Page 12 The Islamic Bulletin Issue 15 Beyond Imagination So much mystery surrounds these beings, and once again speculation and imagination have taken hold in American popular culture. Movies, TV dramas and documentaries, and other images have come out sparking new interest in a subject which goes back as far as human history. But do angels actually exist? And if so, what are they really like? Every Muslim must believe in angels as we know from the Qur’an. “It is not devotion to turn your faces towards the East or the West. Rather, true devotion is believing in Allah and the Last Day, and the Angels, and the Book, and the prophets. (Quran 2:177) In addition: “Anyone who rejects Allah andHis angels andHisMessengers and the Last Day has gone very far astray.” (Quran 4:136) We also have the well-known hadith in which the Prophet (PBUH) answers a question about the meaning of faith, “It is that you believe in Allah, His Angels, His books, His Messengers and the Last Day, and that you believe in the Decree, both the good and the bad of it. (Sahih Muslim) So we have strong indications of the importance of believing in angels. But should we accept popular notions about angels? Angels have often been pictured in European art as young boys wearing little or no clothing, and in popular fiction as souls of the dead who have gone to heaven...those who have ‘earned their wings’ and now sit on clouds playing harps. Perhaps the most common image is that of a beautiful female angel, one who comforts us in times of distress. However, as Muslims, we must beware of such creative versions, as they are based on speculation. As we know from the Qur’an, “Those who believe not in the Hereafter name the angels with female names, but they have no knowledge therein. They follow nothing but conjecture, and conjecture avails nothing against Truth. (Quran 53:27-28) Angels are creations of Allah, separate fromhuman beings. According to Ibn Hajar, Sa’id bin al-Musayyab, “The angels are neither male nor female. They neither eat nor drink. They do not marry nor have children.” The Prophet (PBUH) in sound hadith said, “The angels were created from light, the jinn were created from fire. Man was created from what has been described to you.” (Muslim) Unlike humans, angels do not have free will and are not able to disobey Allah. Rather, they always faithfully carry out His commands. Perhaps this is why a good person is often referred to as ‘an angel’. These qualities of angels separate them from the jinn, who, like humans, have free will and canbeMuslimor non-Muslim. The differences between these three creations of Allah canbe seen clearly in the story of the creationof Adam: Iblis (Satan) was in the presence of the angels when he refused to bow down to Adam, “He said, ‘I am better than he, Thou didst create me form fire, and him from clay.’” (Quran 7:12) Unlike Iblis, the jinn and all of the angels bowed down. Angels are said to be immensely beautiful creations, they can also be incredibly huge, especially compared to objects we know on earth, and only Allah knows their number. We do know that the number of angels is great. After the Night Journey, the Prophet (PBUH) recounted, “Then I was taken up to the FrequentedHouse and every day 70,000 angels visit it, never returning to it again, another [group] coming after them.” (Al-Bukhari and Muslim) It is also related in hadith that the number of angels carrying Hell-fire on the Day of Resurrection will number 4,900,000,000... and this is only one of the countless number of tasks the angels have been given. Now, one might ask, if Allah is self-sufficient, why angels are necessary at all? It is not a matter of need, as the angels carry out their tasks only by Allah’s leave. Equally, Allah does not question His creations on the Day of Judgment for the purpose of obtaining information. Allah has no partners in His power. The angels were created to worship Allah and glorify Him, and to fulfill the purposes of Allah according to His wisdom ...just as Allah createdmankind and jinn to worshipHim. With this in mind, we turn to the different types of angels. There are angels in charge of revelation, natural places and events, human events and deeds, pure worship of Allah, and anything else Allah wills. The angels Jibril, Mika’il, and Israfil are the leaders of the angels, and mentioned by name in authentic sources. Jibril (Gabriel) is the angel of revelation, the angel sent with the Books to all theMessengers. Passages in theQur’an referring to the Faithful Spirit, and the Holy Spirit are said to refer to the Angel Jibril. He also appears in a number of hadiths in the form of a man, suddenly appearing out of the desert to question the Prophet (PBUH) about matters of religion. It was Jibril who came to the Prophet (PBUH) in the cave of Hira with the first revelation of the Quran, and reviewed the Quran in its entirety with the Prophet (PBUH) each Ramadan to insure its accuracy. The angel Mika’il (Michael) is named once in the Qur’an: “Say: Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and prophets, to Jibril and Mika’il ... Allah is an enemy to those who reject faith.” (Quran 2:98) According to commentary, this refers to some disbelievers during the time of the Prophet (PBUH) who ridiculed Muslim belief. According to hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) asked Jibril, “What is Mika’il in charge of?” He replied, “The plants and the rain.” (At-Tabarani) Mika’il has assistants who follow his orders and make the clouds and winds move according to Allah’s will. In another hadith, the Prophet (PBUH) asked Jibril, “Why do I never see Mika’il laugh?” He replied, “Mika’il has not laughed since the Fire was created.” (Ahmad) Israfil is the angel given the Trumpet. He is ready to blow the three blasts ushering in the Day of Judgement upon Allah’s command. It is reported the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) 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 replied, “Say: Allah is enough for us, and the best Guardian. We have put our trust in Allah.” (At-Tirmidhi) The du’a (supplication) of the Prophet (PBUH) concerning these three angels is, “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.” Other angels mentioned in the Qur’an are Guardian angels, appointed to protect each human being. They avert all danger, except what Allah has decreed, and the Recording angels, two for each person. The one on the right hand writes down the good actions, and the one on the left writes the evil actions: “Yet there are over you noble watchers, writers that know whatever you do.” (Quran 82:10-12) Angels
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