فَالمُدَبِّراتِ أَمرًا

By those who direct the affairs [of creatures].

EXEGESIS

Mudabbirāt are those who exercise tadbīr, which is to manage the end result or outcome of an affair or simply to manage an affair.^{‎[1]Lisan, 4/283.} With this meaning alone, verse 5 can refer to any one of: 1. All^{‎[2]Razi, 31/29.} or specific^{‎[3]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Thābit.} angels that direct the affairs of this world. 2. The stars and the planets, since they are a means of tracking time and a cause for the changing of seasons and the coming of the days and nights (10:5).^{‎[4]Razi, 31/31.} 3. The stallions that dictate the final outcome of the battle, in a metaphoric reference to the soldiers that ride them.^{‎[5]Razi, 31/32.}

While these interpretations and others can be derived linguistically, they will be discussed in the context of the five divine oaths together, and in the context of the surah as a whole under Exposition and Review of Tafsīr Literature of this verse.

Verses 3-5 all begin with the prefixed conjunction fa, which can express a causal relationship between events. Fa can also be used to express chronological order between two events without any causality between them. Finally, fa can be simply equivalent to the conjunction ‘and’.^{‎[6]Bahrayn, 1/323.} However, looking at the relationship between verses 3-4, we can see a strong causal relationship between accelerating forward and taking the lead. Hence, there is good reason to take fa to express a causal relationship between verses 4 and 5, just as it did between verses 3 and 4. With this in mind, verses 3-5 would read: By those who race forward and therefore take the lead and thus direct the affairs.

EXPOSITION

Verses 1-5 are divine oaths that declare that humankind will surely be resurrected after death.^{‎[7]Mizan, 20/179; Safi, 5/220; Zamakhshari, 4/693.} Generally, the element of mystery that these opening verses evoke has the effect of piquing the reader’s curiosity and demanding their attention.^{‎[8]Qutb, 6/3812; Nemuneh, 26/76.} The opening five verses and the imagery of their terms evoke a drama and violence that push the reader to end their heedlessness and apathy to their fate in the hereafter.^{‎[9]Fadlallah, 24/32-33.}

It is also possible that it was intended for the verses to make a number of applicable references to different entities each having their own value.^{‎[10]Fadlallah, 24/32; Nemuneh, 26/77.} That being said, there is a lot of evidence to conclude that these divine oaths refer most strongly to the angels and how they come to fulfill the order of God.

First, verses 1-5 are very similar to the introductory verses of Sūrat al-Ṣāffāt (37:1-3) and of Sūrat al-Mursalāt (77:1-5), which describe the angels in their conformance to the command of God. The only nuance is that these verses specifically refer to the angels of revelation while the opening verses of this surah refer to all angels that manage the affairs of this world by God’s permission.

Second, as stated earlier, verses 3-5 can read: By those who race forward and therefore take the lead and thus direct the affairs. The expression in verse 5, By those who direct the affairs, fits very well the description of the angels that are commissioned to carry out God’s will. Taking those who direct the affairs as the angels and working backwards through the causal relationship between verses 3-5, we can see how the angels were commissioned to direct the affairs as per God’s command because they had taken the lead towards them. In turn, they had taken the lead towards the realisation of God’s order after having raced towards it as soon as they knew of it.^{‎[11]Mizan, 20/181-182.}

From here, if verses 3-5 depict how the angels hasten and come first to direct the affairs as per God’s commands, then verse 1 describes how they resolvingly wrest themselves from the realm of receiving the divine command, and verse 2 recounts how they set forth to realise it. With this, we would have a vivid description of the state of the angels from the moment of receiving a divine command to the moment of completing their divinely appointed mission.^{‎[12]Mizan, 20/181-182.}

The role of the angels as a means to manifesting God’s will in the form of events both in this world and the hereafter, and both at the spiritual and material spheres, does not contradict or conflict with God’s total control over all things. It also does not negate the causal relationship between events and their nearest causes in the physical world. It also does not mean that angels or physical phenomena become independent delegates that act on behalf of God since nothing can be independent from God. A good analogy of how things can take place through a hierarchy of causes, all of whom return back to a single source, is the example of a person writing with a pencil. The writing takes place by means of a pencil, by means of the hand, and ultimately by means of the person. Hence, the writing took place by means of both the hand and the pencil with the real author being the person.^{‎[13]Mizan, 20/184.}

Finally, the role of the angels as a means of manifesting God’s will does not negate verses from the Quran that describe them as being in a state of constant worship and glorification of God (21:20, 7:206, 16:49). In fact, their very worship, glorification, and prostration can be their direction of affairs in complete accordance with God’s will.

