The
Existence of The Angels
Allah – glory be to Him and may He be exalted! says:
“ It is not devotion to turn your faces towards the East
or the West. Rather, true devotion
is when someone believes in Allah, and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the
Books, and the Prophets.” (2:177)
The Almighty says:
“ The Messenger believes
in what has been sent down to him from his lord, and so do the believers.
Each one believes in Allah and His angels and His Books and His
Messengers. We do not differentiate
between any of His Messengers.” (2:285)
The Noble Qur’an guides us to the fact that belief in the
angels is a basic tenet of belief. It
stands at the very root of the revelation of Allah and His Messengers because
the revelation of Allah Almighty only reached the Prophet by means of one of the
angels named Jibril, the Trustee of the Revelation.
Thus if a person denies the existence of the angels, he also denies the
revelation of the Devine Books and consequently the belief in the angels before
belief in the Divine Books and the Messengers.
Anyone who rejects the existence of the angels, according
to the way that the Qur’an has clearly described them, is an unbeliever since
Allah, the Blessed and Exalted, says:
“O you who believe!
Believe in Allah and His Messenger, and the Book which He sent down to His
Messenger, and the Book which he sent down before.
Anyone who rejects Allah and His angels and His Books and His Messengers
and the Last Day has gone very far astray.”(4:136)
The
Creation of the Angels
Muslim transmitted in his Sahih from ‘A’isha, peace be
upon her, that the Messenger of Allah, (pbuh) said:
“The angels were created from light. The jinn were
created from fire. Man was created from what has been described to you.”
Ibn Hajar said in the Fath and mentioned in Rabi’ al-Abrar
that Sa’id b. al-Musayyab said, “The angels are neither male nor female.
They neither eat nor drink. They
do not marry nor have children.” The
angels are free of all animal appetites and are unadulterated by any selfish
inclination.
Allah Almighty called the angels “slaves” and honoured
them by the fact of their being connected to His name, the All-Merciful.
He made it clear that those who think that they are female are not right
because they say this with no knowledge. Allah
says:
“They have designated
the angels female, those who are the slaves of the Merciful. Were they present
to witness their creation? Their
witnessing will be written down and they will be asked about it.” (43:19)
The Almighty has criticised those who described the angels
as being female and stripped such people of the attribute of belief, saying:
“Those who do not
believe in the Next World name the angels with the names of females.
They do not have any knowledge of it.
They only follow supposition, and supposition is of no avail at all
against the Truth.”(53:27)
The
Wings of the Angels
The Almighty says:
“Priase belongs to
Allah, the Bringer-into-being of the heavens and the earth, the Maker of the
angels into messengers, possessing wings – two, three and four. He adds to creation in any way He wills. Allah is over all things powerful.”(32:1)
Allah – Glory to be Him! – makes it clear that the
angels have wings. Some of them
have two wings, some three, some four, and some have more than that as has come
in a Hadith saying that the Messenger of Allah, (pbuh) saw Jibril, peace
be upon him, on the Night Journey and he had six hundred wings, the distance
between each wing being the same as that between the east and the west. This is why Allah – glory be to Him! – says: “ He
adds to creation in any way he wills.” (35:1) As-Suddi said, “ He
increases the number of wings and creates them as He wills.”
That is the position taken by most of the commentators.
The
Beauty of the Angels
Allah – Glory be to Him! – created the angels with a
noble beautiful form, as He – glory be to Him! – says in respect of Jibril,
the Trustee of Revelation:
“Taught him by one
terrible in power, very strong (dhu marra) He stood poised” (53:6)
Ibn ‘Abbas said that “dhu marra” in this ayat
means “having a beautiful appearance” It is commonly established knowledge
that the angels are beautiful in form, just as it is also commonly established
that the satans are ugly. That is
why people say that a beautiful human being looks like an angel. Look at what the women said about Yusuf when they saw him:
“When they saw him, they
were amazed by him and cut their hands. They
said, Allah preserve! This is no
man. This is but a noble angel
standing here!” (12:31)
The
Number of the Angels
The Almighty says:
“The heavens nearly
split above them when the angels glorify the praise of their Lord and ask
forgiveness for those on the earth.” (42:5)
And He says:
“None knows the hosts of
your Lord except Him.” (74:31)
There are untold
myriads of angels who have been created. No
one knows their number except for Him who created them.
