Part 18

regard ing the story or !-I arool nnd Ma root, that A=-ZlIhrah

was a woman whom they attemp ted 10 sed uce. but she refused

un less they agreed to leach her th e g reat est Na me , which they

did and she spoke it and ascended to the heaven and became a

pla net, I be li eve tha t thi s is from amo ng the Isra 'eeJiXJ1oI a nd

even tho ug h il may have bee n narrated by Ka 'b A I-A hbar and

passed o n from him by a g roup from amo ng the Sala/, who

rc latcd it as a story from the Childrcn of lsra'ee l.

Section Regarding What Has Been Said About

Abu l Qasim At-Tabara ni narrated o n the autho rity o f ' Abd ulbh

Ibn 'A bbas ";" that Hcrac lius wrote to Mu ' awiyah .to and sa id ,

" Ir thcre remains mnong them a nything o r Pro phc thood, thc n

he wi ll inronn me aboll t whateve r I ask them:' So he wrotc

to him, asking him abo ut th e gal axy and abo ut ra inbows a nd

abou t a place on whi ch the sun has not shone excep t fo r o ne

ho ur. When the Illi!ssenge r reached MU'aw iya h wi th the le iter,

hc sa id , "Th is is a thin g abo ut whi ch I d id no t thin k that I wo uld

be asked be fo re today." He asked, " Who can answe r th is?" It

was sa id. '''A bdu lla h Ibn 'Abbas." So Mu 'awiyah ..~ raided

up He racl ius' message a nd sent it to 'A bdu ll ah Ibn 'A bbas ..t;"

an d he (' Abdull ah Ibn ' Abbas ...) wrote (bac k) to him, ·'The

1V11lI1 Pertaills 10 Ihe Crealim/ tifthe l-IeOl'ells alld 89

rai nbow is a protection for the people of th e Earth fro m Hoodi ng

and the galaxy is the door to the heaven, from whi ch the Earth

is separated. As for th e place on which the sun has no t shon e

except for an hour of the dayt imc, it is that whi c h li es beneath

the sea that was parted for th e Chil dre n of lsra ' ecl." (I ) Thi s has

an authent ic cha in or narmtors up to 'A bdull a h Ibn 'A bbas ..;e.

Allah, Most I-li gh, says, ( Veril y, in the creation of the heavens

and the Eart h, and in the alternation of ni ght and day, and the

sh ips whi c h sai l th rough the sea with th at wh ich is of lI SC to

mank ind , and thc water (rain) which Allah se nds down from

the sky and makes the Earth ali ve therewi th afier its deat h, and

the movin g (living) crea tures of all kinds that He has sc att ered

there in, and in the veerin g of winds a nd clouds which are

held between th e sky and the Earth , afC indeed A)'aI (prools,

evidences, signs, e tc.) fo r peopl e of understanding. ) (Sooral1

Im am Ahmad narra ted on the authority ofYazecd Ibn Haroo n,

who in turn rcported on the authority of Ibrahecl11 Ibn Sa' d, who

repon ed from hi s fath er, who in turn reported on the authority

of one of the Shaikhs ofBan u Ghi far that he said , " I hea rd the

Messe nge r of Alla h 3.i: says, 'Vcri ly, Allah c rea tes the cloud and

He speaks in the best way and laughs in the best way,." (2)

Mal ik na rrated on the authority of' Abdullah Ibn Az-Zubai r

that whenever he heard thunder, he wou ld stop speak ing and

then he wou ld say, "Glory be to Him Whose praises the thunder

glori fies, as do thc a nge ls fro m fear of Him." (J)

(I) Nllrratcd by At-Tabarani in A /-/''''" }(lm Af-Kabeer ( 10/244). A l-Ha ithami

said in Majll/(l' A=-Zall'(J 'it! ( 15524), " It was narrated by At-Tabarani and

(2) This is an authentic flatfeelll narrated by Imam Ahmad (23 174).

(3) Narrated by Imam Malik in AI-Ml/Il'Qlla' (Book 56, Nllmber 56.11.26)

90 What Pertaills 10 fh e Creation oJ lhe Hem 'em and

imam Ahmad narrated 0 11 the authority of Abu Hurairah ~ that

the Messenge r of A ll ah ~ sa id , "Your Lord said , ' If My slaves

we re to obey Me, I would send down rain to them at ni ght and

I wo uld send down the sun upon them during the dayt ime and I

wou ld never let them hear the sound of thunder,. " (I)

and by Al-Bukhari in Ilf-Adab !If-Mlljrad (724) and others. [t was de-

clared authentic hy the II/lIhaqqiq (verifier) of Tafsee"lbn Karliecr.

(I) Narrated by Imam A hmad ill his MlIsllad (2/359).

