Angels

THE ANGELS AND THEIR ATTRIBUTES

Indeed, Imaan (Faith) is a great matter, since it is the foundation upon which success in this life and the next rests on. So it is one of the most important levels of the Religion, for when the angel, Jibreel, came to the Prophet (PBUH) in the presence of his Companions, he asked him about Islam, Imaan, and Ihsaan, saying: “O Muhammad! Inform me about Islam.” The Prophet (PBUH) replied: “Islam is to testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah; to establish the prayer; to give the Zakaat; to fast in Ramadaan; and to perform the Hajj to the House (Ka’bah) if you are able to.”

So he explained Islam as being the implementation of these five pillars:

(1) The two testimonies of Faith;

(2) Establishing the Prayer;

(3) Giving the Zakaat;

(4) Fasting in Ramadaan;

(5) Pilgrimage to the Ka’bah.

So the angel Jibreel told him: “You have spoken the truth. Now inform me about Imaan.” The Prophet (PBUH) said: “It is to believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day and to believe in Al-Qadar – the good of it and the bad of it.”

Jibreel continued: “Inform me about Ihsaan.” So the Prophet (PBUH) responded: “Ihsaan is to worship Allah as if you see Him. But if you don’t see Him, then verily, He sees you.”

These are the three levels of the Religion: Islam, then Imaan, then Ihsaan. Each one of these levels has its own set of pillars.

A pillar is the part upon which something stands on. So the pillar of a house refers to the part upon which that house is established. So Imaan (Faith) rests upon six of these pillars. If one of these pillars is missing, a person is no longer a believer, possessing Faith, since he lacks one of the pillars of Imaan.

Therefore, Imaan cannot be established except upon its pillars, just like a building cannot be established except upon its pillars.

These six pillars (of Imaan) are mentioned in the noble Qur’aan. Sometimes they are mentioned altogether and other times they are mentioned separately,

as Allah says: “But rather piety (birr) is he who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book and the Prophets.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 177] Allah mentions five of the pillars of Imaan in this ayah.

And He says: “The Messenger (Muhammad) believes in what was revealed to him from his Lord and (so do) the believers – all of them believe in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. We do not differentiate between any of His Messengers.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 285]

He mentions four of these pillars here.

And sometimes, He just mentions two of these pillars: Belief in Allah and the Last Day, as He says: “Verily, those who believe and those who are Jews and Christians and Sabians – whoever believes in Allah and the Last Day.” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 62]

He mentions two pillars in this ayah: Belief in Allah and the last Day.

As for belief in Al-Qadar (Divine Pre-Decree), then that is mentioned in His statement: “Verily, We created everything with Qadar (Divine Pre-Decree).” [Surah Al-Qamar: 49]

The Meaning of Belief in the Angels:

The subject, which we are focusing on now, is the Belief in the Angels, which is one of the pillars of Imaan. What Belief in the Angels entails is: Believing in their existence and believing in the duties that they carry out in the universe.

So the angels are one of Allah’s creations, which He created for the purpose of worshipping Him and carrying out His orders in the universe. Allah sends His angels in order to execute His Commands. So they are a creation from the world of the Unseen. We don’t see them, yet we believe in them with a firm resolution that doubt cannot penetrate. This is since Allah has informed us about them, and likewise, His Messenger (PBUH) has informed us about them in such a definitive manner that causes us to believe in them.

What were the Angels created From?

The Angels were created from light, as is reported in a hadeeth that Allah created the angels from light and He created the devils from fire and He created the humans from dirt.

The Attributes of the Angels:

The angels are one of Allah’s creations from the world of the Unseen. No one knows how many in number they are, their manner of being or their natures except for Allah.

From their Attributes:

First: They are the greatest of Allah’s armies. Allah says: “And to Allah belongs the armies of the heavens and the earth.” [Surah Al-Fat’h: 4] And whilst talking about the guardians of the Hellfire, He mentioned: “Over it are nineteen (angels).” [Surah Al-Mudaththir: 30] And He says: “And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Hellfire and We have not made their number (i.e. 19) except as a trial for those who disbelieve.” [Surah Al-Mudaththir: 31]

So this means that there are nineteen angels guarding the Hellfire – they maintain it, guard it, kindle it and are entrusted with its affairs.

When one of the disbelievers heard of the number of angels that are guarding the Hellfire, he said, as if to mock their amount: “I will suffice you over them” – meaning if he enters the Hellfire, he will confront them, overpower them and get out of the Hellfire. He said this in order to mock and ridicule, so Allah refuted them by saying: “And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Hellfire.” [Surah Al-Mudaththir: 31] This means they will not be from among the humans.