If you want to have an idea of how great their number is, simply listen
to this Hadith. The Prophet (pbuh) said:
“The heaven
groans and it has a right to groan.” He,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “On that day Jahannam will be
drawn up by 70,000 thongs, and holding each thong there will be 70,000
angels.”
According to that,
the angels who bring Jahannam on the Day of Rising will alone number
4,900,000,000.
If you reflect on
the texts related about the angels who take care of each member of mankind, you
will understand the hugeness of their number.
There is the angel in charge of each sperm drop, two angels to record,
guardian angels and also the two angels accompanying each human being to guide
and direct him.
The
Worship and Glorification of the Angels
The Almighty says:
“Those who bear the
Throne, and all those around it, glorify the praise of their Lord and believe in
Him and ask forgiveness for those who believe:
“Our Lord, You encompass everything in mercy and knowledge!
Forgive those who turn to You and who follow Your way and safeguard them
from the punishment of the Blazing Fire.” (40:7)
And He says:
“You will see the angels
circling round the Throne, glorifying the praise of their Lord.”(39:75)
The Mighty and
Majestic says that the angels say:
“We are those drawn up
in ranks. We are those who
glorify.” (37:165-166)
In the Hadith transmitted
by at-Tabarani, Jabir, may Allah be pleased with him said:
“The
Messenger of Allah, (pbuh) said, ‘There is no space in the seven heavens a
foot’s length or a hand-span or a palm’s width which does not have an
angel standing, bowing or prostrating on it.”
The
Story of Adam and the Angels
The Almighty says:
“When your Lord said
to the angels, ‘I am placing a khalif on the earth.’
They said, ‘Why place on it one who will corrupt it and shed blood,
when we glorify Your praise and call You holy?
He said, ‘ I know what You do not know.’ He taught Adam all the
names. Then He displayed them to
the angels and said, ‘Tell me the names of these if you are telling the
truth.’ They said, ‘Glory be to
You! We have no knowledge except what You have taught us.
You are the Knowing, the Wise.’ He said ‘Adam, tell them their
names.’ When he had told them
their names He said, ‘Did I not tell you that I know the Unseen of the heavens
and the earth, and I know all that you make known and all you conceal?’ When
We said to the angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves to Adam!’ They prostrated, all
except Iblis. He disdained to and
grew arrogant and was one of the rejectors.” (2:30-34)
The
angels existed before Adam and his descendants for a long period which is known
only to Allah – glory be to Him. When
Allah wished to make Adam and his descendants His representatives on earth, He
informed the angels about it. It
may be that the wisdom in telling them lay in the fact that after Adam was
created, the angels would then be linked to this creature and his descendants.
Then they were commanded to show him honour and esteem by prostrating to
him as a test of their obedience.
Allah
had decreed that some of the angels would be guardians and scribes and others
angels of revelation, rain and plant-growth, punishment and death.
All of them are linked to the life of human beings and what is decreed
for them and their final destiny.
The
answer which the angels gave to this divine news about the creation of Adam was
not in any way an objection. The
wisdom of this new creation was hidden from them and they wanted to learn what
it was. They described man as
corrupting the earth and shedding blood before he existed because they grasped
that, since this creature would be made of clay and would live on the earth, he
must have a nature which would entail both good and evil.
Therefore there would inevitably be dispute and strife between his
descendants and thus corruption and bloodshed.
When
the angels perceived the special properties possessed by this new creature and
recognised his predisposition for gnosis and the great quantity of knowledge
with which Allah had provided him, they prostrated with a prostration of
greeting and honour in obedience to the command of Allah Almighty:
“When We said to the
angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves to Adam!’
They prostrated, all except Iblis. He
disdained to and grew arrogant and was one of the rejectors.”