INSIGHTS FROM HADITH

1. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Saʿīd ibn Manṣūr and Ibn al-Mundhir report from Imam Ali (a) a different meaning for these verses. According to this hadith, verse 1 refers to the angels that wrest the souls of the disbelievers; verse 2 refers to the angels that draw out the souls of the disbelievers from between their nails and skin;^{‎[14]Tabrisi, 10/652.} verse 3 refers to the angels that speedily take the souls between the heavens and the earth; verse 4 refers to the angels that race between themselves to take the souls of the believers to God; and verse 5 refers to the angels that manage the affairs of God’s bondsmen from year to year.^{‎[15]Mizan‎, 20/194; Tabrisi, 10/652.}

Note: Commenting on this hadith, Tabatabai says that if it was authentic, some of its elements should be understood metaphorically. For example, the drawing out of the soul from between the nails and the skin is a metaphor to express the torment involved in the experience of death for the disbelievers.^{‎[16]Mizan, 20/194.}

2. In al-Durr al-Manthūr, Ibn Abī Ḥātim narrates from Imam Ali (a) that Ibn al-Kawwāʾ asked him about verse 5, and he said: ‘[It refers to] the angels that are responsible for the remembrance of God and for carrying out His will.’^{‎[17]Mizan, 20/194.}

REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE

Exegetes have proposed a large range of interpretations for what verses 1-5 are referring to. Many exegetes have interpreted those who wrest violently in verse 1 to refer to the angels that violently wrest the souls of the disbelievers.^{‎[18]Tabrisi, 10/651, narrated from Imam Ali (a), Muqātil, and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr.} The disbelievers’ pain – due to seperating their souls from their bodies – comes as a result of their resistance and refusal to accept the truth during their life on earth.^{‎[19]Nemuneh, 26/76.} Accordingly, these exegetes take those who draw [it] out gently in verse 2 as the angels who draw the souls of the believers from their bodies gently at the hour of death.^{‎[20]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Ibn Abbas.} Next, those who swim smoothly in verse 3 are the angels that come hastily from the heavens with God’s decree.^{‎[21]Tibyan, 10/252, narrated from Mujāhid.} Verse 3 has also been taken to refer to the angels that gently take the souls of the believers from their bodies and leave their souls to rest as one who floats above the water.^{‎[22]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Imam Ali (a) and Kalbī.} In turn, those who take the lead, in verse 4, are the angels that rush with the souls of the believers to heaven and rush with the souls of the disbelievers to hellfire.^{‎[23]Razi, 31/29.} Verse 4 has also been understood as the angels who take the lead in carrying out God’s will.^{‎[24]Nemuneh, 26/76.} Finally, those who direct the affairs are the angels that have been commissioned to carry out God’s will in this world.^{‎[25]Razi, 31/29.} Verse 5 has also been explained as specifically the four angels that direct the affairs of this world: Gabriel, Michael, ʿIzrāʾīl, and Isrāfīl.^{‎[26]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Thābit.}  

Other exegetes have interpreted those who wrest violently in verse 1 to refer to the arrow in the bow of those who fight in way of God.^{‎[27]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from ʿAṭāʾ and ʿIkramah.} Accordingly, they take those who draw [it] out gently in verse 2 as the arrows that shoot from the bows in battle.^{‎[28]Mizan‎, 20/179.} Next, those who swim smoothly in verse 3 are the horses of the soldiers as they charge forward.^{‎[29]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Abū Muslim.} In turn, those who take the lead in verse 4 are the horses of the soldiers racing each other in battle.^{‎[30]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from ʿAṭāʾ and Abū Muslim.} Finally, those who direct the affairs are the horses of the soldiers, in a metaphoric reference to the soldiers themselves, who dictate the final outcome of the battle.^{‎[31]Razi, 31/32.}

