Surah 86: al-Ṭāriq
86:4 Over every soul there is a guardian.
This is the answer to the oath, “By heaven and the night star!” [86:1]. He swears an oath that there is no one without a guardian, for there is a guardian and defender. This is just what He says in another place: “Surely there are over you guardians” [82:10]. Over you there are guardians, that is, angels who are scribes and writers. He has entrusted you to them so that they may write down your words and deeds and then present them to Muṣ?afā, as has come in the report: “Your deeds will be presented to me. When any of them is beautiful, I will praise God for it, and when any is ugly, I will ask God to forgive you.”
When the tawḥīd-voicing, believing person of faith knows that the Real is his guardian and protector, he must put on the clothing of self-watchfulness and pay attention to his own states, words, and deeds. He must keep the courtyard of his breast pure of the stain of heedlessness. He should make Does he not know that God sees? [96:14] his constant litany, keep There are over you guardians [82:10] before his eyes, and turn We are not heedless of creation [23:17] into the imprint on the seal-ring of his certainty.
It is said that there was a depraved woman in Mecca who said, “I will turn Ṭāwūs Yamānī away from the road of obedience and pull him into disobedience.” Ṭāwūs was a man of beautiful face, sweet character, and good nature. The woman came to Ṭāwūs and began talking with him in a joking way. Ṭāwūs knew her goal. He said, “Yes, be patient, until we reach such a place.” When they reached that place, he said, “If you have a goal, this can be the place for it.”
The woman said, “Glory be to God! How is this the place for that work? It is a gathering place for people to watch.”
Ṭāwūs said, “Does not God see us in every place? O woman, are you ashamed of being seen by the people, but not ashamed before God who is watching us?” Those words took hold in that woman and opened up the ambush of solicitude to her. She repented and became one of God's friends.