Tafsir of Ar-Ra'd 13:11

Surah Ar-Ra'd (The Thunder): Verse 11

{لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ مِّن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ} (He has those who succeed one another before and behind him, who guard him by the command of Allah.)

The Pronoun and the Meaning of Mu'aqqibāt

1. The Pronoun: The pronoun in {لَهُ} (to Him) refers back to the subject in the preceding verse, {سَوَاءٌ مَّنْ أَسَرَّ الْقَوْلَ وَمَن جَهَرَ بِهِ} (whether one conceals his speech or declares it aloud) (Ar-Ra'd: 10). Alternatively, it refers to Allah, the Knower of the unseen and the seen. Thus, the meaning is: "Allah has those who succeed one another."
2. The Word Mu'aqqibāt:
   • It might be derived from mu'taqqibāt (with a tā'), where the tā' was assimilated into the qāf (an example given is al-mu'dhirūn from al-mu'tadhirūn).
   • Alternatively, it comes from ʿaqaba (to follow). The muʿaqqib (singular) is whatever follows what preceded it. In either case, the meaning remains the same.

There are two main interpretations for what these entities are:

The First Opinion (The Majority View): The Guardian Angels

1. Identity: This refers to the guardian angels.
2. Reason for the Description: They are called muʿaqqibāt because:
   • The angels of the night succeed the angels of the day, and vice versa.
   • They follow and record the deeds of the servants, coming one after another to observe them.
3. The Angels Involved: This refers to the angels of the night and the angels of the day.
   • Narration from Uthman (RA): A narration states that the Prophet (PBUH) described the angels assigned to a person:
     • An angel on the right records good deeds (and is a trustee over the left angel). A good deed is recorded tenfold.
     • The angel on the left waits before recording a bad deed, asking the right angel if he should write it. The right angel says, "No, perhaps he will repent." Only after three instances does the right angel permit writing it, saying, "May Allah relieve us of him! What a poor companion he is, with little regard for Allah and shyness before us."
     • Two angels are in front and behind the person, fulfilling the verse: {مِن بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ}.
     • An angel holds the forelock (controlling the person): if the person humbles himself to God, the angel raises him; if he becomes arrogant, the angel breaks him.
     • Two angels are on the lips, recording prayers upon the Prophet (PBUH).
     • An angel is inside the person, preventing snakes from entering the mouth.
     • Two angels are over the eyes.
     • These are ten angels. The angels of the night replace the angels of the day, making a total of twenty angels assigned to every human being.
   • Hadith on Meetings: The Prophet (PBUH) said: "Angels succeed one another among you, angels of the night and angels of the day, and they gather at the Dawn Prayer and the Afternoon Prayer." This is related to the verse: {أَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِدُلُوكِ الشَّمْسِ إِلَىٰ غَسَقِ اللَّيْلِ} (The Night Journey: 78).
   • Ibn Jurayj's View: This is like the verse: {عَنِ الْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ الشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌ} (Qaf: 17), where the right angel records good deeds and the left records sins.
   • Mujahid's View: Every servant has an angel guarding him from Jinn, humans, and pests, whether asleep or awake.

Question 1: Angels are masculine, so why is the plural form Mu'aqqibāt feminine?

• Answer 1 (Al-Farrā'): Muʿaqqibāt is the plural of muʿaqqibah, which itself is a plural of muʿaqqib (masculine). This is like abnāwāt (plural of ibn) or rijālāt (plural of rijāl). The masculinity is confirmed by the subsequent verb {يَحْفَظُونَهُ} (they guard him), which is masculine plural.
• Answer 2 (Al-Akhfash): The feminine form is used because of the large number of them, similar to words like nassābah (genealogist) or ʿallāmah (great scholar), which are grammatically feminine but refer to males.

Question 2: What is meant by them guarding him "from before him and from behind him"?

• Answer: Whether one conceals his deed at night or travels openly during the day, these guardians surround him, recording all his deeds and words completely, without anything escaping their record.
• Alternative View: They guard him from all dangers from the front and the back, as a traveler during the day is primarily wary of what is ahead and behind him.

Question 3: What is meant by {مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ} (by the command of Allah)?