So if this person claims that he is strong and that he is able to fight against a number of humans, he will not be able to fight against even one of the angels. Allah says: “And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Hellfire.” [Surah Al-Mudaththir: 31] This means: “We did not make them humans or jinn.” “And We have not made their number (i.e. 19) except as a trial for those who disbelieve, in order that the people of the Scripture may arrive at a certainty and the believers may increase in Faith, and so that no doubts may be left for the people of the Scripture and the believers, and so that those in whose hearts is a disease (of hypocrisy) and the disbelievers may say: ‘What did Allah intend by this example.’” [Surah Al-Mudaththir: 31]

So they lie and seek to belittle this number. How can this great Hellfire, which contains all of these creatures, only be maintained by nineteen? Allah says: “And We have not made their number (i.e. 19) except as a trial for those who disbelieve.” [Surah Al-Mudaththir: 31]

So no one knows the greatness of the angels and no one knows what Allah has with Him from armies in the heavens and the earth except for Allah. Neither these disbelievers nor anyone else knows.

Second: The angels have great physical composure, as Allah mentioned this about them in His saying: “All praise is for Allah, the Originator of the heavens and the earth – who made the angels messengers with wings – two or three or four.” [Surah Faatir: 1]

This means that there are some angels that have two wings, some that have three and some that have four. And there are some angels that have more wings than that, for the Prophet (PBUH) saw the angel Jibreel and he had 600 wings – each wing blocking the horizon. This is just one of the many angels that exist. Allah described him as being mighty in power, as He says: “He (Muhammad) has been taught (this Quran) by one mighty in power.” [Surah An-Najm: 5] He is referring to Jibreel. “Free from any defect, then he rose (and became stable).” [Surah An-Najm: 6] This means that he possesses strength and a beautiful appearance.

Third: The angels possess great power, by Allah’s permission. What indicates their great strength is that if Allah commands just one of them, then indeed he is able to let out an awful cry in the world, thus destroying the creation, as occurred with the people of Thamood, who were seized by a loud scream. Jibreel unleashed one powerful scream upon them: “Verily, We sent against them a single sayhah (awful cry), and they became like the dry straw of fences.” [Surah Al-Qamar: 31]

So their hearts ceased to function within their bodies and as a result they died and became like dry straw. It was from the custom of the Arabs that when they would settle in a place, they would gather sticks of wood and make fences to surround their sheep and cattle. These fences would eventually dry up and become pieces of straw. So in spite of Thamood’s power and might, they became like dried-up straws as a result of one loud cry from one of the angels.

Allah also commanded Jibreel to raise up the towns of the people of Lut – and they were seven cities in which could be found humans, buildings, goods and animals. He carried them on one side of his wing and raised these cities until the (other) angels heard the barking of dogs and the crowing of roosters. Then he overturned them and Allah caused the earth to swallow them up.

This is an example of the mighty power of the angels.

There is also the angel Israafeel, the angel that is entrusted with blowing the Trumpet. What is meant by the Trumpet is a horn that will gather all the souls, from the first of them to the last of them. Then Israafeel will blow one time on the Trumpet and the souls will fly about due to this blow of the horn, going back to their bodies. This is known as the Blow of Resurrection (Nafkhat-ul-Ba’ath). Prior to this, he will strike the Blow of Destruction (Nafkhat-us-Sa’aq), so everyone that is in the heavens and in the earth will die except for he whom Allah wills. Allah says: “And the trumpet will be blown and all who are in the heavens and in the earth will swoon away except for he whom Allah wills.” [Surah Az-Zumar: 68]

Swooning away means to die. Then he will blow on the Trumpet again, which is known as the Blow of Resurrection, “and behold, they will be standing, looking.” [Surah Az-Zumar: 68]

This is just one of Allah’s angels and this is just one of his duties, which Allah has ordered him to carry out. So therefore, the angels are one of Allah’s greatest creations. He created them so that they may worship Him and carry out His commands. Allah says: “Rather, they are honorable slaves. They speak not until He has spoken and they act on His Command. He knows what is before them and what is after them. and they cannot intercede except for him with whom He is pleased. And they stand in awe for fear of Him.” [Surah Al-Anbiyaa: 26-28]

The duties and tasks of the Angels:

The Angels have duties. Each of them has a duty that he is entrusted with, and he does not delay in carrying it out. Rather, he executes it acting on Allah’s order and He doesn’t disobey Him. Allah says: “(Hell) Over which are angels stern and severe who do not disobey the Commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded.” [Surah At-Tahreem: 6]

Some of their Duties:

First: Those who take charge of the Hellfire. They are known as the Guardians of Hell, meaning, those entrusted with the Hellfire and with tormenting its inhabitants.