Other exegetes have interpreted those who wrest violently in verse 1 to refer to the stars that move with full strength from one horizon to disappear into another.^{‎[32]Tabrisi, 10/651, narrated from Hasan al-Baṣrī, Qatādah, Abū ʿUbaydah, al-Akhfash, and Jubbāʾī.} Accordingly, they take those who draw [it] out gently in verse 2 as the stars that move with ease from one horizon to the other.^{‎[33]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Qatādah, al-Akhfash, and Jubbāʾī.} Next, those who swim smoothly in verse 3 are the stars in reference to the verse, and each swims in an orbit (36:40).^{‎[34]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Qatādah and Jubbāʾī.} In turn, those who take the lead in verse 4 are the stars that race with each other.^{‎[35]Tabrisi, 10/652. Narrated from Qatādah and Jubbāʾī.} Finally, those who direct the affairs are the stars and the planets since they are a means of tracking time and a cause for the changing seasons and the coming of the days and nights (10:5).^{‎[36]Razi, 31/31.}

Many of these interpretations are distant from the apparent meaning of the verses. The five divine oaths come to verify the statements that immediately follow them in verses 6-14. These statements set the context of the surah, which revolves around the theme of resurrection and the Day of Judgement. Since all five divine oaths have the same theme and context, they cannot at once take all the exegeses that have been presented. Furthermore, many of these explanations lack coherence with the surah’s context, and instead rely solely on different meanings that can be derived linguistically.^{‎[37]Mizan‎, 20/180-181. ­}

The best of the interpretations presented above is that verses 1-5 speak of the angels of death or more generally the angels that carry out God’s command. This is a view that has support in a hadith attributed to Imam Ali (a) (see Insights from Hadith). This hadith also does not restrict the angels to being the angels of death only, but also includes the angels that manage the affairs of God’s bondsmen from year to year. The common point between all the angels described in the hadith is that they are doing the will of God which confirms the conclusions as stated in Exposition.

Ālūsī presents a more plausible explanation for why verses 1-5 speak of the angels of death. He explains that it speaks of the angels of death that wrest the souls from the bodies leaving nothing of it behind, drawing them out from the bodies like the drawing of water from a well. In turn, the angels emerge with the souls in hand like the one who comes out of the water after having brought out what he sought in it. At last, they race forward, taking the souls of the disbelievers to the hellfire and taking the souls of the believers to heaven. In this way, they manage the affair or the outcome of humankind in the hereafter.^{‎[38]Alusi, 15/223.} Whilst it is a reasonable mapping of verses 1-5 to the angels of death, it is not convincing enough to restrict the verses in question to refer only to the angels of death.^{‎[39]Nemuneh, 26/78.}   

As shown in Exposition and elaborated by this discussion, characteristics found in the divine oaths apply best to all the angels in their total conformance to the commands of God from the moment of receiving His command in the abode of the unseen to the moment of bringing it to manifest itself in the realm of this world by His permission.^{‎[40]Mizan‎, 20/181.}

Rāzī proposes a unique reading into how verses 1-5 apply to all angels. In a nutshell, he takes verses 1 and 2 to be describing the negated attributes of the angels such as the absence of lust, anger, sickness, or ageing. Next, he proposes that verses 3 and 4 speak of their intellectual and spiritual powers, saying that they are eternally in a state of glorification and proximity to God, and they are each at different levels. Finally, he suggests verse 5 to be their abilities to manage the affairs of this world based on the level of knowledge endowed to them by God, and the functions to which they have been commissioned by Him.^{‎[41]Razi, 31/29-30.} There is no reason to dismiss this interpretation other than the hadiths that we have presented. However, if we take the hadiths to be non-restrictive applications of the divine oaths, then this interpretation can be accepted. The issue that makes this interpretation secondary or tertiary is that it focuses more on the attributes of the angels rather than their role in manifesting God’s will with regard to the affairs of humankind, which is the primary focus of the surah as a whole.

Abū Muslim criticises the interpretation that takes verses 1-5 as referring to the angels, since the descriptors are conjugated in the feminine form whereas angels are genderless (43:19).^{‎[42]Razi, 31/30.} However, grammatically speaking, there is no contradiction with this if we take the verses to be speaking about the entities (kāʾināt), or the creations (makhlūqāt) that have the mentioned attributes.^{‎[43]Razi, 31/30, who takes it to be the things that have the mentioned attributes.}

There is another interpretation about the meaning of the divine oaths that has been presented by exegetes.^{‎[44]Razi, 31/31; Alusi, 15/225; Daqaiq, 14/112.} They have proposed this interpretation with variations, saying the verses referred to noble souls at the time of death or during their life,^{‎[45]Alusi, 15/225.} the souls of the believers after death,^{‎[46]Razi, 31/31.} or the levels of departure of the self from materialism towards ascension and proximity to God.^{‎[47]Razi, 31/32.} Some examples for clarification are as follows:

