سُوْرَةُ قٓ
Surah Qaaf (50) — Ayah 17
إِذْ يَتَلَقَّى ٱلْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ عَنِ ٱلْيَمِينِ وَعَنِ ٱلشِّمَالِ قَعِيدٌ ﴿17﴾
Translation by Dr. Muhammad Muhsin Khan & Dr. Taqi-ud-Din al-Hilali
(Remember) that the two receivers (recording angels) receive (each human being), one sitting on the right and one on the left (to note his or her actions).
Word by Word — Arabic, Transliteration & Meaning
إِذْ
idh
When
يَتَلَقَّى
yatalaqqā
receive
ٱلْمُتَلَقِّيَانِ
l-mutalaqiyāni
the two receivers
عَنِ
ʿani
on
ٱلْيَمِينِ
l-yamīni
the right
وَعَنِ
waʿani
and on
ٱلشِّمَالِ
l-shimāli
the left
قَعِيدٌۭ
qaʿīdun
seated
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran — Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani
Tafsir Taiseer ul-Quran (Facilitation of the Quran) is a comprehensive Quran commentary by Maulana Abdul Rahman Kilani, a renowned Salafi (Ahl al-Hadith) scholar from Pakistan. Known for his eloquent and accessible writing style, Kilani authored this tafsir with a focus on clarity — making Quranic meanings understandable to the common reader. The tafsir provides detailed historical context for verses related to battles and expeditions, and firmly refutes modernist ideologies using strong scriptural evidence. It is widely regarded as an invaluable resource for understanding the Quran and countering deviant interpretations. The tafsir is originally written in Urdu, translated to English by tohed.com.
17. When the two recording angels, seated on the right and on the left, are recording everything [20].
[20]
The Recording by the Noble Scribes:
One of them records the words and deeds of goodness and virtue, while the other, who is on the left side, records evil. It is not necessary that these angels are recording everything with pen and ink. Rather, there can be many other ways of doing this. Today, man has developed the video cassette, through which a person’s words, actions, movements and stillness, stillness, image, tone—in short, everything—is recorded in such a way that there is not the slightest difference between the original and the copy. And the means available to Allah’s angels are far greater than those of humans. It is quite possible that a person’s record is being preserved on his own body, on his limbs, on the places nearby, and on the particles of the atmosphere. This record can be presented at any time, just like a video cassette, and shown to the concerned person. In the previous verse, it was mentioned that Allah knows all your movements and stillness and even the secrets of your hearts. In this verse, it is stated that all these things are being recorded as evidence.
[20]
The Recording by the Noble Scribes:
One of them records the words and deeds of goodness and virtue, while the other, who is on the left side, records evil. It is not necessary that these angels are recording everything with pen and ink. Rather, there can be many other ways of doing this. Today, man has developed the video cassette, through which a person’s words, actions, movements and stillness, stillness, image, tone—in short, everything—is recorded in such a way that there is not the slightest difference between the original and the copy. And the means available to Allah’s angels are far greater than those of humans. It is quite possible that a person’s record is being preserved on his own body, on his limbs, on the places nearby, and on the particles of the atmosphere. This record can be presented at any time, just like a video cassette, and shown to the concerned person. In the previous verse, it was mentioned that Allah knows all your movements and stillness and even the secrets of your hearts. In this verse, it is stated that all these things are being recorded as evidence.
