Surah 50. Qaf, Ayah 17

The first part of the above sentence - i.e., the phrase yatalaqqa al-mutalaqqiyan - may be understood in either of two senses: "the two that are meant to receive do receive", or "the two that aim at meeting each other do meet". The classical commentators adopt, as a rule, the first sense and, consequently, interpret the passage thus: "...the two angels that are charged with recording man's doings do record them, sitting on his right and on his left". In my opinion, however, the second of the two possible meanings ("the two that aim at meeting each other") corresponds better with the preceding verse, which speaks of what man's innermost self (nafs) "whispers within him", i.e., voices his subconscious desires. Thus, "the two that aim at meeting" are, I believe, the two demands of, or, more properly, the two fundamental motive forces within man's nature: his primal, instinctive urges and desires, both sensual and non-sensual (all of them comprised in the modern psychological term "libido"), on the one side, and his reason, both intuitive and reflective, on the other. The "sitting (qa'id) on the right and on the left" is, to my mind, a metaphor for the conflicting nature of these dual forces which strive for predominance within every human being: hence, my rendering of qa'id as "contending". This interpretation is, moreover, strongly supported by the reference, in verse {21}, to man's appearing on Judgment Day with "that which drives and that which bears witness" - a phrase which undoubtedly alludes to man's instinctive urges as well as his conscious reason (see note [14] below).

Two angels are constantly by him to note his thoughts, words, and actions. One sits on the right side and notes his good deeds and the other on the left, to note his bad deeds; corresponding to the Companions of the Right and the Companions of the Left mentioned in lvi. 27 and 41.