His saying, exalted and majestic is He: "To Him are guardians from before and behind, they protect him by the command of Allah. Indeed, Allah does not change what is with a people until they change what is within themselves. And when Allah intends for a people evil, there is no repelling it, and they have no protector besides Him." "He it is who shows you the lightning, causing fear and aspiration, and He produces the heavy clouds." "And the thunder glorifies Him with praise, and the angels, from fear of Him, and He sends the thunderbolts and strikes with them whom He wills, while they argue about Allah, and He is severe in retribution." The interpreters have differed regarding the return of the pronoun in "to Him". A group said: It refers back to the name of Allah, the Most High, mentioned previously, and "the guardians" - on this - are the angels who protect the servants' deeds, and they are also protectors for them. This was said by Al-Hasan, and in this regard, a narration from Uthman ibn Affan has been reported, and it is the saying of Mujahid, Al-Nakha'i, and the pronoun - on this - in His saying: "from before and behind" and what follows of the pronouns refers back to the mentioned servant in His saying: "And who is hidden by night" [Ar-Ra'd: 10]. And "by the command of Allah" can be understood as a description of the guardians, and it can also mean: they protect him from everything that destiny has decreed by its flow. So when the destined event occurs, the person submits to it. Ibn Abbas also said: The pronoun in "to Him" refers back to the one mentioned in His saying: "And who openly declares it and who" [Ar-Ra'd: 10], and likewise for the remaining pronouns in the verse. They said: And "the guardians" - on this - are the guards of the man and his bodyguards who protect him. They said: And the verse - on this - is about the disbelieving leaders, and this saying was chosen by Al-Tabari, and it is the saying of Ikrimah and a group. Ikrimah said: They are the retinues behind him and before him. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: It is also valid according to the first interpretation that the pronoun in "to Him" refers to the believing servant in the sense: Allah has made for him. This interpretation, in my view, is stronger, because the purpose of the verse is to alert to the power of Allah. Thus, He mentioned the equality of the one who is hidden and the one who is fleeing, and that he has guardians from Allah who protect him in every situation. Then He mentioned that Allah does not change this state of protection for the servant until he changes what is within himself. And in both interpretations, the pronouns are not for a specific individual from among the people. Abd al-Rahman ibn Zayd said: The verse is about the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and it was revealed regarding Allah's protection for him from Irbad ibn Rabiah and Amir ibn al-Tufail in the story that will come after this regarding the thunderbolts. Al-Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said: And this verse, although its words apply to the meaning of the story, weakens the claim that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, has not been previously mentioned so that the pronoun in "to Him" returns to him.

And "the Mu'aqqibat": the groups that follow one another. According to the first interpretation, they are the angels. This refers to the saying of the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him: "Angels take turns among you, by night and by day, and they gather at the Maghrib and Fajr prayers." According to the second interpretation, they are the guards and watchers for the kings. The Mu'aqqibat is the plural of Mu'aqqibah, which is the group that comes after another. The term 'ta'aqib' in general means a state that follows another state of its kind. It may also be of a different kind, such as the ta'aqib of riding, and the Mu'aqqib of the pot, and the ta'aqib in spouses. Among them is the saying of Salamah ibn Jundal:

And our charge of the horses in their tracks, returning ∗∗∗ The hooves were crushed from the beginning and the ta'aqib.

And Ubaidullah ibn Ziyad recited on the pulpit: "For Him are the Ma'aqib," Abu al-Fath said: It is the breaking of Mu'aqqib.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

With the stillness of the 'ain and the breaking of the qaf, like Mu'ta'im and Mata'im, and Muqdim and Maqadim. This is the reading of Abu al-Barhamsam. It is as if Mu'aqqib was gathered on Ma'aqibah, then the ya was placed in Ma'aqib as a substitute for the omitted ha in Ma'aqibah. The Mu'aqqibah is not the plural of Mu'aqqib as al-Tabari mentioned, and he likened that to a man, and men, and manhoods. The matter is not as he mentioned, for that is like camel, camels, and camelhoods. Mu'aqqibah and Mu'aqqibat are indeed like Dharribah and Dharribat.

And in the reading of Ubayy ibn Ka'b: "From before him and a watcher from behind him," and Ibn Abbas read: "And a watcher from behind him." Abu Hatim mentioned that he read: "Mu'aqqibat from behind him and a watcher from before him, they protect him by the command of Allah."

And His saying: "They protect him" can have two meanings: one of them is that they guard him and defend him; thus, the pronoun is related to the protection. The second meaning is that it refers to the preservation of words and their collection. In this case, there is an omitted addition, which is understood as: they preserve their deeds, and this would then be from the same category as "And ask the town" [Yusuf: 82]. This is the saying of Ibn Jurayj.

