Is it correct to interpret the saying of Allah the Exalted, “And We are closer to him than you,” as meaning: closer to him by our angels?
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Question:
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is this interpretation found in Ibn Kathir's tafsir a correct interpretation? It is his interpretation of the words of the Exalted:[Al-Waqi'ah 56:85] meaning, is He closer to him with His angels?
Answer:
Yes, it is a correct interpretation. You are the one who did not understand. Allah said “We,” not “I.” “I am closer to him than he is.” We are closer by our angels, and the angels of[Al-An'am 6:61] attend him, while you do not see the angels of death. He sees them. The dying person sees the angels of death. You do not see them beside him, nor do you see them. Yes, this is what the Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah said. [Qaf 50:16] Likewise, if the word “We” is used, but if “I” is said, it cannot be attributed to anyone but Allah (Mighty and Majestic). Yes.
He says: Honorable Shaykh, may Allah grant you success, is this interpretation found in Ibn Kathir's tafsir a correct interpretation? It is his interpretation of the words of the Exalted:
And Our angels are nearer to him than you, but you do not see -
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنكُمْ وَلَٰكِن لَّا تُبْصِرُونَAnswer:
Yes, it is a correct interpretation. You are the one who did not understand. Allah said “We,” not “I.” “I am closer to him than he is.” We are closer by our angels, and the angels of
death comes to one of you, Our messengers take him
الْمَوْتُ تَوَفَّتْهُ رُسُلُنَاand We are closer to him than [his] jugular vein
وَنَحْنُ أَقْرَبُ إِلَيْهِ مِنْ حَبْلِ الْوَرِيدِ
Source
قناة «العلامة الدكتور صالح الفوزان»، [969 -1024] هل يصح تفسير قوله تعالى (ونحن أقرب إليه منكم) أي: أقرب إليه بملائكتنا؟ — youtube.com
The Arabic text is a machine transcription of the audio recording.