Tafseer of The letter Qaaf · Qaaf · 50:21
And every soul will come, with it a driver and a witness.
Important: The Arabic source text is always authoritative. This translation is a study aid and has not been verified by scholars — do not use it as a basis for religious proof or for deriving rulings (ahkam). When in doubt, always consult the Arabic text and a qualified scholar.
Explanation of the words of the Exalted: وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("And every soul comes, with it a driver and a witness") (50:21).
The Exalted, whose praise is exalted, says: and on the day when the trumpet is blown, every soul comes to its Lord, with it a driver (sāʾiq) who drives it to Allah, and a witness (shahīd) who testifies against it concerning what it did of good or evil in the worldly life.
And in the spirit of what we have said about this, the people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl ibn Abī Khālid, on the authority of Yaḥyā ibn Rāfiʿ, a freedman of Thaqīf, who said: I heard ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān — may Allah be pleased with him — delivering a sermon, and he recited this verse وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("And every soul comes, with it a driver and a witness"); he said: a driver who drives it to Allah, and a witness who testifies against it concerning what it did.
He said: Ḥukkām related to us, on the authority of Ismāʿīl, on the authority of Abū ʿĪsā, who said: I heard ʿUthmān ibn ʿAffān — may Allah be pleased with him — delivering a sermon, and he recited this verse وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("And every soul comes, with it a driver and a witness"); he said: the driver drives it to the command of Allah, and the witness testifies against it concerning what it did.
Muḥammad ibn Saʿd related to me, saying: my father related to me, saying: my uncle related to me, saying: my father related to me, on the authority of his father, on the authority of Ibn ʿAbbās, concerning His words وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("And every soul comes, with it a driver and a witness"), he said: the driver is one of the angels, and the witness is a witness against him from himself.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Sufyān related to us, on the authority of Mihrān, on the authority of Khaṣīf, on the authority of Mujāhid: سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("a driver and a witness"): a driver who drives it to the command of Allah, and a witness who testifies against it concerning what it did.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid: سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("a driver and a witness"): a driver who drives it to the command of Allah, and a witness who testifies against it concerning what it did.
Muḥammad ibn ʿAmr related to me, saying: Abū ʿĀṣim related to us, saying: ʿĪsā related to us; and al-Ḥārith related to me, saying: al-Ḥasan related to us, saying: Warqāʾ related to us — both — on the authority of Ibn Abī Najīḥ, on the authority of Mujāhid, concerning the word of Allah سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("a driver and a witness"), he said: the two angels: a recorder and a witness.
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda, concerning His words وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("And every soul comes, with it a driver and a witness"), he said: a driver who drives it to its Lord, and a witness who testifies against it with its deed.
Ibn Bashshār related to us, saying: Sulaymān ibn Ḥarb related to us, saying: Abū Hilāl related to us, saying: Qatāda related to us, concerning His words وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("And every soul comes, with it a driver and a witness"), he said: a driver who drives it to its reckoning, and a witness who testifies against it concerning what it did.
Ibn ʿAbd al-Aʿlā related to us, saying: Ibn Thawr related to us, on the authority of Maʿmar, on the authority of al-Ḥasan: مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("with it a driver and a witness"), he said: a driver who drives it, and a witness who testifies against it with its deed.
Ibn Ḥumayd related to us, saying: Mihrān related to us, on the authority of Abū Jaʿfar, on the authority of al-Rabīʿ ibn Anas: سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("a driver and a witness"), he said: a driver who drives it, and a witness who testifies against it with its deed.
And it was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His words وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("And every soul comes, with it a driver and a witness"): the driver is one of the angels, and the witness is from themselves: the hands and the feet; and the angels are likewise witnesses against them.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said, concerning His words سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("a driver and a witness"), he said: an angel charged with recording his deed against him, and an angel who drives him to his gathering-place, until on the Day of Resurrection he arrives at his gathering-place.
The people of interpretation (ahl al-taʾwīl) differed concerning who is meant by these verses. Some of them said: by it the Prophet ﷺ is meant. And some said: by it the idolaters (ahl al-shirk) are meant. And some said: by it everyone is meant.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Yaʿqūb ibn ʿAbd al-Raḥmān al-Zuhrī related to me, saying: I asked Zayd ibn Aslam about the word of Allah وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ("And the stupor of death comes with the truth")... the verse, up to His words سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("a driver and a witness"). I said to him: who is meant by this? He said: the Messenger of Allah ﷺ. I said to him: the Messenger of Allah? He said: what do you deny in that? Allah, mighty and exalted is He, said: أَلَمْ يَجِدْكَ يَتِيمًا فَآوَى * وَوَجَدَكَ ضَالًّا فَهَدَى ("Did He not find you an orphan and give shelter? And He found you erring and guided you"). He said: then I asked Ṣāliḥ ibn Kaysān about this, and he said to me: have you asked anyone? I said: yes, I asked Zayd ibn Aslam about this. He said: what did he say to you? I said: rather, tell me what you say. He said: I will surely tell you my opinion on which my view rests, but first tell me what he said to you. I said: he said: by this the Messenger of Allah ﷺ is meant. He said: and what did Zayd know? By Allah, he is not of advanced age, and has neither an eloquent tongue nor knowledge of the language of the Arabs; by this only the disbeliever (al-kāfir) is meant. Then he said: read what comes after it, and it will point you to that. He said: then I asked Ḥusayn ibn ʿAbd Allāh ibn ʿUbayd Allāh ibn ʿAbbās, and he said to me the same as what Ṣāliḥ said: have you asked anyone, then tell me? I said: I asked Zayd ibn Aslam and Ṣāliḥ ibn Kaysān. He said to me: what did they say to you? I said: rather, tell me your view. He said: I will surely tell you my view, but tell me what they said to you. I told him what the two of them had said to me. He said: I differ from both of them; by it the righteous one and the sinner are meant. Allah said: وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ذَلِكَ مَا كُنْتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ ("And the stupor of death comes with the truth; that is what you used to flee from") فَكَشَفْنَا عَنْكَ غِطَاءَكَ فَبَصَرُكَ الْيَوْمَ حَدِيدٌ ("And We have removed from you your veil, so your sight today is sharp"). He said: and the veil was removed from the righteous one and the sinner, so that each of them saw where he would go.
It was related to me on the authority of al-Ḥusayn, who said: I heard Abū Muʿādh saying: ʿUbayd informed us, saying: I heard al-Ḍaḥḥāk saying concerning His words وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("And every soul comes, with it a driver and a witness"): he means the polytheists (al-mushrikīn).
And the most correct of the statements concerning that, in my view, is the statement of the one who said: by it the righteous one and the sinner are meant, for Allah followed these verses with His words وَلَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الإِنْسَانَ وَنَعْلَمُ مَا تُوَسْوِسُ بِهِ نَفْسُهُ ("And indeed, We created man, and We know what his soul whispers to him"), and "man" (al-insān) in this place has the meaning of: all people, without a portion of them being meant to the exclusion of another portion. It is therefore known that, if that is so, the meaning of His words وَجَاءَتْ سَكْرَةُ الْمَوْتِ بِالْحَقِّ ("And the stupor of death comes with the truth") is: and to you, O man, the stupor of death comes with the truth ذَلِكَ مَا كُنْتَ مِنْهُ تَحِيدُ ("that is what you used to flee from"). And when that is so, then the correctness of what we have said is clear and evident.
