Surah 50. Qaf, Ayah 24

In this instance, as well as in verse {26}, the imperative "cast" has the dual form (alqiya). As many classical philologists (and almost all of the commentators) point out, this is linguistically permissable for the sake of special stress, and is equivalent to an emphatic repetition of the imperative in question. Alternatively, the dual form may be taken as indicative of an actual duality thus addressed: namely, the two manifestations within man's psyche alluded to in verse {17} and described in verse {21} as sa'iq and shahid (see note [14] above), both of which, in their interaction, are responsible for his spiritual downfall and, hence, for his suffering in the life to come.

The original for "throw", here and in verse 26 below, is in the dual number, which some Commentators explain by saying that the dual form is used for emphasis, as if the verb ("throw, throw") were twice repeated. Examples of this are found in Arabic. But is it possible that the dual refers to the two angels mentioned in verses 17 and 21? In that case the Companion in verse 27 will be the third one mentioned in verses 18 and 23. In any case the third one will be the one on whose Record the sentence will be passed.