Part 22

have been ment ioned numerou s times regarding the questions

in th e grave and we have recorded th em with Allah 's Words:

( Allah will keep firm those who believe, with the word that

stands firm in thi s world (i .e. they wil! keep on worshipping

Al lah , Alone, and none else) and in the Herea fter and Allah wi ll

cause to go (further) astray those who are zalimool1 (po lythe ists

and wrongdoers, elc.), and All ah does what He will s. ) (Soorah

Ibraheem 14 :27) Th ey arc respo nsibl e for the trial of the grave

a nd have been charged with th e responsibi li ty of ques tioni ng

the inhabitant of the grave about his Lord and hi s Reli gion

and his Prophe t and they test the righteous and the sinn ers.

They have black faces and blue eyes and they have fangs; their

physica l fo rm s arc disturb ing and their voices are terrify ing.

May All ah protect us from the punishment of the grave and

make us steadfast with steady speech. Ameen.

Al-Bukhari has narrated on th e authori ty of 'U nvah that

' A' ishah , the wife of the Prop het ~, inform ed hi m that she

said to the Proph et ~, " Have you encollntered a day harder

than the Day (of the BaUle) of Uhud?" Th e Prophet 3< repli ed,

(I ) Narrated by At-Taburan i in AI-Alwdeelh AI-Ti lm/ (36), by Ibn Jarccr in

his Taf~eer (24/30), by AI-Baihaqi in A/-8(/ 'th A II -NI/shoor (668 and 669)

and by As-Suyooti in Ad-Dll r,. AI-Mall/hoor Fi/- Ta/seer Bi/-Moilwor

Melll ioll o/rlte Crearion o/ rlte AI/gels lIl/d rltei,. 107

" Your tribes have troubl ed me a lot, and the worst troub le was

the troubl e on the day of 'A qabah , when I presented myse lf to

Ibn 'A bd Ya lil Ibn 'A bd Kulal and he did not respond to my

demand. So I depart ed, overw helmed with ex treme sorrow, and

proceeded on and coul d not rclax till 1 fo un d myself at Qarn

Ath-Tha 'alib where I lifted my head toward the sky to see a

cloud shadi ng me unexpected ly. I looked up and saw Gabriel in

it. He ca ll ed me say ing, ' All ah ha s heard your peopl e's saying

to you and what they have replied back to YOll . Allah ha s sent

the Angel of the Mou nt ai ns to you so th at you may order him

to do whatever you wi sh to these peop le. ' The Ange l of the

Moun tai ns call ed and greeted me and th en sa id, ' 0 Muhammad!

Orde r what you wi sh. If you like, I will let AI-Alcllshaba in (i.e.

the two mou ntains) fa ll on th em.' The Prophet ~ sa id, 'No, but

I hope that Allah willict thcm beget children who will worshi p

All ah, Alone, and wi ll worship none bes ides Him ' ." ( I)

Sectiol1 011 the Categories ofA I/gels

The ange ls (peace be upon them) are divided into varioll s

categorics, accord ing to the respo nsib ilities whic h Allah has

ordaincd for th em. Among th cm are the bea rers of the Thron e,

as menti oned earlie r. Others include the Archangels, who are

around th e Thronc and they are the l11os1 honorcd of the angels,

along wi th the bearcrs o f thc Throne; and they are the angc ls

closest to Allah, as He, Most High, says, ( The Messiah wil l

never be proud to rejcc t to be a slave to All ah, nor the angc ls

who arc ncar (to Allah). ) (SoO/'oil AII-Niso' 4: 172)

Also amon g thcm are Jibracl and Mi chacl (peace bc upon

(I) Narrated by AI-l3ukhari (3231) and Muslim (1795).

108 ,t/elliio/l (lilte ( 'realion oj Ihe AI/gels (Jlld Tlll'il'

them both). A llah has ment ioned rega rdi ng th em Ih al they

seck forgive ness for the Bel ieve rs in thcir absence, as A ll ah ,

Most High, says, Thos\.! (ange ls) who bea r the T hrone (of

All ah) and those around it g lorify th e pm ises o rtheir Lord, and

beli eve in I-l im , and seck forgiveness fo r those who be lieve (in

the Oneness of A ll ah) (say in g): ' Our Lord! You comprehend

a ll thin gs in mercy an d know ledge, so forgive those who repent

and follow Your Way, and save them from the to rme nt o f the

blazi ng Fire! O ur Lord! And make them enter th e 'lie/II (Eden)

Parad ise (e verl astil lg ga rdens) wll ic h you have prom ised them,

and to the ri ght eou j among thei r fath ers, the ir wi \es, and the ir

offspring! Verily, YOli arc th e Almi ghty. Ih e Most Wise. A nd

save the m fro m (t he puni shment , because of what they di d

o f) the si ns. and whomsoever You sa ve from (th e puni shment.