And His saying: "By the command of Allah" - whoever made "they protect him" mean they guard him, the meaning of His saying: "By the command of Allah" refers to the Mu'aqqibat. Thus, there is a precedence and delay in the verse, meaning: for Him are Mu'aqqibat by the command of Allah, they protect him from before him and from behind him. Abu al-Fath said: So "By the command of Allah" is in the position of raising because it is an attribute of the raised, which is "the Mu'aqqibat," and this interpretation is possible in His saying: "By the command of Allah" along with the first interpretation in "they protect him." And whoever interpreted the pronoun in "for Him" as referring to the servant and made "the Mu'aqqibat" the guards and made the verse concerning the leaders of the disbelievers, he made his saying: "By the command of Allah" mean: they protect him by his claim from the decree of Allah and repel it in his assumption from him, and that is due to his ignorance of Allah, glorified and exalted is He.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

With this interpretation, the interpreter has placed it among the disbelievers. Abu al-Fath said: 'So ﴿from the command of Allah﴾ - according to this - is in the position of a noun, like your saying: 'I have memorized Zayd from the lion,' so 'from the lion' is an object for 'I have memorized.' And Qatadah said: The meaning of ﴿the command of Allah﴾ is that they protect it from what Allah has commanded. This is a determination in interpretation. And some people said: The meaning is protection from the command of Allah. This has been previously mentioned. Ali ibn Abi Talib, Ibn Abbas, Ikrimah, and Ja'far ibn Muhammad, may Allah be pleased with them, read: 'They protect it by the command of Allah.'

Then Allah, the Exalted, informed that He does not change what is with a people by punishing them and testing them until there occurs from them a gain of sins and a change of what they were commanded of obedience to Allah. This is a point of reflection because it includes this report what the Shari'ah has established regarding holding the general public accountable for the sins of the specific individuals. Among them is His saying, the Exalted: ﴿And fear a trial which will not strike those who have wronged among you specifically﴾ [Al-Anfal: 25]. And among them is the saying of him, blessings and peace be upon him - and it was said to him: 'O Messenger of Allah, will we be destroyed while among us are the righteous?' He said: 'Yes, when the wickedness becomes abundant.' To many other things like this, so His saying, the Exalted: ﴿Until they change﴾ means: until a change occurs either from them or from those observing them or from someone among them for a reason, as Allah, the Exalted, changed the defeated on the day of Uhud because of the change of the archers regarding themselves, and other similar matters of the Shari'ah. So the meaning of the verse is not that no punishment descends upon anyone except that a sin has preceded from him, but calamities may descend due to the sins of others. And there are also calamities that Allah intends by them the reward for the afflicted, and those are not a change.

Then Allah, Blessed and Exalted, informed that if Allah intends evil for a people, there is no repelling it, nor any protection from it. This was stated in the context of warning about Allah's custom and His power, and evil and good are of equal standing when Allah intends them for a servant; they will not be repelled. However, He specifically mentioned evil to instill fear in the verse.

The readers differed regarding 'and a ruler' - some inclined it while others did not incline it. The ruler is the one who is in charge of a person's affairs, like a guardian, and they are both from the guardianship, like 'knowledgeable' and 'scholar' from knowledge.

And His saying, the Exalted: ﴿He is the one who shows you﴾ the verse. This is a verse of warning about power. 'And the lightning' has been narrated in it from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that it is a spear in the hand of an angel who drives the clouds with it, and this is the most authentic of what has been narrated in it. And it has been narrated from some scholars that he said: The lightning is the clashing of the bodies, and this, in my view, is rejected. And Abu al-Jald said regarding this verse: The lightning is water, and it was mentioned by Makki from Ibn Abbas. The meaning of this saying is that since it is a cause for water, and the fear of travelers is from the water and the desire of the residents in it, he expressed this saying about it with water.

And His saying: ﴿fear and hope﴾, whoever said that regarding water is in line with what has been mentioned before. The apparent meaning is that the fear is indeed from the lightning of the thunderclouds, and the hope is for the rain that comes with it. This is the saying of Al-Hasan. And "the clouds" is the plural of "cloudlet", and likewise the plural of "attribute". And "the heavy ones" means: they carry water, and thus Qatadah and Mujahid explained it. The Arabs describe it in this way, and from this is the saying of Qays ibn Al-Khathim:

So what a garden from the gardens of the quails ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ as if the lamps are its maidens

So there is nothing better than it, nor is there a cloud ∗∗∗ ∗∗∗ that reveals its depths

And "the revealing" means: the heavy one. (p-190) And "the thunder" is an angel who drives the clouds with his voice, and his voice—this heard sound—is glorification. And "thunder" is the name of the angel, and it has been said: "thunder" is the name of the sound of the angel. It has been narrated from the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, that when he heard the thunder, he would say: "O Allah, do not destroy us with Your anger, nor kill us with Your punishment, and grant us safety before that."

