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lahū muʿaqqibātun min bayni yadayhi wa-min khalfihī yaḥfaẓūnahū min ʾamri llāhi ʾinna llāha lā yughayyiru mā bi-qawmin ḥattā yughayyirū mā bi-ʾanfusihim wa-ʾidhā ʾarāda llāhu bi-qawmin sūʾan fa-lā maradda lahū wa-mā lahum min dūnihī min wālin
He has guardian angels, to his front and his rear, who guard him by Allah’s command. Indeed Allah does not change a people’s lot, unless they change what is in their souls. And when Allah wishes to visit ill on a people, there is nothing that can avert it, and they have no protector besides Him.
— Ali Quli Qarai
Surah Ar-Ra‘d – Verse 11
11. “There are (angels) in succession, before him and behind him, who protect him by Allah’s command. Verily, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition. And if Allah intends evil upon a people, there is no turning it back; and they have, apart from Him, no protector.”
The Qur’anic term /mu‘aqqib at/ is the Arabic plural form of /mu‘aqqibah/ and the ending letter ‘t’, included in it, does not allude to its grammatical gender as feminine, rather, it implies exaggeration like the Arabic word /‘allamah/. Therefore, the subject of the term /yahfazunahu/ is masculine. Certainly, the purpose in the Qur’anic term /mu‘aqqib at/ is not to be considered as chasing and hunting man so as to be regarded as incompatible with the phrase /bayna yadayh/ (before him and behind him). On the contrary, it refers to succession and consecutive arrival of the angels during, day and night.
The Qur’anic phrase /’amrullah/, mentioned in this verse, does not imply the penalty and punishment of Allah, for it does not make any sense to say that the angels protect man from Divine punishment, but it implies that they protect man from dangers and natural accidents; since the nature has been created by Allah and whatever goes on in it, is done in accordance with His will. Many verses of the Qur’an and Islamic traditions indicate that there are angels that guard and protect human beings from dangers and calamities and record their deeds. They protect them from those dangers which are not seriously ordained under the Will of Allah.
Based upon the Islamic narrations in conformity with the Will of Allah, on various occasions, the protecting angels are allowed to abandon their role and allow some harm to come to man in accordance with Divine wisdom. Certainly, according to the inferences from quotations, as soon as the decisive Will of Allah arrives, the protecting angels abandon their protection mission and leave man to his doom and death which is certain to happen.
Thus there are two sides to Allah’s commandments: those that are certain to happen and those that are not certain. The angels only save man from those accidents which are not certain to occur. It goes without saying that such a protection in fact does not relieve man of his duties and freedom of choice. The destinies of individuals and nations are always in their own hands. The protection of angels is not confined to that of the lives of men but it also involves their acts as well as their faith and thought against deviations and satanic temptations as the Qur’anic term /yahfazūnahū/ includes both the soul and the body.
Imam Sajjad (as), alluding to this verse, said:
“The sins which alter blessings consist of: oppressing the people, ingratitude of Allah, abandoning of the good deeds which one is used to do.” 2
This holy verse deals with human societies and not with individuals one by one. That is, a decent righteous society is covered by Allah’s blessings, and a deviant one will get entangled with the Divine punishment. However, this formula does not adapt to the case of a righteous individual and an indecent one, for one may be righteous though he may, for divine trial or experimental purposes, get involved with difficulties; or one may be viscous though he may be momentarily left to himself for the respite given to him by Allah.
Any way, we read in the foregoing verse that because of the fact that ‘He knows the Unseen and the Seen’, Allah is aware of the visible as well as the invisible nature of men and is Omnipresent and Omnipotent. The Qur’an adds in this verse that in addition to this, Allah is also the Protector and Guardian of His servants. There are agents commissioned for men to oversee things around man consecutively and to protect him from evil events. The verse says:
“There are (angels) in succession, before him and behind him, who protect him by Allah’s command…”
However, to enable one not to mix every thing that such a protection and guardianship is unconditional and one can throw oneself down the pit and get involved in random acts or commit every kind of sin which merits Divine penalties, still expecting Allah’s angels to protect him, the Qur’an adds:
“…Verily, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change their own condition…”
To avoid any misunderstandings as to the meaningfulness of Divine punishments despite the existence of Divine agents whose mission is to protect man, the Qur’an adds at the end of the verse that once Allah determines to inflict penalties on a nation or a population there is no reversal or defense for that nation, which will have no protector except Allah. The verse continues saying:
“…And if Allah intends evil upon a people, there is no turning it back; and they have, apart from Him, no protector.”
It is for this reason that once Allah’s decree is issued as to the punishment or annihilation of a nation, the guardians and the protectors distance themselves, submitting man to his doom.
The Alterations Must Have Their Onset in Ourselves
The Qur’anic sentence:
which has been mentioned throughout the Qur’an on two occasions with a slight difference, reflects a general and universal law. This Qur’anic principle, which explains one of the most important social programs of Islam, informs us that whatever external changes which occur rest on the internal changes of nations and tribes, and whatever victory or defeat is inflicted upon a nation usually has its origin in this principle. Therefore, those who seek external factors for their self-acquittal are indeed mistaken, for if such infernal powers have not got any basis within a society, they are left crippled.
This Qur’anic principle implies that in order to put an end to all misfortunes and miseries, one must turn to a revolution from within, a revolution in thinking and in culture, a revolution in faith and in ethics. In cases of miseries and deadlocks, one must immediately turn to the discovery of weak points in oneself and clear one’s soul and self from them by reconstructing himself with repentance and returning to Allah in order to wash his soul and self and to have a rebirth and a renaissance and convert one’s defeats and frustrations into success.
Thereby, we all know that Allah’s Will stands as superior to all wills, and His protection extends as far as man does not spoil His blessings. Otherwise, one would be deprived of the Divine favour and would be left to him.
Footnotes