وَهُوَ الَّذِي يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ بِاللَّيْلِ وَيَعْلَمُ مَا جَرَحْتُمْ بِالنَّهَارِ ثُمَّ يَبْعَثُكُمْ فِيهِ لِيُقْضَى أَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى ثُمَّ إِلَيْهِ مَرْجِعُكُمْ ثُمَّ يُنَبِّئُكُمْ بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ ﴿۶۰﴾ وَهُوَ الْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ عِبَادِهِ وَيُرْسِلُ عَلَيْكُمْ حَفَظَةً حَتَّى إِذَا جَاءَ أَحَدَكُمُ الْمَوْتُ تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا وَهُمْ لَا يُفَرِّطُونَ ﴿۶۱﴾

﴾60﴿ Wa Huwal lazee yatawaf faakum billaili wa ya'lamu maa jarahtum binnahaari summa yab'asukum feehee liyuqdaaa ajalum musamman summa ilaihi marji'ukum summa yunabbi 'ukum bimaa kuntum ta'maloon
﴾61﴿ Wa huwal qaahiru fawqa 'ibaadihee wa yursilu 'alaikum hafazatan hattaaa izaa jaaa'a ahadakumul mawtu tawaffathu rusulunaa wa hum laa yufarritoon

﴾60﴿ And Allah, Exalted is He, is the One Who causes you to sleep at night, and He knows what you do during the day. Then He raises you up again in the day, so that the appointed term may be fulfilled. Then, to Him alone is your return, and He will inform you of what you used to do.
﴾61﴿ And Allah, Exalted is He, is the One Who prevails and is Most High over His servants, and He sends guardian angels over you until, when death comes to one of you, Our angels seize his soul, and they do not neglect (or fail) in carrying out the command of Allah.

[60] This is another rational proof: your sleeping and waking are under the control of Allah the Exalted. Previously, His all-encompassing knowledge was mentioned—now, His all-encompassing power is being addressed.
(يَتَوَفَّاكُمْ) — Tawaffi means to take something completely. It is used for both sleep and death. Al-Sam‘ani says that here it refers to the taking of the distinct, active soul (nafs mutamayiza mutasarrifa).
(بِالنَّهَارِ) — This refers to the past day.
(فِيهِ) — This refers to the coming day.
(أَجَلٌ مُسَمًّى) — This refers to the appointed time of death for every human being.
[61] This is also a rational proof that Allah the Exalted is dominant.
He causes death, and you cannot escape it.
From this verse, it is evident that there are many angels of death.
The Angel of Death (peace be upon him) goes to certain individuals to seize their souls—he is not present and watching in all places.
In the previous verse, tawaffi (taking of the soul) during sleep was mentioned.
In this verse, tawaffi of death is mentioned.
(وَهُوَ الْقَاهِرُ فَوْقَ) — Qahr refers to overpowering something, and overpowering something implies being above it, which is why “above” is mentioned alongside qahr.
Allah’s overpowering manifests in different forms: overpowering through bringing non-existence into being, and overpowering through causing the existing to perish.
(وَيُرْسِلُ عَلَيْكُمْ حَفَظَةً) — This is also a form of Allah’s qahr—overpowering by means of guarding.
The intended meaning here is the angels mentioned in verse 11 of Surah Ra‘d, and also in verse 10 of Surah Infitar.
(تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَا) — Likewise mentioned in verse 27 of Surah A‘raf and in verse 97 of Surah Nisa.
Question: In this verse, tawaffi (taking of the soul) is attributed to many angels.
In verse 11 of Surah Sajdah, it is attributed to the Angel of Death.
In verse 42 of Surah Zumar, it is attributed to Allah Himself.
Answer: It is attributed to Allah in terms of command, permission, and ultimate authority.
As for its attribution to the angels, the explanation is that they are assistants to the Angel of Death.
The Angel of Death seizes the soul, and they take it from him, or these angels are sent to different people by the order of the Angel of Death.