Tafsir of Abasa 80:15

This means writers among the angels (peace be upon them), as stated by Mujahid and a group of others, for they transcribe the books from the Preserved Tablet (al-Lawh). It is the plural of safir, meaning a writer; the verbal noun is al-safr, like al-darb.

It is narrated from Ibn Abbas that they are the angels who serve as intermediaries between Allah the Exalted and His prophets (peace be upon them), on the basis that it is also the plural of safir in the sense of an emissary (safir), meaning an envoy and intermediary. The well-known verbal noun in this sense is al-safara (with a kasra or fatha on the sin), though al-safr has also been used for it, as recorded in the Qamus.

It has been said that they are the prophets (peace be upon them) because they are emissaries between Allah the Exalted and the nation, or because they record the revelation. Its remoteness is not hidden, for the function of the prophets (peace be upon them) is to receive the revelation, not to write down what is revealed—especially since the Seal of them (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) did not write the Quran, and indeed, according to the prevalent view, did not write at all, as has been examined previously. Furthermore, their function is to guide the nation through commands and prohibitions and to teach the laws and rulings, not merely to act as emissaries to them.

‘Abd ibn Humayd and Ibn al-Mundhir narrated from Wahb ibn Munabbih that they are the companions of Muhammad (may Allah bless him and grant him peace). It is said this is because they were emissaries and intermediaries between him (peace and blessings be upon him) and the rest of the nation, or because they serve as emissaries to one another in matters of goodness, teaching, and learning. In a narration from Qatadah, it is said that they are the Quran reciters (al-qurra’). Neither of these two views is reliable.

Scholars have stated that this term is specific to the angels (peace be upon them) and is hardly applied to anyone else, even if such application were linguistically permissible. The root, in all its derivatives, is coined to denote "uncovering" or "revealing," as in the expression "the woman safarat," meaning she removed the veil from her face.

It is said that the [prepositional] "bi" (ba') in "in the hands of" is linked to "purified," and it is also said that it is linked to an implicit [word] that serves as another descriptor for the "scrolls."