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The
Arabic
Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walter ...
term ''al-mu'aqqibat'' (commonly encountered in the definite plural, Arabic معقبات "those who follow one upon another") is a term occurring in the
Quran
The Quran (, ; Standard Arabic: , Quranic Arabic: , , 'the recitation'), also romanized Qur'an or Koran, is the central religious text of Islam, believed by Muslims to be a revelation from God. It is organized in 114 chapters (pl.: , s ...
(Q.13:11) which some
Islamic commentators consider to refer to a class of
guardian angel
A guardian angel is a type of angel that is assigned to protect and guide a particular person, group or nation. Belief in tutelary beings can be traced throughout all antiquity. The idea of angels that guard over people played a major role in A ...
. Therefore, these Angels are also called ''al hafathah'' (الحفظة) which means the guarding angels. They protect human from the harm of evil
jinn
Jinn ( ar, , ') – also romanized as djinn or anglicized as genies (with the broader meaning of spirit or demon, depending on sources)
– are invisible creatures in early pre-Islamic Arabian religious systems and later in Islamic mytho ...
(جن) and
devils
A devil is the personification of evil as it is conceived in many and various cultures and religious traditions.
Devil or Devils may also refer to:
* Satan
* Devil in Christianity
* Demon
* Folk devil
Art, entertainment, and media
Film an ...
(شياطين).
In Islamic tradition, a guardian angel or lit. ''Watcher angel'' (''raqib'' "watcher") is an angel which maintains every being in life, sleep, death or resurrection. The Arabic singular for ''mu'aqqibat'' would be a ''mu'aqqib'' "a person which follows." These angels are included in the ''hafazhah'' ("the guards") and the concept of the guardian angel in Islam is similar to the concept of the guardian angel in some Jewish and Christian traditions. Each person is assigned four Hafaza angels, two of which keep watch during the day and two during the night.
[A Angels]
/ref>
Muhammad is reported to have said that every man has ten guardian angels. Ali ben-Ka'b/Ka'b bin 'Ujrah, and Ibn 'Abbas
ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās ( ar, عَبْد ٱللَّٰه ٱبْن عَبَّاس; c. 619 – 687 CE), also known as Ibn ʿAbbās, was one of the cousins of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. He is considered to be the greatest mufassir of the Qur'a ...
[Jane Dammen McAuliffe Encyclopaedia of the Qurʼān: Volume 5 2006 "For his sake there are those who follow one another u'aqqibat, angels, according to Ibn 'Abbas before him and behind him, who guard him by God's commandment" (q I3:1O-Il). The concept of "guardian angels" had already been developed ..."] read these as angels.
Etymology
The word al-Mu'aqqibat is the plural of the word al-mua'qqibah. The word is derived from the word 'aqiba meaning heel, from here the word is understood in the sense that it follows the following as his heels at the heels of putting the race. Pattern names used here meaning an emphasis and referred to is the language of the angels who were assigned to follow every creature of God in earnest.
The ''mu'aqqibat'' of the Qur'an
The angels assigned to keep a servant in all ihwalnya, stated in the Qur'an Al-Ra'du (Q13.10-11), which reads: "For each (such person) there are (angels) in succession, before and behind him: They guard him by command of God. Verily never will God change the condition of a people until they change it themselves (with their own souls)."
For each one are successive ngelsbefore and behind him who protect him by the decree of Allah. (Al-Raad: 10-11)
And Surah Al-An'am
Al-An'am ( ar, ٱلأنعام, ; The Cattle) is the sixth chapter (sūrah) of the Quran, with 165 verses ( āyāt). Coming in order in the Quran after al-Baqarah, Al 'Imran, an-Nisa', and al-Ma'idah, this surah dwells on such themes as the ...
, as translated by Abdullah Yusuf Ali
Abdullah Yusuf Ali, CBE, MA, LL.M, FRSA, FRSL (; ur, عبداللہ یوسف علی; 14 April 1872 – 10 December 1953) was an Indian-British barrister who wrote a number of books about Islam including an exegesis of the Qur'an. A sup ...
, reads: "He is irresistibly, supreme over his servants and he sets guardians over you " (Al-An'am(6): Q61)
References
{{Angels in Abrahamic religions
Classes of angels
Angels in Islam