Living The Quran
From Issue: 837 [Read full issue]
Closer than Jugular Vein
Qaf (Qaf) - Chapter 50: Verse 16
"It was We Who created man, and We know what dark suggestions his nafs (self) makes to him: for We are nearer to him than (his) jugular vein."
We humans have certain qualities which God knows well. We are constantly in a state of need. We are weak. But, we are also hasty and impatient. When we are in trouble, we will be pushed to seek assistance. But when we do seek assistance, because of our impatience, we seek it in what seems near and what seems easy. We seek it in what we can see and hear and touch. We seek help in the creation, including our own selves. And isn't that exactly what dunya (worldly life) is? What seems near. The word 'dunya' itself means 'that which is lower'. Dunya is what seems closest. But, this is only an illusion.
There is something closer.
In this verse, Allah begins by showing us that he knows our struggles. There is comfort in knowing that someone sees our struggles. He knows what our own self calls us to. But he is closer. He is closer than our own self and what it calls for. He is closer than our jugular vein. Why the jugular? What is so striking about this part of us? The jugular vein is the most important vein that brings blood to the heart. If severed, we die almost immediately. It is literally our lifeline. But Allah is closer. Allah is closer than our own life, than our own self, than our own nafs. And He is closer than the most important pathway to our heart.
Allah knows we have a nafs. Allah knows we have a heart. Allah knows that these things drive us. However Allah tells us that He is closer to us than even those. So when we reach for other than Him, we are not only reaching for what is weaker, we are also reaching past what is closer, for what is further and more distant. Subhan Allah (Glory be to God).
Compiled From:
"Reclaim Your Heart" - Yasmin Mogahed, pp. 67, 68