beca use of what thcy did of) the sins (i.e. exc use them) that

day, him verily, Yo u ha ve tak en into mercy.' And that is the

supreme success. (Soorah Glwjil' 40 :7-9 )

And because of their pure natures, they love those who

possess thi s attribute and it has been authenti ca lly reported in

the hadeefh o nlh e authority of the truthful Olle and the o ne who

is be li eved (i. e. Muhammad ~), "W hen the s lave supplicates

on behalf of hi s broth er in hi s heart , the angel says, 'A meen;

and for you be th e same'." nl

Also among the m arc th e inh abi ta nts of the seven heavens;

th ey ab ide there in constant worship, nig ht and day, morning

and eve ni ng, as A llah , Most Hi gh, says, ( They (i.e. the an gels)

glorify Il is Prai ses ni g ht and day (a nd ) they never slacken (in

doing so). ) (Soornh AI-AI/hiya· 2 1:20)

The cllstodi<lll of Pa radise is an angel whose name is Ridwan ;

( I) NarrJted by Muslim (2732). Abu Dawood ( I 534). tbn Majah (2895). Ah-

mad (270 10). on the authority o r Abu Ad-Darda· -Go.

Mellliol/ v/ffle Creafioll o/lhe Angel!)' alld Thei,' 109

thi s has been clearl y report ed in a numbe r of ahadeeth. I I)

Also among the m are those responsible fo r the Fire and they

are Az-Zabaniyyah . In front of th em are nineteen an gels. The

custodian of the Fire is Mali k and he is in c harge of all of the

guardian s. Il is they who are referred to in th e Words o f All ah,

Most Hi gh: ( And th ose in the Fire will say to the keepers

(angels) o f Hell , ' Ca ll upon your Lord to li ghten for us the

torment fo r a day' I" ) (Saaral! Gha];r 40 :49)

Allah, Most Hi gh, says, ( And they will c ry : ' 0 Malik

(keeper or Hell)! Let your Lord make an end o r us." He will

say: 'Ve ri ly, you shall ab ide forever.' Indeed We have brought

the truth (Mu hammad ~ wit h the Our'an) to you, but Illost of

you have a hat red for the truth . ) (500 1'011 Az-Zukhl'llj43:77, 78)

AI-Walibi reported 0 11 th e authority of' Abdull ah Ibn ' Abbas

..!'fi, regardi ng th e Wo rds of A llah, Most High: ( For each (pe rson),

the re are IIIl1 'aqqibol in successio n, before a nd behind him .

They guard him by the Co mmand of A ll ah . Verily ! All ah will

110t cha nge th e good co nd ition of a peopl e as long as they do not

change th eir state of goodness thcmse lves (by comm itti ng si ns

and by bei ng un gra tcfu l and di sobedi en t to Allah ). BU I when

Allah wills a peopl e's punishment, there can be no turn ing back

of it, and they w il l find besides Hi m no prot ector.) (Soo rah Ar-

Ra'd 13: II ) that he sa id that the /11/1 'aqqibat by the Command

of A ll ah are lh e angels. ' Ikrima h reported on the authority of

'A bdull ah ibn ' Abbas ~ that he said regard ing the Words of

Alla h: ( They guard him by lhe Command 0(' A llah . ) , The

ange ls guard him from in front of him and from beh ind him

and when All ah's Ordainm ent co mes, they leave him. Muj ah id

( \ ) Sec: Must/ad Ash-Shilwb (21\3 0). In Ad-DII/'/' AI-Man/fwo/' Fil-T(lf~ee/'

Bil-Ma [floo/' (355/8), As-SuyOOli attributed it to Ad-Daraqutni, on the

authority of Anas J;;, .

110 Mentioll a/the Creation o/ tlte Angels alld Th eir

said , " Evely s lave has an angel charged with protecting him

during hi s sleep and hi s wakefulness from thejinn and mankind

and haml ful creatures . And nothing can come to him intend ing

to harm him w ithout an angel say ing, " Behind you!" - Unless

Allah wi lls that it should affli ct him , in which case it will do so.

A lso among them are the angel s entrusted w ith protect ing the

deeds of the slaves, as Allah , Mosl High, says, ( (Remember)

Ihat the two rece ivers (recording angel s) rece ive (eac h human

being a fter he or she ha s atta in ed the age of puberty), one sitt ing

on the right and one on the left (to note hi s or her actions). Not

a word does he (or she) utter, but th ere is a watc he r by him

ready (10 record il). ) (Sa ara" Qa[SO: 17, 18)

Allah, Most High, says, ( But veri ly, over yo u (are appoi nted

angels in charge o f mankind) to watch you. Kiramon (honorable)

Ka fi been writing down (your deeds). They know all that you

do . ) (Sa arah A I-Inft/ar 82 : I 0-12)