Thus
shaytan is the accursed one who made an analogy using his defective intellect
and said, “ I am better than him.
You created me from fire and You created him from clay.” (38:76) He did not obey the divine command as the angels had done and
so he deserved to fall into error and to be driven away from mercy.
Iblis was not one of the angels. He
was one of the jinn as the Qur’an makes clear:
“When We said to the
angels, ‘Prostrate yourselves to Adam,’ They prostrated except for Iblis.
He was one of the jinn and wantonly deviated from his Lord’s
command.” (18:50)
The
Different Types of Angels
Jibril, Mika’il and Israfil
The angels are the greatest of all the hosts of Allah –
glory be to Him and may He be exalted! They
include the angels who is entrusted with the revelation from Allah Almighty to
His Messengers, blessings and peace be upon them.
He is the Faithful Spirit, Jibril, peace be upon him.
The Almighty says:
“The Faithful Spirit brought it down upon your heart for you to be one of
the Warners in a clear Arabic tongue.” (26:193-195)
They include the angel entrusted with the rain and
dispensing it wherever Allah, the Almighty and Majestic, commands him to.
He is Mika’il, peace be upon him.
He possesses a high position, a lofty station and great honour with his
Lord, the Almighty and Majestic. He
has helpers who do everything he orders them to by as Allah, the Almighty and
Majestic, wishes. It says in the Hadith
of Ibn ‘Abbas in at-Tabarani that the Prophet (pbuh) said to Jibril:
“What is Mika’il in charge of?” He replied,
“The plants and the rain.”
Imam Ahmed transmitted in his Musnad from Anas b.
Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said to Jibril, peace be upon him:
“Why do I never see Mika’il laugh? He replied, “Mika’il has not laughed since the fire was
created.”
They include the angel entrusted with the Trumpet.
He is Israfil, peace be upon him. He
will blow three blasts on it at the command of His Lord, the Almighty and
Majestic. The first is the Blast of Terror, the second the Blast of
Swooning, and the third the Blast of the Rising for the Lord of heaven and
earth. Imam Ahmed and at-Tirmidhi
transmitted that Abu Sa’id al-khudri said that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“ How can I enjoy myself when the one with the
Trumpet has raised the Trumpet to his mouth, knitted his brow and is waiting
to blow.” They said, “What
should we say, Messenger of Allah?” He
said, “Say: Allah is enough for us and the best Guardian.
We have put our trust in Allah."
These noble three – Jibril, Mika’il and Israfil – are
the leaders of the angels. The
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, used to say in his
supplication:
“O Allah, Lord of Jibril, Mika’il and Israfil,
Bringer of the heavens and the earth into being, knower of the unseen and
visible, it is You who judges between Your slaves concerning the things about
which they disagree. Guide us to
the truth in respect of the things about which there is disagreement by Your
permission. You guide whomever
You will to a straight path.”
Ibn al-Qayyim, may
Allah have mercy on him, said, “The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him
and grant him peace, pleaded with Allah – Glory be to Him! – by His overall
lordship and His particular lordship over these three angels who are the
guardians of all life. Jibril is
entrusted with the revelation by which hearts and souls are brought to life;
Mika’il is entrusted with the rain by which land, plants and animals are
brought to life; and Israfil is entrusted with blowing the Trumpet by which all
creatures will be asked Allah by His lordship over these angels to guide him to
the truth in respect of those things about which there is disagreement by His
permission since in that lies all the benefits of life.
The
Angel of Death
Another of the
angels is entrusted with the taking of the souls. He is the Angel of Death and his helpers.
Some reports call him ‘Azra’il Allah Almighty says:
“Say: ‘The Angel of
Death will take you back, who has been given charge of you.
Then you will be returned unto your Lord.” (32:11)
The Almighty says
about the hypocrites:
“How
will it be when the angels take them, beating their faces and their backs.”