1. Taking the oaths to refer to noble souls at the time of death, the steps are as follows: first, they remove themselves from the bodies thoroughly and to the maximum extent. In turn, their yearning to join the higher world (ʿālam al-malakūt) is intensified and drives them to race towards it and hence to take the lead in reaching it, until they reach the highest realms of proximity to the divine presence. Once they reach this lofty station, they are honoured and empowered to join the ranks of those who manage the affairs as per God’s will.^{‎[48]Alusi, 15/225.}
2. Taking the oaths to refer to the levels of the heart’s departure from what is other than God towards God alone, the steps are as follows: first, the love for anything other than God is thoroughly wrested from the heart. In turn, the heart persists firmly in striving further by seeking to manifest God’s attributes within itself. In turn, it spiritually ascends and takes flight in the realm of the higher world and finds itself racing with other lofty beings until it finds itself having joined the ranks of those who manage the affairs with the angels.^{‎[49]Razi, 31/32.} Of course, here the ‘heart’ refers to the state of the human being (see 26:89).
3. In a third variation, taking the oaths to be about the selves during their journey of inward and outward self-purification by means of worship and ascension in the knowledge of the divine, the steps are as follows: first, these selves wrest themselves from base or carnal desires. Next, they move with energy towards the realm of the divine. Next, they accelerate and soar in the stations of ascension until they take the lead towards self-fulfilment and self-completion. In turn, they become a means by which other incomplete or unfulfilled selves reach their perfection and fulfilment.^{‎[50]Alusi, 15/225.}

In essence, all of these interpretations are describing spiritual experiences that take place within the righteous human being himself. Some have qualified this experience as a post-death phenomenon, whereas others proposed that it could take place even during a human being’s life on earth.

The context of Sūrat al-Nāziʿāt is a Meccan surah that is primarily addressing the disbelievers and their scepticism and questioning of the veracity of basic tenets of faith, such as resurrection and the Day of Judgement. Hence, the divine oaths must primarily meet this challenge. For this reason, taking the divine oaths as being about the angels that are doing God’s will on earth is more aligned with the purpose of awakening the people to the reality of God’s might and to the purpose of their creation, and should be taken as the primary meaning.

On the other hand, the Quran also presents itself as a guide to the believers (10:57, 12:111, 2:2, 2:97, 3:138, 5:46). Hence, while the oath’s primary objective given the context of the surah is to awaken the polytheists to the reality of resurrection and its aftermath, a parallel message to the believers is also being emitted. This message matches the believer’s degree of understanding and faith and prompts them to ascend to the next level. It draws them to reflect and follow the example of those whom God entrusted to manifest His will from the prophets, the Imams, and the saints (awliyāʾ) after they wrested themselves from any attachment to this world that is not born from their attachment and proximity to Him.

Indeed those who are apprehensive for the fear of their Lord, and who believe in the signs of their Lord, and who do not ascribe partners to their Lord; and who give whatever they give while their hearts tremble with awe that they are going to return to their Lord – it is they who are zealous in [performing] good works, and take the lead in them (23:57-61). And amongst them We appointed imams to guide [the people] by Our command, when they had been patient and had conviction in Our signs (32:24). We made them imams, guiding by Our command, and We revealed to them the performance of good deeds, the maintenance of prayers, and the giving of zakat, and they used to worship Us (21:73). Explicit examples of roles of prophets and saints that God chose and commissioned to spread His guidance, His mercy, and His justice are captured in the Quran. Such examples include that of Prophet Muhammad (s) (21:107, 62:2-3), Prophet Abraham (a) (2:124), Prophet David (a) (38:26), Prophet Khiḍr (a) (18:82), of Dhū al-Qarnayn (18:83-98), and others. All of these stations and positions are examples of God commissioning purified human beings to manifest His will after they had detached from this world and journeyed far and high in the realm of His proximity.

