Peace upon you Welcome in a series THE WORLD OF THE NOBLE ANGELS And our subject first in this series is |
| THEIR PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS, ATTRIBUTES AND ABILITIES -CHAPTER ONE - -Part 1- |
In this chapter we look at what we have learned from the azeeh texts about the physical characteristics as well as the attributes of the angels, then we will discuss the abilities which Allah has granted to them. 1 - PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS (1) What they were created from and when The substance from which Allah created them is light. In Saheeh Muslim it is narrated from ‘Aa’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her and her father) that the Messenger of Allah (  ) said: “The angels were created from light, the jinn were created from smokeless fire, and Adam was created from that which has been described to you.”1The Messenger ( ) did not explain what light this is that they were created from. Hence we cannot indulge in trying to say more about this matter, because it is the matter of the unseen concerning which no further clarification has been narrated, apart from this hadith.It is narrated that ‘Ikrimah said: “The angels were created from the light of glory and Iblees was created from the fire of glory.” And it is narrated that ‘Abd-AlIah ibn ‘Amr said, “Allah created the angels from the light of the arms and chest.” It is not permissible to accept these views, even if they are narrated through sound chains from these scholars, because they are not infallible, and they may have taken these ideas from the Israa ‘eeh)yaat (reports from Jewish sources).2 Wali-Ullah ad-Dehiawi said: “The hosts on high (the angels) are of three groups: a group upon whom Allah made the system of goodness was dependent, so He created them from physical light similar to the fire of Moosa and breathed into them noble souls; A group which was created from a mixture of very light vapour and other elements, which resulted in the emergence of great souls with a strong aversion to animalistic behaviour; And a group of human souls who are very close to the hosts on high. who keep striving to do deeds which could save them and help them to catch up with (the angels), until they shed their physical cloaks and follow in their footsteps, and are counted as being among them.” There is no saheeh evidence to support this definition and this division of the angels into these categories. We do not know when the angels were created, for Allah has not informed us about that, But we do know that they were created before Adam, the father of mankind. Allah has told us that He informed the angels that He was going to create a khaleefah on earth:  {Behold, your Lord said to the angels, ‘1 will create a vicegerent [khaleefah] on earth.’} (Qur ‘an 2:30 - A. Yoosuf ‘All) What is meant by the word khaleefah here is Adam (  ), and He commanded them to prostrate to him when He created him: {‘So, when I have fashioned him completely and breathed into him [Adam] the soul which I created for him, then fall [you] down prostrating yourselves unto him.’}’ (Qur’an 15.’29) Seeing the angels Because the angels have bodies of light which are of a low density, mankind cannot see them, especially since Allah has not given our eyes the ability to see them. No one among this ummah has seen the angels in their true form apart from the Messenger ( ). He saw Jibreel twice in the form in which Allah created him. The texts indicate that human beings are able to see the angels when the angels appear in human form._________________________________________________________________ 1 Muslim, 4/2294, hadith no. 2996, Some of those who claim to be scholars reject this hadith and others like it, claiming that it is a hadith aahaad, and that a hadith aabaad cannot be relied on in matters of ‘aqeedah. I have criticized this view and explained its flawed nature in a paper entitled A,I aI-I’iiqaad. 2 Silsilat al-A haadeeih as-Saheehah, 1/197.  Finally, ask Allah pardon and forgiveness and emancipation from the fire |
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