Second: Among them are angels that are entrusted with carrying the Throne of Allah, as He says: “Those who carry the Throne (of Allah) and those around it glorify the praises of their Lord and believe in Him. And they ask forgiveness for those who believe, (saying): ‘Our Lord! You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent.’” [Surah Ghaafir: 7]

And Allah says: “And bearing the Throne of your Lord on that Day will be eight (angels).” [Surah Al-Haaqah: 17]

The Number of Angels who will Bear the Throne:

The angels that will carry the Throne are four. Then on the Day of Judgement their number will increase to eight. The Throne of Allah is the greatest of His creations, which will be carried on the Day of Judgement by eight angels. This shows that they are indeed mighty, since they will carry this magnificent Throne, which is the greatest and mightiest of Allah’s creations. This indicates their power and their tremendous composures.

Third: Among them are those angels entrusted with revelation. Allah says: “He sends down the angels with the Rooh (spirit/revelation) from His Command to whomever He wills from His servants, (saying): ‘Warn mankind that there is no deity that has the right to be worshipped except Me, so be dutiful to Me.’” [Surah An-Nahl: 2]

The word Rooh (spirit) here means revelation. It is called Rooh because it is the revelation that brings life to the hearts, just as the rain brings life to the earth. In the same sense, it is the created Rooh (spirit) that brings life to the bodies of animals.

Rooh can also stand for the Quran, as Allah says: “And thus We have revealed to you (O Muhammad) a Rooh (i.e. Qur’aan) from Our Command.” [Surah Ash-Shooraa: 52]

Rooh here stands for the Quran, since it is that which brings life to the hearts of the believers, just as the earth is brought to life by rain. Such is the case with the hearts of the believers – they are brought to life by way of the Quran.

The word Rooh is also used to refer to Jibreel, who is the greatest, most honorable and virtuous of all the angels. He is the one who brought the Quran down from Allah to Muhammad, as Allah says: “The trustworthy spirit (Jibreel) brought it (i.e. the Quran) down – to your heart (O Muhammad) in order that you may be from the warners – in a plain Arabic language.” [Surah Ash-Shu’araa: 193-195]

In another ayah, Allah says: “Say: The holy spirit (Jibreel) brought it down from your Lord.” [Surah An-Nahl: 102] This is referring to the angel Jibreel – he is the holy spirit.

The Attributes of Jibreel:

Allah has described Jibreel with great characteristics, as He says: “So verily, I swear by the planets that recede (disappear during the day and appear at night). And by the planets that move swiftly and hide themselves. And by the night as it departs. And by the dawn as it brightens. Verily, this is the Word (brought by) an honorable messenger (i.e. angel) – Possessing power and a high rank with the Lord of the Throne. Obeyed (by the angels), trustworthy there (in the heavens).” [Surah At-Takweer: 15-21]

The First Attribute:Power:

Allah says: “Possessing power and a high rank with the Lord of the Throne.” [Surah At-Takweer: 20] The “Lord of the Throne” here refers to Allah.

The Second Attribute: Position:

Allah says: “Possessing power and a high rank with the Lord of the Throne.” [Surah At-Takweer: 20] This means that he possesses a high position in the sight of Allah, which no one else has reached.

The Third Attribute: Obedience:

All of the angels obey Jibreel by the Permission of Allah.

The Fourth Attribute: Trustworthiness:

This refers to the revelation, such that he doesn’t make additions or subtractions to it, but rather, He conveys it just the way that Allah has revealed it to him.

The Prophet Muhammad’s Seeing Jibreel: Allah says: “And your companion is not insane.” [Surah At-Takweer: 22] This is what the disbelievers claimed about him (PBUH). “And indeed he (Muhammad) saw him (Jibreel) in the clear horizon).” [Surah At-Takweer: 23] Muhammad (PBUH) saw Jibreel on the horizon twice.

The First Time: This was in the valley of Makkah. The Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) lifted his head and saw him in the sky and he had 600 wings. Each one of his wings blocked the horizon.

The Second Time: Allah says: “And indeed he (Muhammad) saw him (Jibreel) at a second descent – near the lote-tree of the utmost boundary.” [Surah An-Najm: 13-14] This occurred during the night in which the Prophet (PBUH) ascended to the heaven and saw him in his natural state.