(47:27)
And He says about
the believer:
“Those the angels take
in a good and wholesome state. They
say, ‘Peace be upon you! Enter
the Garden on account of the things you were doing.” (16:32)
It has come in
sound Hadith that the helpers of this angel come to the dying person
according to his actions. If he is
a good-doer, then they have the best appearance and most beautiful form and
bring the greatest good news. If he
is evil, then they take on the ugliest appearance and most atrocious aspect and
bear the harshest threat. Then they draw out the soul until it reaches the dying
person’s throat where the Angel of Death takes it. They do not leave it in his hands, but wrap it in shrouds and
the appropriate perfume. As the
Almighty says:
“Why, but when the
soul leaps to the throat of the dying man and that hour you are watching.
And We are nearer to him then you, but you do not see Us.
Why, if you are not at Our disposal, do you not bring back his soul, if
you speak the truth? Then, if he be
one of those brought nigh the Throne, there shall be repose and ease, and a
Garden of Delight. And if he be a
Companion of the Right, ‘Peace be upon you, Companion of the Right!’ And
if he be of them that cried lies and went astray, there shall be a hospitality
of boiling water and the roasting of the Blaze.
Surely this is the truth of certainty.
Then magnify the Name of your Lord, the All-mighty.”
(56:83-96)
The Guardian
Angels
Another
type of angels are those entrusted with guarding each person both at home and
while travelling, in his sleep and when awake, and in all his states.
They are those who take over from one another. Allah Almighty says:
“It makes no
difference whether you keep secret what you say or voice it out loud, whether
you hide in the night or go out in the day.
Each has a succession of angels in front and behind, keeping him safe by
Allah’s command.” (13:10-11)
The
Almighty says:
“He is the Absolute
Master over His slaves. He sends angels to watch over you.”
(6:61)
Ibn
‘Abbas said about the first ayat, “Each
has a succession of angels in front and behind, keeping him safe by Allah’s
command” that ‘the
succession of angels’ from
Allah refer to the angels who protect him in front and behind. When Allah’s
decree comes, they protect him in front and behind. When Allah’s decree comes,
they leave him. Mujahid said,
“There is no one who does not have an angel who is entrusted with protecting
him both when asleep and when awake, from jinn and men and reptiles.
None of them comes to him without finding an angel blocking its way
except for something which Allah has given permission to reach him.”
The Recording
Angels
They
also include the angels entrusted with preserving the record of each person’s
good and evil actions. These are
the noble scribes and are included in the words of the Almighty:
“He sends
angels to watch over you.”
The
Almighty says:
“Or do they reckon
that We do not hear their secrets and private conversation? Indeed, Our
messengers are with them writing it down.” (43:80)
And
He says:
“When the two angels
meet together, sitting one on the right, and one on the left, not a word he
utters, but by him is an observer ready at hand.” (50:17)
The
one on his right is the one who writes down good actions, and the one on his
left is the one who writes down evil actions.
The
Almighty says:
“Yet there are over
you noble watchers, writers who know whatever you do.” (82:11)
Ibn
Abi Hatim transmits with his isnad from Mujahid that the Messenger of Allah, may
Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Honour
the noble scribes who only leave you at two times: in janaba
and when you relieve yourselves. When
one of you has a ghusl, he should screen
himself with a wall or his camel, or his brother should screen him.”
Sufyan
was asked, “How do the angels know that a person intends a good or evil
action?” He replied, “When
someone intends a good action, they smell the scent of musk coming from him, and
when he intends an evil action, they smell a putrid smell coming from him, Al-Bukhari
transmitted with his isnad from Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, that
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Allah,
the Mighty and Majestic, has said, ‘When My slave wants to do an evil action,
you should not write it down until he does it.
If he does it, then write down the equivalent of it.
If he does not do it fro My sake, then write it down as a good action for
him. If he wants to do a good
action and does not do it, then write it down as a good action.
If he does do it, then write down ten to seven hundred of its like.”
Ibn
Hajar said in al-Fath, “This
Hadith
indicates that the angels is aware of what is in the heart of the human being
either by Allah acquainting him with it or by creating for him knowledge by
which he perceives it.” Al-Hasan
al-Basri said about the ayat:
“When the two angels
meet together, sitting one on the right, and one on the left, not a word he
utters, but by him is an observer ready at hand.”
