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﴿ only Allah Almighty is the one who makes you sleep at night and knows what you do during the day It wakes you up again the next day until the appointed time is fulfilled, then you particulary return to him, and he will inform you of the deeds you used to do, Let him inform you about the actions you were doing
﴾61﴿ And Allah Almighty is the Most dominant, He is the Most High over His servants and sends guardian angels over you, until death comes to one of you, our angels< will take his soul, and they do not fail in the decree of Allah Almighty

[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.