إِن كُلُّ نَفسٍ لَمّا عَلَيها حافِظٌ
There is a guard over every soul.
EXEGESIS
This is the subject of the oath sworn earlier. God swears that every soul and every person has a guard and keeper appointed over them, always accompanying them. Ḥāfiẓ (guard) can have the meaning of one who guards and protects: Who guard (ḥāfiẓūn) their private parts (23:5); it can also mean that which records information, safeguarding it from being lost: and with Us is a preserving (ḥafīẓ) book (50:4).
It is not fully specified here whether this guard is there to protect one from physical and/or spiritual harm as per the verse, He sends guards to [protect] you (6:61), or to record our deeds as per the verse, Indeed, there are over you watchers, noble writers who know whatever you do (82:10-12), but the context of the surah suggests that what is spoken of here is the latter, as the surah deals with the themes of resurrection and accounting of deeds.
The notion of recording angels is strengthened by the usage of the word ʿalayhā (over), suggesting that they can, in a sense, act as witnesses against us, whereas had lahā (for) been used, the suggestion would have been that they are here for us, to protect us.
EXPOSITION
Despite man’s illusions to the contrary, he is never truly alone. Wherever and whenever we may be, not only is God with us, but His angels are also always watching over our deeds. Continuing the theme of mystery, there is no secrecy to our actions, and it is this important understanding that God is trying to instil in the heart of man. This theme is emphasised by the use of the word soul, rather than ‘man’ – which is used in the following verse – because, by definition, the soul is something secret and hidden. Yet there are no secrets of the soul that remain hidden from God and the angels appointed over us.
The revelation of the oath is an opportune moment to introduce us to a new subtheme in the surah: accountability. The watching angels are not accompanying us without purpose; rather, they are here to record our deeds so that one day our deeds are given back to us either as reward or as punishment. This is part of the theme of journey, as a journey has, by definition, a destination, and in the context of this surah that destination is the Day of Accounting.
INSIGHTS FROM HADITH
- A narration through Abū Umāmah, from the Prophet: ‘Over every believer there have been appointed 190 angels; they protect him from what he himself has no power over. From them there are nine angels who protect like the one who protects a large bowl of honey from flies on a summer day … if a servant were to be left to his own means for even the blink of an eye, the devils would snatch him away.’
- A narration through various sources, from the Prophet: ‘Certainly, the son of Adam is heedless with regards to what he was created from. When God wished to create him, He said to the angel: “Write his sustenance, write his future, write his appointed time, [and write] whether he is miserable or joyous.” Then that angel is raised up and God sends an angel who protects him until he is mature, then that angel is raised up. Then God appoints two angels over him that will write his good deeds and his evil deeds. Then when the time of death comes, those two angels will be raised up, then the Angel of Death will come to take his soul. Then when he enters his grave, the spirit is returned to his body and the two angels of the grave will come to him and test him, and then they will be raised up. When the final hour arrives, the angels of good and evil deeds will descend upon him and they will open the book that is tied around his neck. Then they will go with him to the meeting place, one of them driving him forward and the other a witness.’ Then the Messenger of God said: ‘There is before you a great affair; you do not have the strength for it, so seek help from God, the mighty.’
REVIEW OF TAFSĪR LITERATURE
Some have suggested that guard is not referring to angels, but to God Himself: And Allah is watchful over all things (33:52). However, the indefinite use of a guard (ḥāfiẓun) is more fitting for an angel rather than God, who would more appropriately be described with the definite article (al-ḥāfiẓ).
Tabatabai suggests that it is possible that the guardian angels spoken of here, recording or witnessing our deeds, are referred to as guards because they preserve and safeguard the soul of a human being along with its deeds. In other words, death will not cause a soul to deteriorate; rather, the effects of actions that are imprinted on the soul will be preserved by the guardian angels so that when on resurrection it is reunited with its body, it will be as it was without having suffered any loss or decrease. He does not see this as contradicting the verses in the previous surah which describe the angels as scribes (82:10-12), since he believes that such safeguarding may be described as scribing, since writing is essentially the storing and safe keeping of information. It should be noted that this explanation does not necessarily contradict what was said earlier as it only attempts to explain what is meant by writing and safeguarding.
The opinion of Tabatabai has been criticised for not being thematically linked to the verses. Faḍl-Allāh argues that there is no reason to think that the focus of the discussion in the surah (which is about man being responsible for his actions) would suddenly shift to how souls will not deteriorate after death.
[1] Protection from spiritual harm being protection from the whisperings of Satan.
[2] Haythami, 7/209; with slight variation see Bihar, 91/314.
[3] Mizan, 18/358; Suyuti, 6/106; a similar narration is also in Bayhaqi, 10/266.
[4] Zamakhshari, 4/734; Alusi, 15/307.
[5] Mizan, 20/259. Also see his commentary on verse 45:29.
[6] Fadlallah, 20/259.