(50:17)
“O
son of Adam! A scroll has been unfurled for you and two noble angels have been
entrusted with you, one on your right and the other on your left.
The one on your right records your good actions.
The one on your left records your evil actions.
So do what you wish, whether it is a little or a lot.
Then, when you die, your scroll will be rolled up and placed by your neck
with you in your grave until you emerge on the Day of Rising. Then Allah Almighty will say:
‘We have fastened the
destiny of every man about his neck and on the Day of Rising We will extract a
book for him which he will find spread open in front of him.
“Read your book! Today your own self is reckoner enough against you!”
(17:13-14) Then he said, “It is just, by
Allah. In you is the one who makes you your own reckoner.”
Al-Bukhari
transmitted with his isnad from Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, that
the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“The
angels of the night and the angels of the day take turns in attending you and
they meet at the ‘Asr prayer and the Fajr
prayer. Then those who spent the
night with you ascend and He questions them, although He knows better than them.
He says, ‘How did you leave My slaves? ‘ They say, ‘We left them
while they were praying and we came to them while they were praying.”
He
also transmitted from Abu Musa, may Allah be pleased with him, who said:
“The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, stood up in our midst and made four statements.
He said, ‘Allah does not sleep and it is not proper for Him to sleep;
He lessens and increases what is allotted to you; the actions of the night are
presented to Him before the actions of the day; and the actions of the day are
presented to Him before the actions of the night.”
Munkar and
Nakir
Among
the angels are also those who are in charge of the trial of the grave.
They are called Munkar and Nakir. Al-Bukhari,
may Allah have mercy on him, transmitted from Anas, may Allah be pleased with
him, that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“When
someone is placed in his grave, and his companions turn and go, and he can
still hear the tread of their sandals, two angels come to him and make him sit
up and say to him, ‘What do you say about this man, Muhammad, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace?’ He
will say, ‘I testify that he is the slave of Allah and His Messenger.’
It will be said, ‘Look at your place in the Fire.
Allah has given you, in exchange for it, a place in the Garden,’”
The Prophet said, “He will see both places.”
“The
unbeliever or the hypocrite will say, ‘I do not know. I used to say what everyone else said.’ He will be told, ‘You
neither understood nor followed the guidance.’
Then he will be hit between the ears with an iron hammer and will cry
out with a cry which is heard by everything near him except men and jinn.”
Muslim
reported something similar to it from Qatada and he added in it that Qatada
said,
“He
mentioned to us that the believers grave will be expanded to about seventy
cubits for him, and it will be filled with greenery until the day they are
brought back to life.”
Muslim
transmitted from ‘Abdullah b. ‘Abbas that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah
bless him and grant him peace, used to teach them this supplication in the same
way that he used to teach them a sura of Qur’an. He would say:
“O
Allah, I seek refuge with You from the punishment of Jahannam and I seek refuge
with You from the trial of the Masih ad-Dajjal and I seek refuge with You from
the trials of life and death.”
The Custodians
of the Garden and the Fire
There
are other angels who are the custodians of the Garden.
Their overseer is called Ridwan, peace be upon him.
Allah Almighty says:
“And those who were
fearful of their Lord will be driven to the Garden in companies and then, when
they arrive there finding its gates open, its custodians will say to them,
‘peace be upon you! You have done well so enter it timelessly forever.’”(39:71)
Ibn
Kathir said, “The custodian of the Garden is an angel called Ridwan.
This is explicitly stated in some Hadiths.” There are also angels whose task is to give good news to the
believers both at the time of their death and on the Day of Rising as the
Almighty says:
“Those who say, ‘Our
Lord is Allah,’ and then go straight, the angels descend on them, Feel no fear
and do not be sad but rejoice in the Garden which you were promised. We are your
protectors in the life of this world and in the Next World.
You will have there all your selves could wish for.
You will have there al that you demand.
