The Watcher and the Attendant

Al-Raqib and al-Atid are the names of two angels who write the servant's deed, on his right and on his left, as in Qaf 17 and Qaf 18. And in hadith they were named by the two names expressly, and described as being upon the servant's neck and not leaving him ^{1 2}.

• Qaf 17: "When the two receivers receive, on the right and on the left, sitting ready" — and in it the two angels receiving on the servant's right and left ³.
• Qaf 18: "He utters not a word but with him is a watcher, a ready one" — and in it "watcher" (raqib) and "ready" (atid) by the two names, and they are the same as the recorders ^{3 4}.
• And in tafsir "the two receivers" are al-Raqib and al-Atid, and they write every word ⁴.

• "Every son of Adam has a watcher and a ready one on his right and on his left who never cease writing his deed" — and in a narration "they are upon the servant's neck" ^{1 2 5}.
• In a narration "al-Raqib and al-Atid" in the hadith of the chapter ².
• In a hadith that the two angels say "My Lord, this is Your servant..." ^{6 7}.
• In a narration "Whenever a prophet or a friend passes, two angels are with him" — and in it that they guard him ².

• "Al-Raqib" is an active participle of "raquba", meaning the watcher and the observer; and it is also one of God's names in another place An-Nisa' 1 ⁸.
• "Al-Atid" is from "ada", meaning the ready and the prepared, and it was said from "a'adda-hu", meaning he prepared it, and it was said "al-Atid" meaning the one who prepares for reckoning ^{8 4}.
• And in tafsir "al-Atid" is the one who holds account of the good deed and the bad — that is, writes them ⁴.

Ibn Kathir details that al-Raqib and al-Atid are the two angels entrusted with writing, and that they were named so in the Qur'an and the hadith, and he mentions that "raqib" is one of God's names in another place in An-Nisa' 1 ⁴. And al-Qurtubi held that al-Raqib is the one who watches, and al-Atid is the one who holds account — that is, counts ⁸.

• In tafsir they are the Noble Recorders in other places, or other angels entrusted with guarding ⁴.
• And in hadith they were called "the recorders" in some narrations and "al-Raqib and al-Atid" in others — and the principle is that they are of the recorders ^{1 2}.
• And there was disagreement over whether they are two angels or a group, and the principle is that they are two angels ⁴.

• "Al-Raqib" and "al-Atid" are two established names in Qaf 18 and in hadith, and the difference between them and "the Noble Recorders" is in the naming, not in the function ⁴.
• Their companion in the place is the Noble Recorders on its page.
• What is narrated about the description of "al-Atid" and its derivation is from the books of tafsir, and the principle is that he is the one entrusted with reckoning ⁴.