These are the attributes of Jibreel. Allah says: “Verily, this is the Word (brought by) an honorable messenger (i.e. angel).” [Surah At-Takweer: 19] This means: Even though the Quran is the Speech of Allah, it is ascribed to Jibreel here, since he is the one who conveyed it to Muhammad. So he is conveying from Allah, for he dictated it to our messenger, Muhammad, conveying it from Allah. However, it is the Speech of Allah. Speech is only attributed to the one who states it originally, not to the one who says it conveying it from someone else. However, the Speech of Allah has been attributed to Jibreel here from the perspective of his conveying it.

Fourth: There are angels entrusted with other duties: 1. Mika’eel: He is responsible for the raindrops that fall down from the sky. He moves them around and causes the rain to descend wherever Allah commands. 2. Israafeel is responsible for blowing on the Trumpet. This will be at the time when Allah wants to resurrect the creatures from their graves. The bodies will be brought forth from the graves and reassembled. Then the only thing remaining (to be integrated) will be the soul. It is at this point that Israafeel will blow on this horn, due to Allah’s Command, and the souls will float to their respective bodies, which had come out and risen from their graves. Then they will walk to where Allah orders them to go. Allah says: “The Day when they will come out of the graves quickly as if they were racing to a goal.” [Surah Al-Ma’aarij: 43] And Allah says: “They will come forth with humbled eyes from (their) graves as if they were locusts spread about. Hastening towards the caller, the disbelievers will say: ‘This is a hard day.’” [Surah Al-Qamar: 7-8]

These are the three angles that are responsible for life. Jibreel is responsible for bringing the revelation, which brings life into the hearts. And Mika’eel is responsible for the raindrops, which bring life to the earth after its death. Israafeel is responsible for blowing on the trumpet, which will bring life to the bodies (on the Day of Resurrection). This is why when the Prophet (PBUH) would get up for prayer at night, after saying the opening Takbeer, he (PBUH) would say in his opening supplication: “O Allah! Lord of Jibreel, Mika’eel and Israafeel, Originator of the heavens and the earth…”

These are the greatest angels due to the magnitude of their duties.

Fifth: There are also angels that are put in charge of the fetuses in the mothers’ wombs. This has been reported in the hadeeth of Ibn Mas’ood (radyAllahu ‘anhu), in which he said: “The Messenger of Allah (PBUH) narrated to us – and he is the truthful one who is believed – saying: ‘Verily the creation of each of one of you is brought together in his mother’s womb for forty days in the form of a seed, then he is a clot of blood for a like period, then a morsel of flesh for a like period. Then the angel is sent to him and commanded with four matters – to write down his means of livelihood, his life span, his actions, and whether he will be happy or unhappy.’” Allah sends this angel to him to carry out this great important task.

Sixth: There are angels that are in charge of taking the souls when their prescribed time is over. There is the Angel of Death (Malak-ul-Mawt) about whom Allah says: “Say: ‘The Angel of Death, who is set over you, will take your souls.’” [Surah As-Sajdah: 11]

The Angel of Death has assistants that will aid him, as Allah says: “Until when death approaches one of you, Our messengers (i.e. the Angel of Death and his assistants) take his soul, and they never neglect their duty. Then they are returned to Allah, their Master, the Just Lord.” [Surah Al-An’aam: 61-62] So taking the soul at the time of death is ascribed to the angels, to the Angel of Death and also to Allah. “It is Allah who takes away the souls at the time of their death.” [Surah Az-Zumar: 42] Death is ascribed to Allah here because He is the One who orders it to occur. It is ascribed to the angels because they are the ones who physically carry that out by gathering the soul and leading it out of the human’s body until it reaches his throat. And it is also ascribed to the Angel of Death – “Say: ‘The Angel of Death, who is set over you, will take your souls’” – because he is the one in charge of seizing the souls after they have been rounded up in the last stage (of death).

Seventh: There are also angels in charge of recording the deeds of the son of Adam (i.e. humans), as occurs in the hadeeth: “You are constantly being frequented (in successive shifts) by angels at night and angels during the day.” Allah says: “And verily, there are guardians (i.e. angels recording your deeds) over you – Honorable, recording (your deeds). They know all that you do.” [Surah Al-Infitaar: 10-12]

Every human being has two angels with him:

Every human amongst us has two angels that are responsible over him – an angel on his right side recording his good deeds and another on his left side recording his bad deeds. Allah says: “When the two receivers receive (i.e. record his deeds) from his right side and his left side, sitting. Not a word does he utter, except that there is a watcher by him ready (to record it).” [Surah Qaaf: 17-18]

These guardian angels accompany a human being whether he is on a journey or sitting at home – they are next to him at all times under all conditions – during his prayer, while he is prostrating, etc. – they accompany him and do not leave him alone except under specific circumstances, such as when the person is relieving himself (in the bathroom). So these angels record his statements and his actions.

