what is forbidden. Nor can he refrain from everything that is forbidden while neglecting some of what he has been commanded to do. Refraining from what is forbidden is itself among the things commanded, while neglecting what is commanded is among the things forbidden. Thus, whatever distracts him from an obligation is forbidden, and whatever is indispensable to fulfilling an obligation he must do. Hence, when the term “command” is used without qualification, it includes prohibition. When it is qualified by an accompanying reference to prohibition, prohibition is as discussed above.

Thus, when Allah Most High says of the angels:

“They do not disobey Allah in what He commands them,”

this includes their avoiding anything He forbids them. As for His words:

“and they do what they are commanded,”

it has been said that this means they do not go beyond what they are commanded to do. It has also been said that they do it at its appointed time, neither before nor after it.

It may be said, however, that He did not say, “and they do nothing except what they are commanded.” Rather, that is indicated by His words:

“They do not precede Him in speech, and they act by His command.”

It has also been said that they do not disobey what He commanded them in the past, and they do what they are commanded in the future. Yet it may be said that this verse describes what will happen: what they are commanded to do here is not past; rather, it all concerns the future. For He says:

“Protect yourselves and your families from a Fire,”

and the measures by which one protects oneself necessarily lie in the future.

It may also be said that failing to do what is commanded sometimes results from disobedience to the one issuing the command, and sometimes from inability. When someone is both capable and willing, the commanded act within his power necessarily takes place. Thus, His words, “They do not disobey,” mean that they do not refuse to obey, while His words, “and they do what they are commanded,” mean that they are capable of doing so. They are incapable of none of it; rather, they do it all. It follows that everything they are commanded to do necessarily takes place.

This may also imply that they do only what they are commanded to do, just as someone may say, “I do what I have been commanded to do,” meaning, “I carry it out without adding to it or falling short of it.”