Some exegetes have taken verses 1-5 to be divine oaths by the Lord of all the entities mentioned. For example, instead of understanding verse 1 to be By those who wrest violently, it would be taken to be: By the Lord of those who wrest violently. However, this is not the apparent meaning, especially that it is for God to make a divine oath by whatever He pleases and He is not restricted to only swearing an oath by His name.^{‎[51]Tibyan, 10/251.}

Some exegetes have accepted that the verses can refer to two or more different entities.^{‎[52]Razi, 31/32-33; Fadlallah, 24/32.} With this in mind, some have taken verse 1 and verse 2 to refer to death, which wrests and draws the souls out of the bodies.^{‎[53]Tabrisi, 10/651, narrated from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) and Mujāhid.} Verse 3 was proposed by some as alluding to the ships that travel over water,^{‎[54]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from ʿAṭāʾ.} or the clouds,^{‎[55]Mizan‎, 20/180.} or the sea creatures.^{‎[56]Mizan‎, 20/180.} Verse 4 has been explained by some as being 1. The angels, because they have preceded the children of Adam in goodness and faith and the performance of good deeds,^{‎[57]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Mujāhid.} or 2. The angels that bring revelation to the prophets,^{‎[58]Tibyan, 10/252-253, narrated from Mujāhid.} or 3. The souls of the believers that race to the angels of death in yearning to meet God.^{‎[59]Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Ibn Masʿūd.} Whilst is it possible that verses 1-5 speak of totally different entities from a linguistic and grammatical standpoint, the fact that they should conform to a single theme and context makes such interpretations much less plausible.

[1] Lisan, 4/283.
[2] Razi, 31/29.
[3] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Thābit.
[4] Razi, 31/31.
[5] Razi, 31/32.
[6] Bahrayn, 1/323.
[7] Mizan, 20/179; Safi, 5/220; Zamakhshari, 4/693.
[8] Qutb, 6/3812; Nemuneh, 26/76.
[9] Fadlallah, 24/32-33.
[10] Fadlallah, 24/32; Nemuneh, 26/77.
[11] Mizan, 20/181-182.
[12] Mizan, 20/181-182.
[13] Mizan, 20/184.
[14] Tabrisi, 10/652.
[15] Mizan‎, 20/194; Tabrisi, 10/652.
[16] Mizan, 20/194.
[17] Mizan, 20/194.
[18] Tabrisi, 10/651, narrated from Imam Ali (a), Muqātil, and Saʿīd ibn Jubayr.
[19] Nemuneh, 26/76.
[20] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Ibn Abbas.
[21] Tibyan, 10/252, narrated from Mujāhid.
[22] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Imam Ali (a) and Kalbī.
[23] Razi, 31/29.
[24] Nemuneh, 26/76.
[25] Razi, 31/29.
[26] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from ʿAbd al-Raḥmān ibn Thābit.
[27] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from ʿAṭāʾ and ʿIkramah.
[28] Mizan‎, 20/179.
[29] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Abū Muslim.
[30] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from ʿAṭāʾ and Abū Muslim.
[31] Razi, 31/32.
[32] Tabrisi, 10/651, narrated from Hasan al-Baṣrī, Qatādah, Abū ʿUbaydah, al-Akhfash, and Jubbāʾī.
[33] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Qatādah, al-Akhfash, and Jubbāʾī.
[34] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Qatādah and Jubbāʾī.
[35] Tabrisi, 10/652. Narrated from Qatādah and Jubbāʾī.
[36] Razi, 31/31.
[37] Mizan‎, 20/180-181.
[38] Alusi, 15/223.
[39] Nemuneh, 26/78.
[40] Mizan‎, 20/181.
[41] Razi, 31/29-30.
[42] Razi, 31/30.
[43] Razi, 31/30, who takes it to be the things that have the mentioned attributes.
[44] Razi, 31/31; Alusi, 15/225; Daqaiq, 14/112.
[45] Alusi, 15/225.
[46] Razi, 31/31.
[47] Razi, 31/32.
[48] Alusi, 15/225.
[49] Razi, 31/32.
[50] Alusi, 15/225.
[51] Tibyan, 10/251.
[52] Razi, 31/32-33; Fadlallah, 24/32.
[53] Tabrisi, 10/651, narrated from Imam al-Ṣādiq (a) and Mujāhid.
[54] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from ʿAṭāʾ.
[55] Mizan‎, 20/180.
[56] Mizan‎, 20/180.
[57] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Mujāhid.
[58] Tibyan, 10/252-253, narrated from Mujāhid.
[59] Tabrisi, 10/652, narrated from Ibn Masʿūd.