Saturday, 29 March 2014

Belief in Angels

According to the Necessitarian Theory (in Philosophy), Laws of Nature are the “principles” which govern the natural phenomena of the world. That is, the natural world “obeys” the Law of Nature. But there are quite wide-ranging implications in understanding those “principles” among philosophers.
Muslims have a definitive faith that among the creation of God there are “angels” who do not disobey God in what He commands them, but do what they are commanded (see the Qur’an, 66:6). Among them are angels whose duty is to watch human beings: to record their deeds, their activities, their behaviours, and sometimes to reinforce their good efforts in all domains, which are in the Way of God.

God says: “And indeed, there are ever-watchful forces over you, noble, recording, aware of whatever you do” (82:10-12).

Muslims believe that God, the Creator, the Almighty, governs His creation perfectly as He wills, but He makes everything go by law, proportion and measure. Nothing happens but according to His Plan. And for this purpose God made the angels His instruments. God says: “Verily, everything have We created in due measure and proportion; and Our ordaining (a thing and its coming into being) is but one (act), like the twinkling of an eye” (54:49-50). “Glorify the Name of your Lord, the Most High, who created and proportioned, and who determined the nature (of all that exists), and thereupon guided it (towards its fulfilment)”  (87:1-3).

The Qur’an ascribes angels as strong beings, sincere, who have not been given free will and are obedient to God. Each of them has a specific duty and does it perfectly as God commands them. Their strength differs from one to another, each according to the function it takes, so the Qur’an ascribes it as follows: “All praise is due to God, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Who causes the angels to be (His) message-bearers, endowed with wings, two, or three, or four. (Unceasingly) He adds to His creation whatever He wills: for, verily, God has the power to will anything”  (35:1).

According to Ibn Mas’oud, the Prophet (God’s blessings upon him) recounted that on the night of his ascension the Prophet saw the Angel Gabriel “endowed with six hundred wings” (Bukhari  & Muslim). I think that means that Angel Gabriel has a very high power and an extraordinary speed when flying from earth to the heavens (going and returning), because in the Arabic language “wing” can also mean  “one’s protection”. And also in English, as in “Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary”: under one’s wing = under one’s protection.

Muhammad Asad, the author of “Message of the Quran” commented that verse of the Qur’an as follows:  “The wings of the spiritual beings or forces comprised within the designation of angels are, obviously, a metaphor for the speed and power with which God’s revelations are conveyed to His prophets. Their multiplicity (two, or three, or four) is perhaps meant to stress the countless ways in which He causes His commands to materialize within the universe created by Him”.

So, in fact, what some philosophers ascribe as “the law of nature”, is what Muslims call “sunnatullah” which means: Gods way of dealing with His creation that governs or controls its movement in the universe; and that is exactly the duties of the angels. And those angels are also called “junudullah” (= the soldiers of God), those who are dedicated to the cause of God.

The Qur’an also recounts the event of the battle of Badr (a place outside Madinah) between Muslims, who were only around 300 persons, facing a military expedition of the enemies who came from Makkah and represented about one thousand soldiers: “And God already gave you victory at Badr, when you were contemptible. So fear God, in order that you might be thankful. And when you were saying to the believers: is it not sufficient for you that your Lord should reinforce you with three thousand angels sent down? Nay, but if you are patient (in adversity) and conscious of God, and the enemy should fall upon you of a sudden, your Lord will reinforce you with five thousand angels accoutred” (3:123-125).

The Qur’an explains that all creation of God (except jinn and mankind who are tested by a certain limited free-will) do obey God completely: “And to God prostrates whatever in the heavens and whatever is on the earth of living creatures and the angels (also prostrate) and they are not arrogant: they fear their Lord high above them, and they do whatever they are commanded” (16:49-50).

All creation – save mankind and jinn - have no free will, they are bound to obey God in everything. As for mankind, they have free will in the domains, which they will be accountable for on Judgment Day.

The area of free will of human being is also one of the domains of the angels’ function that are in charge to watch, to care and to reinforce those who deserve it, in contradiction to the efforts of Satan. The angels, according to the Qur’an, are always keen of helping human being in exercising his duty correctly as the vice-gerent of God on earth, while Satan is keen to deceiving human being. God says: “The uppermost heavens are well-nigh rent asunder (for awe of Him); and the angels extol their Lord’s limitless glory and praise, and ask forgiveness for all who are on earth. Oh, verily, God alone is truly-forgiving, a dispenser of grace!”  (42:5).

Now let us listen to God’s call: “O mankind! Verily, God’s promise (of resurrection) is true indeed: so do not let the life of this world deceive you, and do not let (your own) deceptive thoughts about God deceive you! Truly Satan is an enemy. He but calls on his followers so that they might find themselves among the inhabitants of the blazing flame”  (35:5-6).

At-Tabari in his Tafseer and At-Tirmidzi in his Hadith - Collection recounted a Hadith reported by Ibn Mas’oud saying: Every one among the children of Adam can be affected by an angel and can be afflicted by Satan. As for the angel, it will incite the person to do good deeds or to behave nicely; and the Satan always tries to influence the person to do awful deeds or behave badly.

Finally, we can understand that the Law of Nature, which the philosophers are talking about, is merely a human search, which can be useful. But what the believers and faithful persons are sure about, is the belief in the Law of God, which is fixed by the Creator Himself, the Lord of the Universe.

1 comment:

  1. At-Tabari in his Tafseer and At-Tirmidzi in his Hadith - Collection recounted a Hadith reported by Ibn Mas’oud saying: “Every one among the children of Adam can be affected by an angel and can be afflicted by Satan. As for the angel, it will incite the person to do good deeds or to behave nicely; and the Satan always tries to influence the person to do awful deeds or behave badly.”
    Thank you for sharing this hadith, I had always thought that this idea of being incited to good, by angels, was a Christian concept.

    ReplyDelete