their hands, saying, ‘Give up your souls! Today you will be repaid with the punishment of humiliation for saying what is untrue about Allah and arrogantly rejecting His signs.’”

The Most High also says:

“Until, when death comes to one of you, Our messengers take his soul, and they never neglect their duty.”

And the Most High says:

“Say: ‘The Angel of Death, who has been entrusted with you, will take your souls; then to your Lord you will be returned.’”

Further evidence of this is His use of the plural form when He says:

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

“And We are nearer to him than his jugular vein.”

This is like His saying, glorified be He:

“We recite to you some of the account of Moses and Pharaoh in truth, for people who believe.”

And His saying:

“We relate to you the best of stories through Our revelation to you of this Quran.”

And His saying:

“It is for Us to gather it and recite it.
So when We have recited it, follow its recitation.
Then it is for Us to explain it.”

When Allah Most High uses such wording in His Book, it indicates that He, glorified be He, performs the act through His hosts and helpers among the angels. For the form “We” is used by a great leader who is followed and obeyed, and who has hosts that carry out his commands. No one has hosts who obey him as the angels obey their Lord, who is their Creator and Lord. Thus He, glorified be He, knows what a person’s soul whispers to him, and His angels also know; the wording “We” is therefore appropriate here.

The same applies to His saying:

“And We know what his soul whispers to him.”

For He, glorified be He, knows this, and His angels know it too, as is established in the two authentic hadith collections from the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, who said: “When a servant intends a good deed, one good deed is recorded for him; if he performs it, ten