Hospitality from One who is forgiving, most merciful.”
(41:30-32)
Ibn
Abi Hatim said in his isnad from Ja’far ibn Suelyman who said that he heard
Thabit recite sura Fusslilat until he reached, “Those
who say, ‘Our Lord is Allah,’ and
then go straight, the angels descend on them.”
Then he stopped and said, “It has reached us that when Allah Almighty raises
the believing slave from his grave, he will be met by the two angels who were
with him in this world. They will
say to him, ‘Feel no fear and do not
be sad but rejoice in the Garden which you were promised.”
He said, “Allah will give him security from his fear and delight his eye.
None of the terrible things which people fear on the Day of Rising will
be anything other than a delight for a believer due to the fact that Allah
Almighty guided him, and on account of what he used to do for Him in this
world.”
They
also included the Custodians of Jahannam. We seek refuge with Allah from them!
Its overseer is Malik, peace be upto him and them.
The Almighty says about the people of the Fire:
“They will call out,
‘O Malik, let your Lord finish us off! He will say, ‘You will remain.” (43:77)
The
Almighty says:
“Those who are in the
Fire will say to the custodians of Jahannam, ‘Call on your Lord to make
lighter for us one day of the punishment. They
will say, ‘Did your Messengers not bring you the Clear Signs?’
They will say, ‘Yes.’ They will say, ‘Then you call!’ But the
calling of those who reject only goes astray.”
(40:49-49)
The
Almighty says:
“O you who believe,
safeguard yourselves and your families against a Fire whose fuel is men and
stones, and over which are harsh, terrible angels who do not disobey Allah in
anything He commands them and do what they are commanded.”
(66:6)
The
Almighty says:
“What will teach you
what is Saqar? It spares not, nor
does it cease to scorch the flesh. Over
it are nineteen. We have not appointed any but angels to be masters of the Fire,
and We have appointed their number only as a trial for the unbelievers.” (74:27-31)
It
is said that the leaders of the custodians of Jahannam
are nineteen angels and that their overseer is Malik, peace be upon him.
We
find in the Sahih of
Muslim, “On the Day of Rising, Jahannam
will be drawn up by 70,000 thongs, and on each thong there will be 70,000
angels.
Angels
entrusted with the sperm in the womb
There
are also the angels entrusted with dealing with the sperm in the womb.
From ‘Abdullah b. Mas’ud may Allah be pleased with him, who said,
“The Messenger of Allah, May Allah bless him and grant him peace, whose
truthfulness is confirmed, said:
“The
way that each of you is created is that you are gathered in your mother’s womb
for forty days as a sperm drop and then for a similar length of time as a
blood-clot and then for a similar length of time as a lump of flesh.
Then an angel is sent and he breathes the spirit into you and is charged
with for commands: to write down
your provision, your life-span, your actions, and whether you will be wretched
or happy.”
Al-Bukhari
and Muslim both reported this, and the two of them also transmitted from Anas. B
Malik, may Allah be pleased with him, that he said that the Messenger of Allah,
may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“Allah
has put an angel in charge of the womb. He
says, ‘O Lord, a drop? O Lord, a clot? O Lord, a morsel?’
When Allah desires to complete the creation of the foetus, he says, ‘O
Lord, male or female? Wretched or happy? How much provision? How long a
lifespan? And he writes that for him in his mother’s womb.”
It
is also related that these scribes write this between the eyes of the foetus.
In the isnad of al-Bazzar from Ibn ‘Umar, may Allah be pleased with
both him and his father, is that the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said:
“When
Allah creates a living soul, the angel of the wombs says, ‘O Lord, male or
female?’” He said, “Allah
decides it for him. Then he says,
‘O Lord, wretched or happy? And Allah decides it for him.
Then he writes between his eyes all he will encounter until his end over
takes him.”
