look on.”

“And We are nearer to him than you are, but you do not see.”

Had He meant His own nearness, He would not have confined it to this circumstance, nor would He have said:

“But you do not see.”

Such a statement is only made when someone is present who can be seen under certain circumstances, but whom we do not see. Yet in this circumstance, neither the angels nor human beings see the Lord Most High.

Moreover, He says:

“And We are nearer to him than you are.”

He thus speaks of those who are nearer to the dying person than the people beside him at that moment. If the Lord Himself—glorified and exalted be He—is said to be in a place, or near every existing thing, this would not be confined to this time, place, or these circumstances; nor would He be nearer to one thing than another.

Nor can this mean the Lord’s special nearness, as in His words:

“And when My servants ask you about Me, indeed I am near.”

That is His nearness to those who call upon Him or worship Him, whereas this dying person may be a disbeliever, a wicked person, a believer, or one brought near to Allah. Hence the Most High says:

“Then, if he is among those brought near,
there will be rest, bounty, and a Garden of Bliss.
And if he is among the companions of the right,
then peace be upon you from the companions of the right.
But if he is among the deniers who have gone astray,
then his welcome will be scalding water
and burning in Hellfire.”

Clearly, the Lord does not single out such a denier for His nearness rather than those around him, who may include believers.

Rather, those meant are the angels who attend both the believer and the disbeliever, as the Most High says:

“Indeed, those whom the angels take in death while they are wronging themselves.”

And He says:

“If you could but see when the angels take the disbelievers in death, striking their faces and their backs.”

And He says:

“If you could but see when the wrongdoers are in the throes of death and the angels are stretching out