“We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than his jugular vein. When the two receivers receive, one seated at the right and one at the left.” (16–17)

The saying of Allah, exalted is He: “Before them, the people of Noah denied, as did the companions of al-Rass and Thamud, ‘Ad, Pharaoh, the brethren of Lot, the companions of the Thicket, and the people of Tubba‘.” Tubba‘ was the Himyarite king, whose name was As‘ad Abu Karib. Qatadah said: “Allah Most High censured the people of Tubba‘, but He did not censure Tubba‘ himself.” We mentioned his story in Surah al-Dukhan (1).

“Each of them denied the messengers”: that is, each of those mentioned denied the messengers. “So My warning was fulfilled”: My punishment became binding upon them. Then, in response to their statement, “That is a return far removed,” He revealed:

“Were We incapable of the first creation?” That is, were We unable when We first created them, [such that We would be incapable] (2) of restoring them? This is a rhetorical confirmation directed at them, since they acknowledged the first creation but denied the Resurrection. Whoever is unable to do something is said to be incapable of it. “Rather, they are in doubt”: that is, in uncertainty, “concerning a new creation,” namely, the Resurrection.

“We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him”: that is, what his heart tells him; his secrets and innermost thoughts are not hidden from Us. “And We are closer to him”: that is, more knowing of him, “than his jugular vein,” for a person’s parts and organs veil one another, whereas nothing veils anything from Allah’s knowledge. The jugular vein is a vein in the neck, between the windpipe and the two neck sinews, which branches throughout the body. The first word in the expression itself means “vein”; it is annexed to the second only because the two terms differ.

“When the two receivers receive”: that is, the two angels appointed over a person receive and take note of his deeds and utterances, preserving and recording them. “One at the right and one at the left”: that is, one of them is at his right and the other at his left. The one at the right records good deeds, while the one at the left records evil deeds. “Seated”: that is, sitting. The verse does not say “two seated ones,” because what is meant is: one seated at the right and one seated at the left; mentioning one suffices for the other. This is the view of the scholars of Basra. The scholars of Kufa said: The word is intended in the plural sense, like the word “messenger,” which may be used for two and for a group, as Allah Most High says concerning two: “Then say