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;-:,;:, ..1 ...U A.ll . 1..4 • - ¤ ..U :...i হJJ ॻ- - ·ॼ p; ॺ'S"" u. + Jঁ I.... • J \..:> ,,,. ,,,. ,,. / / "All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the (only) Originator of the heavens and the earth, Who made the angels messengers with wings-- two or three or four [sets of wings]. He increases in the creation what He wills. Verily, Allah is able to do all things" (Faatir 1). Qutb states that if one looks at the visible things of this creation, one will be amazed and will see signs pointing to the greatness and wonderfulness of Allah. However, if one realizes that beyond what one can see, there are even great creations that are beyond the view of humans, this should increase one's 1 Muhammad ibn Uthaimeen, Majmooat Fataawa wa Rasaail Fadheelat al-Shaikh Muhammad ibn Saalih al-Uthaimeen (Riyadh: Daar al-Watn, 1413 A.H.), vol. 3, pp. 160-161. 2 Cf., lbn Uthaimeen, Sharh Usool al-lmaan, pp. 29-30. Hadith #2: The Hadith of Jibreel imaan and servitude to Allah. These creatures are beyond the imagination of humans. Therefore, the greatness of Allah's creation does not end with what humans can see but it is much greater and much more wonderful than that.1 (2) One should be thankful to Allah for His extreme care and concern for humans. He has created these creatures to support the believers, protect them, record their deeds and other aspects which are beneficial to the believers. (3) One should be thankful to Allah that He has obliged different creatures to worship Him in that matter that they are capable of performing. The angels worship and glorify Allah at all times of day and night. But Allah did not require humans to be in that same state of constant and great worship. However, some creatures are able to do that and if Allah had willed, He could have required humans to perform acts of worship in a manner similar to that of angels. By His mercy and wisdom, though, Allah did not require that from humans.2 ( 4) Recognizing the great worship of Allah that angels are involved in should make humans yearn to even more devout in their worship of Allah, to get closer to Allah and become beloved to Allah like His noble angels.3 ( 5) When performing a sin while all alone and not harming the rights of any other human, a person may think that Allah is all-forgiving and merciful and he will then hope that Allah will forgive him for that sin. However, he must remember that it is not only Allah who is seeing what he is doing. The angels are also there recording his deeds and the angels are also harmed by his sin. Therefore, although he has not harmed any other human, he has harmed one of Allah's dear and noble creatures. When he considers this fact, this should be a deterrent keeping him from sinning even when all alone. "His books" Belief in Allah's books is the third article of faith mentioned in this hadith. It refers to the revelations that Allah sent down to His messengers as a mercy and a guidance to lead mankind to success in this life and happiness in the Hereafter. In particular, the Quran is the final revelation. It is the uncreated speech of Allah. lbn Uthaimeen points out that the belief in Allah's books comprises four aspects:4 First, one must believe that those books were truly revealed from Allah. Second, one must specifically believe in the books mentioned in the Quran and sunnah. They are the Quran revealed to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him), the Taurah (•.Jji.11) revealed to the Prophet Moses (peace be upon him), the Injeel (Ji;...l)'I) revealed to the Prophet Jesus (peace be upon I Qutb, p. 178. 2 Cf., Qutb, pp. 180-181. 3 Qubt, p. 188. 4 Cf., lbn Uthaimeen, Sharh Usool al-Imaan, pp. 32-33. Commentary on the Forty Hadith of al-Nawawi him) and the Zahoor (_;সjll) revealed to the Prophet David (peace be upon him). There is also reference in the Quran to the "pages" of Abraham and Moses. The books that the Jews and Christians possess today, which they call the Torah, Gospel and Psalms, may contain some of those original revelations but there is no question that they have been distorted. Hence, to believe in the Torah of Moses, for example, does not mean that a Muslim believes in the first five books of the Old Testament. The two are different books although the latter may possess some of what was in the original Taurah. Third, one must also believe in everything that Allah has revealed, whether it be in the Quran or in the previous books. That is, for example, if the Quran states something, then the Muslim must believe in it. He has no choice in this matter. If he rejects any statement in it, he has negated his beliefs in the Books of Allah. Allah says, / Ò ., "' ..1 ,.,..