Tafseer of The letter Qaaf · Qaaf · 50:23
And his companion, [the angel], will say, "This [record] is what is with me, prepared."
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 statement of the Exalted: وَقَالَ قَرِينُهُ هَذَا مَا لَدَيَّ عَتِيدٌ "And his companion will say: 'This is what is ready with me.'" (23)
The Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, says: The companion of this man — who comes with him on the Day of Resurrection, and with whom are a driver and a witness — has spoken.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Bishr related to us, saying: Yazīd related to us, saying: Saʿīd related to us, on the authority of Qatāda: وَقَالَ قَرِينُهُ هَذَا مَا لَدَيَّ عَتِيدٌ — that is the angel.
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement وَقَالَ قَرِينُهُ هَذَا مَا لَدَيَّ عَتِيدٌ ... to the end of the verse: This is his driver who is charged with him. And he recited: وَجَاءَتْ كُلُّ نَفْسٍ مَعَهَا سَائِقٌ وَشَهِيدٌ ("And every soul will come, with it a driver and a witness.").
And His statement هَذَا مَا لَدَيَّ عَتِيدٌ ("This is what is ready with me"): the Exalted, whose remembrance is exalted, informs about what the companion of this man says when he presents him before his Lord: "O Lord, this is what is ready with me." He says: This is what has been prepared and kept with me.
And in accordance with what we have said about this, the exegetes have spoken.
* Mention of who said that:
Yūnus related to me, saying: Ibn Wahb informed us, saying: Ibn Zayd said concerning His statement هَذَا مَا لَدَيَّ عَتِيدٌ — he said: and "that which is ready" (al-ʿatīd) is that which he has already seized, and what the driver and the keeper together have brought along with him.
