Chapter 4: Belief In The Angels

Chapter 4: Belief In The Angels


The Angels are a matter of the unseen. They are created by Allah and they
worship Him. They have no attributes that qualify them to be gods or lords.
Allah created them from light, and He bestowed on them the bounty of obeying Him
at all times. He gave them the power to carry and implement His orders, “And
those who are near Him (the angels) are not too proud to worship Him, nor are
they weary (of His worship). They glorify His praises night and day, (and) they
never slacken (to do so).” [21:19-20]. They are so numerous that only Allah can
count their numbers. Anas (radiyallaahu anhu) said, while narrating the story of
the Prophet’s (sallallaahu alaihi wa-sallam) ascension to heaven, that Al-Bait
Al-Ma’amoor (the House in heaven that is always inhabited. It is, for the
inhabitants of heaven, like the Kaa’bah for the people of earth) was raised for
the Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa-sallam) in heaven so he can see it. Each day,
seventy thousand Angels pray in this House, and when they exit from it, they
will never get back into it (this shows how numerous the angels are).[Saheeh al-Bukharee
and Saheeh Muslim]



Belief In The Angels Has three Parts



1. Belief in their existence.

Belief in what we were told of their names, such as Jibreel, and also belief in
other angels whom we were not informed of their names.



2. Belief in what we were told of their attributes. The example to this
is the description of Jibreel. The Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa-sallam) told
us that he saw Jibreel in the shape that Allah created him, having six hundred
wings and larger than the horizon. The angels may change their shapes, by the
order of Allah. They may take the shape of men. Allah sent Jibreel to Maryam
(Mary) and he came to her in the shape of a man. He was also sent to Prophet
Muhammad (sallallaahu alaihi wa-sallam), while he was sitting down with his
companions, in the shape of a man, wearing very white clothes with very dark
hair, a stranger to the companions, yet no evidence of traveling was apparent on
him. He sat next to the Prophet and laid his knees next to the Prophet’s knees
and put his hands on the Prophet’s thighs. He asked the Prophet about Islam,
Iman, Ih’san (excellence in the religion) and the Last Hour and its signs. The
Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa-sallam) answered him. Then, Jibreel left. The
Prophet (sallallaahu alaihi wa-sallam) said to his companions, “This was Jibreel,
He came to you to teach you your religion.” [Saheeh Muslim popularly known as
the HADEETH of JIBREEL]



Also, Allah sent the angels to Ibrahim (Abraham) and Lut in the shape of men.




3. Belief in the tasks that they perform, by the order of Allah. They
praise Allah and worship him at all times without the slightest boredom or
fatigue. Some angels may have special tasks to fulfill, a few have been
mentioned below;



Jibreel is the honorable angel, whom Allah sends down with revelation to the
Prophets and Messengers. Mikaeel is the angel who is controlling rain and
Vegetation by the order of Allah. Israfeel is the angel who must blow in the
Horn when the Hour (Last Day) has started and when it is time to resurrect the
dead. An angel is the keeper and supervisor of Hell. The Angel of death captures
the souls at death. There are angels who supervise fetuses in the wombs. When a
fetus is four months old, Allah sends down an angel and orders him to record the
fetus’s sustenance, maximum age, deeds and if miserable (destined to Hell) or
happy (destined to Paradise). There are angels who record deeds of mankind. They
have a record of everyone’s deeds. There are two angels for each person, one to
the right and the other to the left. There are other angels who question the
dead when they are in their graves. Two angels come to all dead persons and ask
each one of them about the Lord he worshipped, the religion he followed and the
Messenger he obeyed.



Benefits of Believing In The Angels

1. Knowing Allah’s Might, Strength and Power. All the strength of creation is a
sign of the Strength of the Creator.

2. Thanking Allah because He takes care of mankind. He appointed angels to
protect them, record their deeds and other beneficial tasks.

3. Loving the angels because they are true worshippers of Allah.



Some misguided people reject that the angels exist in a physical form.
They claim that the angels are the potential for good that creation possesses.
This is a direct rejection to the Book of Allah, the Sunnah of His Messenger (sallallaahu
alaihi wa-sallam) and the Ijmaa’ (consensus) of Muslims. Allah said, what
translated means: “All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the (Only) Originator
of the heavens and the earth, Who made the Angels messengers with wings, two or
three or four)." [35:1], “And if you could see when the angels take away the
souls of those who disbelieve (at death), they smite their faces and their
backs.” [8:50], “And if you could but see when the unjust (disbelievers) are in
the agonies of death, while the angels are stretching forth their hands
(saying): “Deliver your souls.” [6:93], “Until when fear is banished from their
(the angels’) hearts, they (the angels) say: “What is that your Lord has said?”
They say: “The Truth. “And He is the Most High, the Most Great” [34:23] and,
“And angels shall enter unto them from every gate (saying): ‘Peace be upon you
for that you preserved in patience! Excellent indeed is the final Home
(Paradise).” [13:23-24].



The Messenger of Allah (sallallaahu alaihi wa-sallam) said, what translated
means, “When Allah likes a slave, He calls on Jibreel, saying: ‘Allah loves so
and so (person), therefore, love him.’ Then, Gibreal loves him. Afterwards,
Jibreel calls on the inhabitants of heaven, saying: ‘Allah loves so and so
(person), therefore, love him.’ Then, the people of heaven love him. Afterwards
acceptance (among the community of believers) will be granted for him in
earth.”[3] and, “When the day of Friday comes, there stand angels at each of the
Masjid’s doors. They record the first then the next (one to come to the Masjid).
When the Imam sits down (waiting for the call to prayer to end so he can start
the speech), they close the books and they come to listen to the Thikr (the
remembrance of Allah contained in the Friday speech).” [Saheeh al-Bukharee]



The above texts are clear in their meaning that the angels have physical forms
and are not a state of the mind, as the misguided claim. The true meaning of
these texts, which states that the angels exist in a physical form, is accepted
by the entire Ummah.