• Answer 1 (Al-Farrā'): It involves fronting and delaying (word order change): "He has guardians who guard him from the command of Allah." (Meaning: they guard him according to the command of Allah).
• Answer 2 (Implied Meaning): There is an implied noun: "This guarding is from the command of Allah," meaning, it is something Allah has commanded. The noun is omitted, leaving only the predicate, similar to writing "Two thousand" on a bag, meaning "What is in it is two thousand."
• Answer 3 (Ibn al-Anbārī): The preposition min here means bā' (by/with). The meaning is: "They guard him by the command and assistance of Allah." This must be the case because the angels, or any creation, have no power to guard anyone from Allah's decree or what He has ordained for them.

Question 4: What is the benefit of assigning these angels to us?

• Answer: This concept is not far-fetched, especially when considering the views of ancient scholars:
  • Astrologers: They agree that the governance of each day and night is assigned to a specific planet, which they believe has a spirit directing affairs.
  • Talismans Experts: They believe every person has a celestial spirit (rūḥ falkiyyah) managing their affairs and warding off calamities.
  • If this is accepted by ancient philosophers and astrologers, how can it be rejected when brought by the Divine Law?
• Deeper Analysis (Philosophers): Human souls differ in essence and nature (some good, some evil, some powerful, some weak). Similarly, celestial spirits differ. Celestial spirits are stronger than human spirits. Groups of human spirits share a common nature because they are nurtured by a celestial spirit whose nature matches theirs, making the celestial spirit their guide, helper, and protector.
• Benefits of Angelic Assignment (Beyond previous mentions):
  1. Guidance: Devils call to evil, while these angels call to obedience.
  2. Protection (Mujahid): An angel guards the servant from Jinn, humans, and pests, whether awake or asleep.
  3. Inner Impulses: Sometimes a strong impulse arises in the heart without apparent cause. Later, it may be revealed that this impulse led to benefit (the guiding angel) or harm (the misleading devil).
  4. Deterrence: Knowing that angels record deeds encourages caution against sin due to reverence for their high status. Knowing they write the deeds provides an even stronger deterrent.

Question 5: What is the benefit of recording the servants' deeds?

• Level 1: Literal Recording (The Common View): The benefit of these records (scrolls) is to weigh them on the Scales to determine which pan outweighs the other. If the good deeds outweigh the bad, it becomes clear to creation that the person is destined for Paradise, and vice versa.
  • Al-Qadi's Objection: This seems distant, as evidence shows that every person knows their fate (blessed or wretched) before death upon witnessing it, making the scale unnecessary for that knowledge.
  • Al-Qadi's Response: The weighing might still serve the purpose of bringing the person joy in the presence of creation that he is among the friends of Allah destined for Paradise, and the opposite for his enemies.
• Level 2: The View of Islamic Sages (Metaphorical Recording): Writing is a conventional inscription used to signify specific meanings. If these inscriptions could signify the meanings themselves (their essence), the recording would be stronger and more complete.
  • When a person repeats an action many times, a strong, established habit (malakah) forms in their soul. If this habit is beneficial for spiritual happiness, the person will experience great joy after death; if harmful, great affliction.
  • Since repetition causes this firm habit, every repeated action has a real, though perhaps imperceptible, effect on forming that habit.
  • Therefore, every fleeting thought, movement, or stillness leaves an effect—great or small—on the essence of the soul, leading toward happiness or wretchedness. This is the intended meaning of recording deeds according to this view. (And Allah knows best the realities of matters. This applies if we interpret the verse as referring to angels.)

This view is narrated from Ibn Abbas (RA) and preferred by Abu Muslim al-Isfahani.

1. Meaning: It means that in Allah's knowledge, secrecy and openness are equal. Whether one hides in the darkness of night or travels openly during the day, relying on helpers and supporters (kings and rulers)—Allah’s decree will not escape him.
2. The Guards: If one seeks refuge in the night, he cannot escape Allah's command. If he travels by day relying on his muʿaqqibāt (guards and aides) who protect him, his guards cannot save him from Allah.
3. Mutual Observation: The guard observes the guarded, and the guarded observes the guard, meaning their sight is reciprocal. These guards cannot save the person from Allah's decree or destiny.
4. Purpose: The goal of this statement is to urge sultans, rulers, and the powerful to seek salvation from distress through Allah's protection and guardianship, rather than relying solely on aides and supporters. This is followed by the verse: {وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ} (And if Allah intends for a people some ill, none can repel it, and there is for them besides Him no protector).

{إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّىٰ يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنفُسِهِمْ} (Indeed, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they change what is in themselves.)

1. Consensus: All commentators agree that this means Allah does not change the state of blessings upon a people (by sending down punishment) unless they commit sins and corruption.
2. Al-Qadi's View: The apparent meaning supports this, as Allah's actions in this world often begin with blessings (religion and worldly affairs), which He grants to whomever He wills without prior change from the servant. Therefore, the change mentioned here refers to the change from blessings to destruction and punishment.
3. Relation to Previous Verse:
   • Some say this refers to their hastening of punishment (Ar-Ra'd: 6). Allah only sends down annihilation unless He knows they are determined to persist in disbelief and sin. Some even say if it is known that someone among them or their descendants will believe, annihilation will not be sent.
   • Others say the statement is general: whenever a people exaggerate in corruption and change their manner of showing servitude to Allah, Allah removes their blessings and sends down various punishments.
   • A believer mixed among such people might also be included in that punishment. A narration from Abu Bakr (RA) states the Prophet (PBUH) said: "If people see an oppressor and do not restrain him, Allah is about to cover them all with punishment."
4. Arguments based on the Verse: Al-Jubba'i and Al-Qadi used this verse for two issues:
   • Issue 1: Allah does not punish the children of polytheists for their fathers' sins, because the children have not changed any blessing they possessed into a state deserving of punishment.
   • Issue 2: The verse refutes the view of the Mujbirah (Determinists) who claim Allah initiates a servant into misguidance and abandonment right from the start, which is worse than punishment, even though the servant has made no change.
5. The Conflict: The apparent meaning suggests the change of God follows the change of the servant. However, the verse {وَمَا يَشَاءُونَ إِلَّا أَن يَشَاءَ اللَّهُ} (Man: 30) suggests the servant's action follows God's will, creating a conflict.
6. Refutation of Absolute Free Will: Our scholars use the following verse to argue that the servant is not fully independent in action: {وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ} (If Allah intends ill for a people, none can repel it). If a servant chooses disbelief, he is certainly deserving of blame and punishment. If the servant were fully independent in achieving faith, he could repel what Allah intended (punishment), thus invalidating the verse. Therefore, while the preceding verse suggests the servant's role, this verse is stronger evidence for our position (that God's will precedes the servant's action).

{وَيُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ مِنْ خِيفَتِهِ وَيُرْسِلُ الصَّوَاعِقَ فَيُصِيبُ بِهَا مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُمْ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي اللَّهِ وَهُوَ شَدِيدُ الْمِحَالِ} (And the thunder exalts His praise, and [so do] the angels from fear of Him. And He sends the thunderbolts and strikes therewith whom He wills, while they dispute concerning Allah. And He is severe in [His] might.)

1. The Meaning of the Guards (Alternative View): Al-Dahhak narrated from Ibn Abbas that the muʿaqqibāt achieved nothing (i.e., they could not save the person from God's decree). 'Ata' narrated similarly: "None can repel My punishment, nor invalidate My judgment."
2. {وَمَا لَهُم مِّن دُونِهِ مِن وَالٍ}: They have no protector besides Allah who manages their affairs and repels punishment from them.

{هُوَ الَّذِي يُرِيكُمُ الْبَرْقَ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَيُنشِئُ السَّحَابَ الثِّقَالَ * وَيُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ مِنْ خِيفَتِهِ وَيُرْسِلُ الصَّوَاعِقَ فَيُصِيبُ بِهَا مَن يَشَاءُ وَهُمْ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي اللَّهِ وَهُوَ شَدِيدُ الْمِحَالِ}

1. Lightning: Allah shows you lightning, causing fear (of its destructive power) and hope (that it brings rain for crops).
2. Clouds: He initiates the heavy, rain-laden clouds.
3. Praise and Fear: The thunder glorifies Allah with His praise, and the angels glorify Him out of fear of Him.
4. Thunderbolts: He sends down the thunderbolts, striking whomever He wills with them.
5. Disputation: Yet, they (humans) dispute concerning Allah.
6. Divine Might: And He is severe in His might (Shadīd al-Miḥāl). (Meaning: severe in His planning, stratagem, or retribution.)