Allah, Most Hi gh, says, (A llah bears witness that La ilaho

ilia Huwa (none has th e right to be worshipped but He), and the

angels, and those having knowledge (also g ive this witness);

(He is always) maintaining His creat ion in Ju stice. La i1allo ilia

Huwa (none has the ri ght to be worshipped but He), the AIl-

Mighty, the AII -Wise. ) (Soora" A Ie 'hllrall 3: 18).

He, Most High, says, ( But Alia!', bears wi tn ess to that which

lie has sent down (the Qur'an) unto you (0, Muhammad),

He has sent it down with Hi s Knowledge, and the angels bear

92 Melllioll U. f l/U: Crcolio// o( rlte lIngds lIlId Their

wit ness. ) (Soorah AII-Nisa' 4: 166)

He, Most High , says, ( And they say : 'The Most Bene fi cent

(A llah) ha s begotten a son (or chi ldren).' G lory to Him ! Th ey

(t hose whom they call children of All ah, i.e. the ange ls, ' Eesa

[Jesus] son o f Mary am [Mary] and 'U zair [Ezra]. etc.) a rc but

honored slaves. They speak not un ti l He l1<.1 s spok cn, and they

act on His Com mand . He knows what is befo re them, and

what is behi nd the m, and they ca nn ot inte rcede cxcept for him

w ith whom I-Ie is pl eased. An d they stand in awe lo r fear of

Hilll . And if any of th em shoul d say: 'Ve rily, I am an itah (a

god) bes ides Him (A ll ah),' such a one We shou ld recompense

w ith Hel l. Thus We recompense the zalilll OOIl (po lythei sts,

w rongdoe rs, etc.) (Soorah AI-Allhiya' 21 :26-29)

He, Most Hi gh , says, ( Nea rl y the heavens might ren t asunde r

from above th em (by !-li s Majesty) , and the ange ls glorify the

praises o f the ir Lord, and ask for forg iveness for those on th e

Earth , ve ril y. All ah is the OftForgiving, the Most Merc ifu l. )

He, Most High, says, ( Those (an gels) who bea r the Throne

(of A ll ah) and those arou nd it glorify the pra ises of the ir Lord ,

and believe in Him. and seek forgiveness fo r those who bel ieve

(in th e Oneness of' A lla h) (say ing): 'O llr Lord ! YOLI compreh end

a ll thin gs in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent

and fo llow Yo ur Way, and save them from the torment o f the

blazing Fire ! Our l.ord! And ma ke them ente r the 'A dn (Eden)

Paradise (everlasting Ga rdens) whi ch YOll ha ve promised

th em, and to the ri ghteous among the ir fa the rs, the ir wives, and

their offsp rin g ! Ver il y, You are the Alm ight y, the A ll-Wi se,. )

He, Most High, says, ( A ll prai ses and tha nks be to A llah ,

,\felliion of rIll! Creation 0/ ,he AI/gel., lind Thi'ir 93

~t :hC (onl y) Originalor (or Ih e [onl y] Crea lor) of lhe I:a vens an~

~~ the Earth. Who made the angels messen gers with win gs· IwO

tn ~ or thrc,c or four. He iJ1CrC~l Scs in creation ~hat lie wills. Veril y_

~ Allah IS Able 10 do alll illn gs . ) (Soara" I, atil' 35: I)

a..£. I-ie, Most Hi gh, says, ( And (re member) the Day when

the heave n shall be n; nl asunder with clouds, and the angel s

will be se nt down. with a grand desce ndin g. Th e sovereign ty

on that Day will be the true (sovereignt y). belongi ng to the

Most Beneficent (A llah ), and it will be a hard Day for the

di sbe lievers (th ose who di sbelieve in the Onen ess of Allah

(Islamic Monot heism). ) (Saora" AI-FlIrqoI125:25 ,26)

I-Ie. Most High, snys, ( 0 , yo u who believe! Ward off fro m

yourse lves a nd your families a Firc (Hell) whose ruel is men

and stones. over w hi ch arc (ap pointed) angel s stem (and)

severe, who d isobey not, (from exec uting) the Com mands they

receive from A ll ah, bu t do that whic h they are commanded. )

The Verses wh ic h menti on the ange ls are Ilum crous; All ah

desc ri bes them as be ing strong in worship and in phys ical

rorm. They arc o f comc ly appeara nce and huge in size and

they take on Illan y fo rms, as I-Ie, Most High, says . ( And

when Ou r Messe ngers came to Loot (Lo t), he was grieved

o n their account and relt him selr straitcned ror the m (lest the

town speople sho uld approach th em to cOlll mit sodomy w ith

them). li e said. 'Thi s is a distress ful day.' And hi s pcop le camc

nlsh ing toward him , and since nrorctim c th ey uscd to com mil

crim es (sodomy, elc.» (SooraiJ Nood II :77,78)

We mention cd in the Tt~/.~·eer wha! marc than o ne sc ho lar said