form He willed. Some people are beautiful, some are unattractive, and some are of average appearance; some are white, some red, some black, and some are of shades in between. Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He, composes you in whatever form accords with His will. Yet He willed that the human form should be the finest of forms.
Then He said, “No indeed! Rather, you deny the Judgment.” “No indeed” marks a transition and rebuttal: despite this creation, provision, and preparation, you deny the Judgment—that is, the Recompense—and say, “There is nothing but our worldly life: we die and live, and we will not be resurrected.” Thus, you deny the Judgment, meaning the Recompense. We may also say that you deny the religion itself and refuse to acknowledge the religion brought by the messengers. The verse encompasses both meanings, for the established principle in Quranic exegesis and hadith commentary is: “When a text admits two meanings that do not contradict one another, it is understood to convey both.”
“Yet there are surely guardians over you, noble scribes, who know whatever you do.” This is emphasized by two emphatic elements: the particle inna and the emphatic lām. “Yet there are surely guardians over you”: every person has a guardian over him who watches him and records everything he does. Allah Most High says, “Not a word does he utter, but there is a vigilant watcher ready to record it” [Qaf: 18]. Every person therefore has guardians who record everything he says and does.
These guardians are noble, not base. Their nobility precludes them from wronging anyone by recording against him something he did not do or failing to record something he did, for they are described as noble. “Who know whatever you do”: they know an action by witnessing it and a statement by hearing it. Indeed, Allah even makes them aware of the deeds of the heart, and they record them, as the Prophet—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—said: “Whoever intends a good deed but does not perform it will have one good deed recorded for him; and whoever intends an evil deed but does not perform it will have one complete good deed recorded for him” (1), because he refrained from it for the sake of Allah, Glorified and Exalted is He. The former is rewarded merely for intending the good deed.