Tafsir of At-Tariq 86:4

The clause "There is no soul but that it has a protector over it" is a parenthetical statement inserted for the sake of what was mentioned previously—the emphasis on the magnificence of that by which the oath is sworn, which entails an emphasis on the content of the statement sworn to. It has been said that the response to the oath is His, the Exalted’s, saying: "Indeed, He is, for its return, able," and that what is between them is parenthetical, although this is as you see it.

The word In (إن) is a negative particle, and Lamma (لما) bears the meaning of illa (except). Its usage in this manner is a famous linguistic phenomenon, as Abu Hayyan reported from al-Akhfash regarding the Hudhayl tribe and others. They say: "I adjure you" or "I ask you, lamma (i.e., illa) you do such and such," meaning: "do nothing except that you do such and such." With this, he refuted al-Jawhari, who denied this usage. Al-Radi said: "It only appears after an explicit or implied negation, and it does not occur except in an elliptical construction (mufarragh)." That is to say, it is unlike la (no/not) used to emphasize the general, for its [grammatical] origin is the occurrence of the indefinite noun in a context of negation.

Kullu (Every) is the subject (mubtada'), and Hafiz (protector) is the predicate, according to the famous view; alayha (over it) is linked to it. According to what you have heard from al-Radi, the predicate is omitted, meaning: "Every soul is not [existing] in any state of affairs except in the state of having over it a protector," meaning a guardian and watcher. This is Allah—the Mighty and Majestic—as in His saying: "And Allah is ever, over all things, an Observer." If you are ever alone for a day, do not say: "I am alone," but say: "I have a watcher over me."

It is also said that it refers to the angels (peace be upon them) who preserve its deeds and count against it what it earns of good or evil, as in His saying: "And indeed, [appointed] over you are keepers, noble and recording." This was narrated from Ibn Sirin, Qatadah, and others, and they restricted the "soul" to the legally responsible one (mukallaf).

It is also said that it refers to the angels appointed to protect it and defend it from harm, as in His saying: "For him are successive [angels] before and behind him who protect him by the command of Allah." From Abu Umamah, the Prophet (may Allah bless him and grant him peace) said: "One hundred and sixty angels are appointed over the believer, defending him just as the fly defends the honey pot; if the servant were left to his own self for the blink of an eye, the devils would snatch him."

It is also said that it refers to the intellect, which guides a person to his interests and restrains him from what harms him.

Most have recited lamma with a light mim (un-doubled). According to the Kufans, In is negative, as previously mentioned, meaning "except," and ma is superfluous (za'idah). They explicitly stated here that kullu and hafiz are subject and predicate, so do not neglect this. According to the Basrans, In is a softened form of the heavy Inna, kullu is the subject, ma is superfluous, and the lam is the one introduced to differentiate between the negative in and the softened inna; hafiz is the predicate of the subject, and alayha is linked to it. The pronoun of state (dameer al-sha'n) was estimated [as the subject], but this was contested by saying there is no need for it, because in a non-opening (ghayr al-maftuhah) clause, it is weak due to the lack of governance, added to the fact that it interferes with the introduction of the differentiating lam. For if the predicate is a sentence, it is better to introduce the lam on the first part, as explicitly stated in al-Tashil, and [alternatively] on the second part, as some scholars explicitly stated in their annotations on it. Perhaps he who said, "Meaning inna al-sha'n (that the case is), every soul has a protector over it," did not intend to estimate the pronoun, but only to clarify the core meaning.

Harun reported that it was recited as Inna (with a doubled nun) and kulla (in the accusative case), while lamma is lightened. Thus, the lam is the one introduced into the predicate of inna, and ma is superfluous. In all the recitations, the matter of the response to the oath is clear, because there is that which the oath connects to. Connecting it with the doubled (mushaddadah) is famous, [as is] with the lightened (mukhaffafah) in "By Allah, I almost collapsed," and with the negative in "And if they were to cease..."

And His saying: [The verse continues...]