The Bearers of
the Throne
Also
included are the Bearers of the Throne, Allah Almighty says:
“Upon that day eight
shall bear above them the Throne of your Lord.”(69:17)
Ibn
‘Abbas said that it means eight rows of angels. From Jabir ibn ‘Abdullah, may Allah be pleased with both
him and his father, is that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and
grant him peace, said:
“I
was given permission to report about one of the angels of Allah Almighty among
the Throne-bearers that between his ear-lobe and his neck is the distance of
seven hundred years.”
The Karibiyyun
They
include another category called Karibiyyun. They are the
chiefs of the angels who are brought near and are the closest angels to the
Throne-bearers. The word “Karibiyyun”
comes from the root of “karb” which means sorrow, and they are called this
on account of the intensity of their fear of Allah Almighty and their awe of
Him. It is also said that the word is derived from the expression
“kurb” meaning nearness or strength in which case the name is due to their
strength and steadfastness in worship.
The Angels of
the Mountains
Another
one is the angel entrusted with the mountains.
He is mentioned in the Hadith when the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace,
went out at night to visit the Banu ‘abd and returned from them.
That Hadith
contains the statement of Jibril to him.
“Allah
has heard what your people said to you and the reply they gave you.
He has sent the Angel of the mountains with me so that you can command
him as you wish. If you wish, he
will crush your people by causing the mountains to fall on top of them, or if
you wish, he will make the earth swallow them up.”
The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said, “Give them
more time. Hopefully Allah will
bring forth from their loins people who will worship Allah without associating
anyone else with Him.”
The Angels of
the Ranks
They
include the angels of the ranks who do not slacken in worship, those who stand
and do not bow, those who bow, and those who prostrate and do not come up from
their prostration. And there are
others who are different from any of these:
“None knows the hosts
of Your Lord except Him. It is
nothing but a reminder to all human beings.” (74:31)
Imam
Ahmed reports in his Musnad,
as does at-Tirmidhi, from Abu Dharr, may Allah be pleased with him, that the
Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said:
“I
see what you do not see and I hear what you do not hear.
The heaven groans and it has a right to groan.
There is no place in it the size of four fingers which does not have an
angel prostrating in it. If you
knew what I knew, you would laugh little and weep much and not enjoy women in
your beds and you would go out to the hill crying out to Allah, the Mighty and
Majestic.”
The
meaning of “the heaven groans” is that it makes the sound of the creaking of
a saddle which is placed on the camel’s back, i.e. due to the great number of
the angels in it, which weights it down so that it groans.
The Angels of
dhikr
Yet
another type are the travelling angels who seek gatherings of dhikr. It is related that Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased
with him, said that the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him
peace, said:
“Allah
Almighty has angels who roam about seeking the people of dhikr.
When they find a group doing dhikr of
Allah, they call to one another, ‘Come to that which you have been seeking!’
And they beat their wings and fly up to the nearest heaven. Then their Lord questions them – and He knows better –
‘What do My slaves say?’ They
say, ‘They glorify and proclaim You great, praise you and magnify You.’ Then He says, ‘Have they seen Me?’ Then they say, ‘No,
by Allah, they have not seen You.’ Then
He says, ‘And how would it be if they did see Me?
They say, ‘If they did see You, they would be even stronger in
worshipping You, stronger in glorifying You, and stronger in magnifying You.’
He says, ‘And what do they
ask of Me?’ They say, ‘They ask
You for the Garden.’ He says,
‘And have they seen it? They say,
‘No, by Allah, they have not seen it.’
He says, ‘Then how would it be if they had seen it?’
They say, ‘If they had seen it, they would be all the stronger in their
striving for it, stronger in their seeking it, and stronger in their desire for
it.’ ‘Then from what do they
seek deliverance?’ They say,
‘From the Fire.’ He says,
‘Then how would it be if they saw it?’
They say, ‘If they saw it, they would be the stronger in their flight
from it and stronger in their fear of it.’
He says, ‘I call you to witness that I have forgiven them.’
One of the angels says, ‘Among them is so-and-so, and he is not one of
them. He has only come for
something which he needs.’ He
said, ‘They are companions of whom it can be said that no one who is their
companion will be wretched.”
