I wish to relate to you various details the Quran presents about the angels of Allah, in order to present a coherent outlook on these beings created by Allah (if Allah Wills). Please read it and remember that it is ONLY Allah Who possesses the ultimate answers to all questions.
- With Name: The God, The Compassionate, The Merciful.
- Praise The God, Lord the Worlds!!
- The Compassionate, The Merciful.
- Possessor: Period the Judgment.
- Your's venerator and Your's caller.
- Donate the Path; the Right One.
- Path; the Ones, those Ones Blessed. Not those; the Damned Ones, nor the Strayed Ones." (Quran; al-Fatiha)
The angels are beings CREATED by Allah (18:51) and are here in order to obey their Lord by executing certain commands given to them by Allah (6:111). Angels may have been created by the invisible forces used to create Iblis ('smokeless fire') since Iblis BECAME ('kana') a Jinn due to his will to disobey his Lord (and hence we can reasonably suppose that he was an angel before his fall and also that angels who disobey a command 'fall' into the state of a Jinn?). However, these angels are not sent down in purely visible forms otherwise the respite given to the disbelievers would be over- angels could be sent down from heaven if Allah Willed, and he would be in the form of a man (6:8-9) although even then they would not believe except as Allah Wills (15:8).
Unfortunately, despite the guidance given by Allah to men, men have developed a sour tendency to venerate angels as divine beings and have furthermore expressed their innate desire to personify them by applying a gender to them; men had once thought angels were females and hence named them with female names (17:40). The Quran states that they are NOT females as men thought which is why an interrogative demand has been expressed, encouraging one to question this erroneous belief (37:150).
The angels are NOT divine beings for ALLAH IS LORD OF THE UNIVERSE (1:1)- on the contrary, they are servants of Him just as we humans are, although they are distinguished from humans on the basis of their various duties (38:164-166). The various duties of the angels are as follows (although not fully exhausted):
1) carrying and dispatching certain revelations from Allah (16:2). 2) driving winds and regulating natural forces (77:1-4). 3) putting men to death (6:61). 4) guarding men at various geographical localities within the proximity of the human body (13:11). 5) recording all of our actions, including thoughts (82:10-12).
They have either 2 or 3 or 4 wings (35:1) and are heavenly messengers of Allah ('rusul') (35:1). The angels pursue their assigned duties with vigorous passion and desire (79:4-5) and without tiring from venerating Allah (41:38). They carry out every command told (66:6). Messengers are thus chosen from BOTH angels and humans (22:75). Angels, however, are the most advanced forms of creation as they are those NEAREST to Allah and are able to exert undiminishing influence on natural forces that are in play on earth (29:34). Furthermore, there are 2 angels that record us at both the left and the right- this may be a symbolic reference to the good and bad deeds that man commits (50:17-18). They are able to interact with humans through anthropomorphical manifestations (i.e. physically) as is shown by various noteworthy historical events such as visiting Lut (29:34), dwelling with men at Babel (2:102), announcing Yahya's birth (3:39), announcing Isa's birth (3:45) and also greeting Abraham and his family (11:69-70). Angels may also help believers during war or turmoil or even in order to help men receive true guidance from Allah (3:125). The angels also have the role of praying for forgiveness for those on earth, with the Quran giving one an illustrative supplication designated for the believers (40:7-9). There are 3 angels directly mentioned by name (as I am aware)- Malik, within the context of Hell (43:77), and Haroot and Maroot (2:102). There are angels who guard Hell (66:6) and 19 in quantity (74:30). The angels shall come in the Day of Judgment in a compact array, although in ranks (89:22). There will be 8 angels who will bear the Throne of Allah (69:17) and they will be visible (2:210), and the angels will venerate Allah (39:75). However, the disbelievers will find it too late to believe then as the time will have elapsed (6:158). In normal earth-time (I believe), the angels descend in the Night of Power (97:4). They themselves will be questioned on the Day of Judgment and they will declare their obedience to Allah while exposing the sin of men (34:41). They will admonish the sinful as they enter Hell while greeting the believers at the Garden (13:23).
Angels are not to be confused with the Spirit(s). The two are distinguished in the Quran as having a different nature. The Spirit, like an angel, can assume a physical form (19:17) although it also has the function of inspiring hearts with revelation (16:102). There are 2 'special' beings described as being neither angels nor Spirits directly, although the implicit suggestion is that they may occupy both forms or to a greater extent, have functions that resemble both types of being- one of these beings has been displayed with no reference to function other than requiring belief in him ('Mikael'), while the other has been assigned a more renown position and holds indirect epithets of 'Ruh ul Amin' and 'Ruh ul Quds'- Spirit of Trustworthiness and Spirit of Holiness respectively; 'Jibrael' (2:97). Jibrael has been bestowed with the gifts of power and wisdom (53:5-6) and he appeared in a visible form twice- once when he was assigned to convey inspiration to Muhammad (53:10) and again when he was seen near the Lote-Tree (53:14-15), although in this event no reference to inspiration-through-revelation has been made. Therefore, it is clear that a Spirit ('ruh') can be manifested through either knowledge (16:2) or through a physical being (3:45).
However, BOTH angels and the Spirit ascend to Allah in a Period, the measure of which is 50 000 years (70:4). They will BOTH stand before Allah on the Day of Judgment and will not speak, except as Allah Wills, saying only that which is right (79:38).
It is a necessity for a believer in Allah to accept the existence of both angels and the Spirit- 2:285, for they are helping us to live, although it must always be known that it is ALLAH Who regulates ALL affairs (22:76). The angels and the Spirit and humans and all other living beings and things in the Universe(s) are mere TOOLS that both establish and coincide with His Decree. It is VERY important to appreciate this inferiority on our behalf before our Lord and before the Final Day arrives when the Ultimate Truth shall prevail...
"And we do not descend except by the Command of your Lord. To Him belong our Future and our Past and all that lies in between them. And your Lord never forgets. Lord of the Heavens and of the Earth and of all that lies in between them. You shall venerate Him and remain patient and constant in your veneration of Him. Do you know any worthy of the same Name as He?" (Quran; 19:64-65)
PRAISE ALLAH, LORD THEWORLDS!
By Mafkhir (mafkhir@hotmail.com)
