16
and Abū al-Faraj ibn al-Jawzī and others, concerning the words of Allah Most High:
“And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein” (16) [Qāf 16],
and His words:
“And We are nearer to him than you” [al-Wāqiʿah 85].
Abū al-Faraj mentioned both interpretations: that “We” refers to the angels (which he related from Abū Sālih, from Ibn ʿAbbās)
وأبي الفرج ابن الجوزي وغيرهما في قوله تعالى وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
(١٦)
[ق ١٦]
وفي قوله تعالى وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْكُمْ
[الواقعة ٨٥]
فذكر أبو الفرج القولين إنهم الملائكة وذكره عن أبي صالح عن ابن عباس