Surah Qaf, ayah 16: "And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein" Read it in Arabic with transliteration and the Sahih International translation, with the ayah before and after it, and listen to it recited.
أَفَعَيِينَا بِٱلْخَلْقِ ٱلْأَوَّلِ ۚ بَلْ هُمْ فِى لَبْسٍۢ مِّنْ خَلْقٍۢ جَدِيدٍۢ ﴿١٥﴾
Afa'a yeenaa bilkhalqil awwal; bal hum fee labsim min khalqin jadeed
Did We fail in the first creation? But they are in confusion over a new creation.
وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا ٱلْإِنسَٰنَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِۦ نَفْسُهُۥ ۖ وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ ٱلْوَرِيدِ ﴿١٦﴾
Wa laqad khalaqnal insaana wa na'lamu maa tuwaswisu bihee nafsuhoo wa Nahnu aqrabu ilaihi min hablil wareed
And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein
إِذْ يَتَلَقَّى ٱلْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ ٱلشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌۭ ﴿١٧﴾
'Iz yatalaqqal mutalaqqi yaani 'anil yameeni wa 'anish shimaali qa'eed
When the two receivers receive, seated on the right and on the left.
Arabic: Tanzil, Uthmani script. English: Sahih International. Audio: EveryAyah. Transliteration is a learning aid; read from the Arabic when you can.
Meaning and lessons
We created man and We know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than his jugular vein. Ibn Kathir explains that "We" here means Allah's angels, who are close to every person by Allah's command, as the next ayah describes the two recording angels on his right and left. He rejects the idea that Allah dwells inside His creation, and affirms that His knowledge encompasses everything.
The Prophet ﷺ used to recite Surah Qaf in the Friday khutbah (Sahih Muslim 873). These ayat open its description of the moment of death (50:19) and of the Day of Judgement. The reminder that Allah knows even our inner whispers is meant to make us careful about what we think and say, and to comfort us that nothing we struggle with is unseen.
Summarised in our own words from Tafsir Ibn Kathir, on Quran 50:16. Translation of the ayah: Sahih International.
Ayah 16 of Surah Qaf (قٓ), "The letter Qaaf", surah 50 of the Quran, a Meccan surah of 45 ayat revealed in Makkah. It is in juz 26 (para 26), hizb 52, on page 519 of the standard Madinah mushaf. People search for it as 50/16, 50 16 or Quran 50 16.
More verses on this theme: Quran verses about mercy.
Questions
And We have already created man and know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein (Sahih International)
We created man and We know what his soul whispers to him, and We are closer to him than his jugular vein. Ibn Kathir explains that "We" here means Allah's angels, who are close to every person by Allah's command, as the next ayah describes the two recording angels on his right and left. He rejects the idea that Allah dwells inside His creation, and affirms that His knowledge encompasses everything.
It is in Surah Qaf, surah 50 of the Quran, in juz 26 (para 26), on page 519 of the Madinah mushaf.
The ayah before, 50:15, says: "Did We fail in the first creation? But they are in confusion over a new creation." The ayah after, 50:17, says: "When the two receivers receive, seated on the right and on the left."