, achieve victory over the enemies, and later die a natural death. Thus, Jesus’s death after descending from the heavens and achieving victory in the world was a miracle, and a culmination of the honor and respect for him. It also refutes the Christian belief in Jesus’s divinity because otherwise his ascension into the heavens alive would have strengthened their belief that he is ever living and self-subsisting like Allah. Hence, God mentioned lifting Jesus to Himself only after mentioning mutawaffīka, and thus falsified all such beliefs …
Nothing but these miracles had become the reason for the ignorant Christians to fall into the belief of deifying him, though each of these miracles, if their details are considered carefully, prove to be the evidence for him being a human being with human characteristics and an obedient servant of God. Hence, at every such occasion in the Qur’an [where Jesus’s miracles are recounted], points to the refutation of the belief in Jesus’s divinity. The event of being raised to the heavens would have strongly reinforced this misconception, so by mentioning mutawaffīka first, this doubt is completely dispelled. This shows that the verse not only refutes the Jews who claim Jesus was crucified, telling us that Allah ruined the plans of the Jews who were intent on killing and crucifying Jesus. By employing this pre-positioning and post-positioning of the terms, the verse also refutes the Christians by indicating that Jesus is not a God, immune from death. A time will come when he too will die. (Maāriful Qur’an 2/74-76)