The angels record People’s Intentions and Objectives:

It has been related that the angels also record a person’s intentions and inner objectives, which are located in the heart. Whatever he intends to do, they record it. This is why a person is rewarded for having good intention, since it is an action of the heart, while he is punished for evil intentions, since the intention is an action of the heart.

These angels are put in charge of recording a person’s deeds from the time that he reaches the age of puberty – the age of discernment – to the time when Allah takes his soul in death. And they record against him everything that he does in his life – whether that is in the form of intentions, actions, statements, or other than that.

The Status of the Fajr and ‘Asr Prayers amidst the Other Prayers:

The Prophet (PBUH) said: “You are constantly being frequented (in successive shifts) by angels at night and angels during the day. And they gather together during the ‘Asr Prayer and during the Fajr Prayer.” This is why these two prayers are the greatest of all prayers. Allah says: “Verily, the recitation of the Qur’aan in the early dawn (i.e. Fajr Prayer) is witnessed (by the angels).” [Surah Al-Israa: 78] He is referring here to the Fajr Prayer, which the angels of the night and the angels of the day attend. They gather together to witness the Fajr prayer along with the Muslims and listen to the Qur’aan that is recited in prayer. They also gather together during the ‘Asr Prayer, where Allah asks them, even though He is most knowledgeable of the answer: “In what state did you leave My servants?” The angels reply, saying: “We came to them while they were praying and we left them while they were praying.” This means that they descended while we were praying ‘Asr and they attended the prayer along with us. And then they rose back up (to the heavens) while we were praying Fajr. Due to this, it has been determined that the ‘Asr Prayer is the “Middle Prayer” that Allah has encouraged us about, where He says: “Guard strictly the (five daily) prayers, especially the middle prayer (i.e. ‘Asr).” [Surah Al-Baqarah: 238] He means by this the ‘Asr prayer since that is the prayer that the (guardian) angels of the night and the angels of the day attend.

A Call to those who fall short:

So where are those who hold back from attending the Fajr Prayer, sleeping (instead) in their beds and not witnessing this great event every night with the angels of the Most Merciful? This is such that these angels inform about these attendees (of the Fajr Prayer) while in the most highest of gatherings, saying: “We came to them while they were praying and we left them while they were praying.”

What benefit has this person who refrains from going to the Fajr Prayer and instead prefers sleep gained from his actions? And what benefit has this person who misses out on attending the ‘Asr Prayer, due to laziness, preferring sleep or some other deed, gained from his actions?

It is stated in the hadeeth that: “Whoever misses the ‘Asr Prayer, it is as if he lost his family and wealth.” And in another hadeeth it states: “…then he has nullified his actions.” This means that he has taken the prayer out of its proper time. So if he takes it out of its proper time, he has missed it.

Eight: There are also angels that are responsible for protecting humans from perils. A human being is prone to walk into dangers everyday. However, Allah entrusts angels that guard and protect him from these dangers during his lifetime, which Allah has ordained for him. This earth, which a human being walks upon everyday, contains many dangers. There are wild beasts, snakes, scorpions, not to mention transgressors from among humans – enemies and oppressors. However, Allah has placed these angels around the human being. Allah says: “He has those (angels) who constantly surround him – from before him and behind him, protecting him by the Command of Allah.” [Surah Ar-Ra’ad: 11] Therefore, so long as Allah has decreed that this individual will be safe from harms, these angels will protect and guard him, and no human will be able to harm him. But if Allah desires to bring an end to his appointed time, He removes them from him – one from before him and one from behind him. “Verily, Allah will not change the condition of a people until they (first) change the condition of themselves. And when Allah desires a bad end for a people, there is no turning it back.” [Surah Ar-Ra’ad: 11] So if Allah’s Divine Pre-Decree comes to pass and He desires to put an end to this person, the angels that constantly surround him withdraw themselves from him because they do not refrain from carrying out Allah’s Command. These are the angels that constantly surround a person.

Ninth: There are also angels that have responsibilities in this universe that only Allah has knowledge of. There are angels that are put in charge of the seas and angels put in charge of the days. There are angels responsible for the winds and angels put in charge of carrying out many other duties.

All of the events that occur in the universe and which constantly transpire within it on a daily basis are only by Allah’s decreeing that. As for the angels, they carry out whatever tasks Allah orders them to execute.