Tafsir for verse: 50:16
وَلَقَدۡ خَلَقۡنَا ٱلۡإِنسَٰنَ وَنَعۡلَمُ مَا تُوَسۡوِسُ بِهِۦ نَفۡسُهُۥۖ وَنَحۡنُ أَقۡرَبُ إِلَيۡهِ مِنۡ حَبۡلِ ٱلۡوَرِيدِ ١٦ ﴿16
16Indeed We have created man, and We know whatever thoughts his inner self develops, and We are closer to him than (his) jugular vein,
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Commentary

Whispering: the hidden sound. Among it: the whispering of jewelry. And the whispering of the self: what comes to the mind of a person and what is stirred in their conscience from the talk of the self. The 'ba' is like it in your saying: a sound with this and a whisper with it. It may be for transitivity and the pronoun refers to the human, meaning: what makes him a whisperer, and 'ma' is a source, because they say: he spoke to himself with this, as they say: he was spoken to by his own self. He said:

"And lie to the self when it speaks to you, For the truth of the self diminishes hope. But do not lie to it in piety, And conquer it with good for Allah, the Most Exalted."

This is by Al-Labeed ibn Rabi'ah. And Al-Bashar was asked: which verse did the Arabs say is the most poetic? He said: to prefer one verse over all poetry is not sound, but Al-Labeed excelled in his saying:

"And lie to the self."

It is said: he lied to him and he told the truth to him, in both light and heavy forms, meaning the same. And 'ma' here is from the first for the sake of meter, meaning: do not believe it when it speaks to you of a matter and you speak to it about it, because it discourages from attaining virtues. It is inclined towards vices, and this is the meaning of "the truth of the self," meaning: its affirmation diminishes hope. It is said: it diminished him if he criticized him. And it diminished him: if it caused him to be criticized. However, the situation and the matter is: do not lie to it in its speaking to you about piety and fear of Allah, for 'fa' is lightened from the heavy, and its subject is the pronoun of the matter. It may be that it is the pronoun of the addressee, and not a prohibitive, and conducting the speech on the exception requires effort in clarifying the exception and the excluded, and it can be conducted on the correction, but the accusative of 'ghayr' needs to be carried on the exception. It is possible that 'an' is a source and 'la' is negating or additional, but confirming the verb with 'noon' after the prohibition is common, and after negation is rare, and with affirmation in this is odd or necessary, and it must be conducted in this way on the exception in meaning and wording.

And Al-Qastalani said in the explanation of Sahih Al-Bukhari about the possibility of prohibition and addition. Some of them mentioned the possibility of negation in his saying, blessings and peace be upon him, to Aisha when she menstruated during Hajj: "So perform what is performed by the pilgrim, except that you do not circumambulate the House." And conquer it with good for Allah, the Most Exalted, as it seems that in good there is a conquest for it due to its hardship on it as a habit.

And we are closer to him is a metaphor, and the intended meaning is: the closeness of His knowledge to him, and that He is related to his knowledge and his conditions in a way that nothing of his hidden matters is concealed from Him, so His essence is as if it is close to him, as it is said: Allah is in every place, and He is exalted above places. And the jugular vein: a metaphor for extreme closeness, like their saying: he is to me the place of the midwife and the fastening of the garment. And Dhul-Rumah said:

"And death is closer to me than the jugular vein."

The questioning is denial, meaning: I will not be in a wide life while death is closer to me than the jugular vein.

And it has been narrated: or it is fulfilled. And the meaning is the same. And the two jugular veins: two veins in the front of the neck, named so because they return from the head.

And because the soul returns them. And he said: a life of ease, like the saying of Allah, the Most High: "Indeed, the mercy of Allah is near." And if it is little in the form of 'fa'il' meaning 'fa'il.'

And the rope: the vein, likened to one of the ropes. Do you not see his saying: "As if his jugular veins were two ropes?"

The lion is fierce when angry, as if his jugular veins were two ropes.

And the jugular veins: two veins that return from the head and surround the throat. And it is said: the soul returns them.

And the two ropes: two ropes for drawing water. And 'khallab' - with two dammas, and it may be silent -: the heart and the water mixed with mud. And it may be intended here the muddy well: likening the brave to the lion, and likening his jugular veins when angry to the two ropes, and as if there is an agent here, and it is lightened, and it is little, and the many is neglecting it.

The two veins are two arteries that surround the sides of the neck. At their front, they are connected to the jugular vein, and they carry blood from the head to it. It is said that they are called veins because the spirit returns to them. If you say: What is the reason for adding the rope to the vein, since a thing is not added to itself? I say: There are two explanations. One is that the addition is for clarification, like their saying: a milking camel. The second is that it refers to the rope of the shoulder, and it is added to the vein, just as it is added to the shoulder due to their coming together in one member, just as if it were said: the rope of the high place.

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