Al-Bukhari
and Muslim
Ibn Hajar said in the Fath al-Bari, “This Hadith
shows the excellence
of gatherings of dhikr, and the excellence of people gathering together for
that reason, as well as the fact that anyone who sits with them is included
along with them in all that Allah Almighty bestows on them to honour them, even
if he does not participate with them in the dhikr itself. It
also shows the love and concern of the angels for the tribe of Adam.
It also contains the fact that the questioner comes to the One who asks
even though He has better knowledge of the one He asks about than the one who is
asked. This is in order to show His
concern for those He asks about, to praise their ability and to proclaim the
nobility of their station.
“It
is said that another of the features of Allah’s asking the angels about the
people of dhikr
is to call attention to what they said when they said, ‘Why
place on it one who will corrupt it and shed blood when we glorify Your praise
and call You holy?’ (2:30) So it is
as if He were saying to them, ‘Look at the glorification and proclamation of
Your holiness that comes from them in spite of the appetites and the whisperings
of Shaytan which overpower them. See
how they deal with that and yet resemble you in respect of glorification and
holy praise.’
“It
is said that also taken from this Hadith
is that the dhikr of the tribe of Adam is more sublime and nobler than
that of the angels since those descended from Adam manage to do dhikr in spite of the many preoccupations they have and the
transactions they are involved in, while none of that is the case where the
angels are concerned.”
Angels of
Visions
There
are also angels connected with visions. Al-Bukhari
transmitted that ‘A’isha, may Allah be pleased with her, said that the
Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said
“I
saw you twice in a dream before I married you.
I saw an angel carrying you wrapped in a piece of silk and I said,
‘Unwrap it!’ and it was unwrapped and there you were. I said, ‘If this is
from Allah, it will come about.”
Ibn
Hajar said, “Al-Qurtubi transmitted in al-Mufham
from one of the people of knowledge that Allah Almighty has an angel who
presents the things seen in the sleeper’s domain of perception and given them
a sensory form, so that sometimes they are likenesses which correspond to
already existing forms, and sometimes they are examples of intelligible
meanings. In both cases there is
either good news or warning.”
Al-Hakim
at-Tirmidhi said, “Allah has entrusted an angel with the business of visions.
He leans the states of the tribe of Adam from the Preserved Tablet, and
then he copies from it and coins a likeness of each according to a particular
archetype. When a person sleeps, he gives form to those things for him
with wisdom so that it will be good news or warning or rebuke for him.
The
Adamic creature is overpowered by Shaytan, and so he intense enmity which exists
between him and Shaytan, and so he tricks him in every possible way and wants to
corrupt his affair in every possible way. Therefore he muddles up his dreams, either by putting error
into them or by making him forget them.”
Ibn
Hajar said, “All dreams fall into two categories. The first are true dreams, which are the dreams of the
Prophets and those of the righteous who follow them.
They occur to others in rare cases.
This is the type of dream when what happens in it corresponds to what
happens in the waking state. The
second consists of muddled dreams which are dreams which do not warn about
anything. There are different types
of these.
One
is the playing-about of Shaytan so that the dream is troubling.
For instance someone might see his head cut off and himself chasing it or
dream that he falls into a state of terror and has no one to rescuer him from it
and other such-like things. Another
is when someone sees one of the angels commanding him to do something haram, for instance. Dreams
like this present logical impossibilities.
A
third is when someone sees the same sort of things his self says to him when he
is awake or that he desires something and sees it when he is asleep, like when
he dreams of something which normally occurs in the waking state or of something
that dominates his nature. This
kind of dream occurs mostly about the future, sometimes about the present and
only rarely about the past.”
Different
Forms in which Angels Appear
The
angels can take a shape other than their true form and appear in whatever
excellent form they wish. They
appear to a selected elite of the slaves of Allah, frequently in the shape of
extraordinary men with handsome forms and shining faces and excellent clothes.
However, the bodies they take on when adopting human form do not remove
them from the basic nature they were given by Allah when He created them.
Thus when, for instance, they take on human form, human nature does not
have any power over them. They do
not, for example, eat or drink.
