Tafseer of The Bee · An-Nahl · 16:32
The ones whom the angels take in death, [being] good and pure; [the angels] will say, "Peace be upon you. Enter Paradise for what you used to do."
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Allah, exalted is His praise, says: Thus does Allah reward the God-fearing, whose souls are taken by the angels of Allah while they are pure — purified by Allah through the purity of faith (īmān) and the purity of Islam, during their life and during their death.
As Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to me, on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us; and al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Abū Ḥudhayfa related to us, saying: Shibl related to us; and al-Muthanná related to me, saying: Isḥāq informed us, saying: ʿAbd Allāh related to us, on the authority of Warqāʾ — all of them together — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning His word الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلائِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ : he said: living and dead — Allah has ordained that for them.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of Mujāhid — the same.
His word يَقُولُونَ سَلامٌ عَلَيْكُمُ — Allah, exalted is His praise, means by it: the angels take the souls of these God-fearing ones while they say: "Peace be upon you — enter the Garden (janna)." A glad tiding from Allah with which the angels gladden them.
As Yūnus ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Abū Ṣakhr informed me that he heard Muḥammad ibn Kaʿb al-Quraẓī saying: "When the soul of the believing servant is about to depart, an angel comes to him and says: 'Peace be upon you, friend of Allah — Allah greets you.' Then he recited this verse: الَّذِينَ تَتَوَفَّاهُمُ الْمَلائِكَةُ طَيِّبِينَ ... to the end of the verse."
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: Ḥajjāj related to me, on the authority of Ibn Jurayj, on the authority of ʿAṭāʾ al-Khurāsānī, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning the word فَسَلامٌ لَكَ مِنْ أَصْحَابِ الْيَمِينِ (Peace be upon you from the people of the right hand): he said: the angels come to him with the greeting from the side of Allah, and inform him that he is among the people of the right hand.
Al-Qāsim related to us, saying: al-Ḥusayn related to us, saying: al-Ashabb Abū ʿAlī related to us, on the authority of Abū Rajāʾ, on the authority of Muḥammad ibn Mālik, on the authority of al-Barāʾ, who said — concerning His word سَلامٌ قَوْلا مِنْ رَبٍّ رَحِيمٍ (Peace — a word from a Merciful Lord): he said: He greets him at death.
His word بِمَا كُنْتُمْ تَعْمَلُونَ — that is to say: because of what you performed during the days of your life in the world of obedience to Allah and seeking His good pleasure.