It has also been narrated from Ali ibn Abi Talib, may Allah be pleased with him, and others that when they heard the thunder, they would say: "Glory be to Him to whom glorification is due." And it has been narrated from Abu Hurairah that the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, would say when he heard the thunder: "Glory be to Him to whom the thunder glorifies with His praise." And Ibn Abi Zakariya said: "Whoever says when he hears the thunder: 'Glory be to Allah and praise be to Him', will not be struck by a thunderbolt." It has also been said regarding the thunder that it is a wind that is choked between the clouds, and this has been narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both.

Qadi Abu Muhammad, may Allah have mercy on him, said:

And this, in my view, has a different consideration, as it is the inclinations of naturalists and others among the atheists. It has also been narrated from Ibn Abbas, may Allah be pleased with them both, that when the angel becomes angry and drives the clouds, they tremble from his fear, and thus the lightning occurs, and when they collide, the thunderbolts occur.

His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And He sends down the thunderbolts﴾. It is said that He included it as a reminder of His power without a reason that brought that about. Ibn Jarir said: The reason for its revelation was the story of Arbad, the brother of Labid ibn Rabiah, with his mother and Amir ibn Tufail. It was narrated that they came to the Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, and they called upon him to make the matter after him to Amir ibn Tufail and to enter into his religion, but he refused. Amir said: So you will be among the people of mud and I will be among the people of wool - but he refused. Amir then said to him: So what will you give me? The Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "I will give you the reins of the horses, for you are a knight." Amir said to him: By Allah, I will fill it with horses and men until I take you. The Messenger of Allah, blessings and peace be upon him, said: "Allah refuses that and the sons of Qaila." So they left him, and one of them said to his companion: If we kill him, two goats will not butt heads over it. They conspired to return for that. Amir said to Arbad: I will occupy him with conversation, and you strike him with the sword. So Amir began to talk to him while Arbad did nothing. When they parted, Amir said to him: By Allah, O Arbad, I never feared you at all, and I used to fear you before that. Arbad said to him: By Allah, I intended to draw my sword, but I could not do that. I saw you between me and him, so should I strike you? They proceeded to the gathering against the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, and a thunderbolt struck Arbad and killed him. In this, Labid ibn Rabiah, his brother, says:

I fear for Arbad the fates, and I do not fear the storm of the Pleiades and the lions.

The thunder and the lightning have made me grieve for the knight on the day of the unfortunate gathering.

So the verse was revealed regarding that. It was narrated from Abd al-Rahman ibn Suhar al-Abdi that it reached him that a tyrant from the tyrants of the Arabs sent to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to embrace Islam. He said: Tell me about the God of Muhammad, is He of pearls or of gold? A thunderbolt struck him and the verse was revealed regarding him. Mujahid said: Some Jews came to the Prophet, blessings and peace be upon him, to debate with him. While he was in that, a thunderbolt struck and took the crown of his head, and the verse was revealed regarding him.

And His saying, exalted is He: ﴿And they argue about Allah﴾, it may refer to the argument of the mentioned Jew, and the waw may be a waw of state, or it may refer to the argument of the mentioned tyrant. It may also be - if the verse is not due to a specific reason - that His saying: ﴿And they argue about Allah﴾ refers to all the disbelievers from the Arabs and others to whom these reminders have been brought.

And "the might": is power and destruction, and from it is the saying of al-A'sha:

The branch of a spring sways in the branch of the great tree, the dew is heavy with might.

And from it is the saying of Abd al-Muttalib:

Let not their cross prevail over you, nor their might over your might.

And Al-A'raj and Al-Dahhak read "al-mahal" with a فتح (fatha) on the ميم (meem), meaning the place of deception, which is the trick. From this is the saying of the Arabs in the mention of the proverb: "A man is honored without a doubt." This is like deception and plotting and similar to it. These are metaphors in the mention of Allah, glorified and exalted is He. The ميم (meem) when it is كسر (kasra) is original, and when it is فتح (fatha) it is additional. It is said: A man has deceived another man when he plotted against him and took him with intense scheming.