لَهُ مُعَقِّبَاتٌ مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ وَمِنْ خَلْفِهِ يَحْفَظُونَهُ مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ وَمَا لَهُمْ مِنْ دُونِهِ مِنْ وَالٍ ﴿۱۱﴾ هُوَ الَّذِي يُرِيكُمُ الْبَرْقَ خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا وَيُنْشِئُ السَّحَابَ الثِّقَالَ ﴿۱۲﴾ وَيُسَبِّحُ الرَّعْدُ بِحَمْدِهِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ مِنْ خِيفَتِهِ وَيُرْسِلُ الصَّوَاعِقَ فَيُصِيبُ بِهَا مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَهُمْ يُجَادِلُونَ فِي اللَّهِ وَهُوَ شَدِيدُ الْمِحَالِ ﴿۱۳﴾

﴾11﴿ Lahoo mu'aqqibaatum mim baini yadaihi wa min khalfihee yahfazoonahoo min amril laah; innal laaha laa yughaiyiru maa biqawmin hattaa yughaiyiroo maa bianfusihim; wa izaaa araadal laahu biqawmin sooo'an falaa maradda lah; wa maa lahum min dooniheeminw waal
﴾12﴿ Huwal lazee yureekumul barqa khawfanw wa tama'anw wa yunshi'us sahaabas siqaal
﴾13﴿ Wa yusabbihur ra'du bihamdihee walmalaaa'ikatu min kheefatihee wa yursilus sawaa'iqa fa yuseebu bihaa mai yashaaa'u wa hum yujaadiloona fil laahi wa Huwa shadeedul mihaal

﴾11﴿ In Allah's command are angels who come in succession, before and behind a person, guarding him by the decree of Allah. Indeed, Allah does not change the condition of a people until they change what is within themselves. And when Allah wills harm upon a people, there is no turning it back, and they have no protector besides Him
﴾12﴿ Allah is the One who shows you the lightning, inspiring fear and hope, and He creates the heavy clouds
﴾13﴿ And the thunder glorifies Him with His praise, and so do the angels out of fear of Him. He sends the thunderbolts and strikes with them whom He wills, yet they dispute about Allah's oneness. And He is severe in His grasp

[11] This too is a rational proof of Allah the Exalted’s control and knowledge.
(مُعَقِّبَاتٌ) – Refers to angels who come in shifts day and night to guard human beings. These are different from the Kirāmān Kāṭibīn (the noble recording angels).
The meaning of the phrase (لَهُ) is that these angels are exclusively under the command and authority of Allah the Exalted.
(يَحْفَظُونَهُ) – They protect a person from jinn, harmful creatures, and other dangers.
(مِنْ بَيْنِ يَدَيْهِ) – This phrase can be related either to يَحْفَظُونَهُ (they guard him) or to مُعَقِّبَاتٌ (the angels themselves).
(مِنْ أَمْرِ اللَّهِ) – “Min” could mean “due to” (causal), or it could mean “with” (accompaniment).
(إِنَّ اللَّهَ لَا يُغَيِّرُ مَا بِقَوْمٍ حَتَّى يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ) – This also appears in Surah Al-Anfal, verse 53. It answers the question: If angels protect people, then why do disasters and punishments still befall them?
The answer is that Allah does not withdraw His protection from a person until the person changes their own state—i.e., by abandoning faith, monotheism, and the Sunnah, and falling into disbelief, polytheism, and innovation. Then Allah removes that protection.
(يُغَيِّرُوا مَا بِأَنْفُسِهِمْ) – This doesn’t mean that people can change divine decree themselves, but rather that this is a causal attribution—meaning that due to their sins, their favorable condition changes.
(وَإِذَا أَرَادَ اللَّهُ بِقَوْمٍ سُوءًا فَلَا مَرَدَّ لَهُ) – This too answers a question: What if someone hasn’t done anything wrong, yet still suffers? How is that compatible with angelic protection?
The answer is that every calamity comes by the will of Allah the Exalted. No angel can turn back Allah’s will, and no other created being can help against it either.

[12] In this verse, there is also a rational proof of Allah the Exalted's control (خَوْفًا وَطَمَعًا) — that is, from lightning, there is fear of thunderbolts, and also hope for rain. There is fear of rain for some people because it may cause them loss, and for others, there is hope of benefit. (الثِّقَالَ) refers to those clouds that are heavy with rain.
[13] In this verse, there is a transmitted (naqli) proof from the angels about the oneness of Allah the Exalted, due to the fact that glorification (tasbih) and praise (hamd) are words of monotheism. There is also a worldly warning within it. (Al-Ra'd) refers to the angel who is assigned over the clouds and constantly praises (Allah), especially at the time when rain falls. Another interpretation is that "Ra'd" refers to the sound of thunder (i.e., the roaring of clouds), and the attribution of glorification to it is metaphorical (by state), not literal (by speech).
(And they dispute about Allah) — either the "waw" (and) is circumstantial, meaning that the thunderbolt strikes them while they are disputing, or it is introductory (istinafiyyah), used to admonish the polytheists.