The Creation of the angels and the jinn:
Now, after talking about some of the creatures, there remain two things I would like to terminate my lesson today with: the creation of the angels and the creation of the jinn. I will start with the angels. Talking about them is very enjoyable, comfortable and is a pleasure to anyone’s heart. Let me tell you about the angels.
When the Prophet (PBUH) was asked “what is faith?” He said that faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, etc.” and I feel that our relation to the angels is not that strong and that we don’t believe in them wholeheartedly. That’s why I want to help you love them. Listen to what I will say.
From what were the angels created? The Prophet (PBUH) says, “the angels were created from light, the jinn from a smokeless flame of fire and man from what was described to you.” This Hadith is narrated by Muslim. However, how were they created from light? We don’t know.
When were the angels created? We also don’t know but we are certain that they were created before man because the Holy verse says what can be translated as, “And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: Behold ‘I will create a vicegerent on earth’” (TMQ, 2:30). Thus, the angels were there before man was created.
What do the angels look like? Can we describe them? Yes, we can describe them as Allah (SWT) has described them. They are very great creatures. The Prophet (PBUH) says, “I saw Gabriel in his actual form having 600 wings, each obscuring the horizon and whenever I looked at the sky, in any direction, I saw a wing filling it.” (Sahih Muslim, 177). Think about the angels, then think about your shape. Notice how proud you are. See how you say to Allah “convince me”. Brothers and sisters, I’m not here today to teach you science; I’m here today to bring us, you and me, closer to Allah. With every word I say, I think about how to navigate this heart towards Allah. I didn’t come to pass information on to you and for you to then leave without having even come one step closer towards Allah, so that you’ve benefited nothing and I’ve been of no use to you. I want your hearts, by the end of this lesson, to be strongly attached to Allah (SWT). How can you say to Allah, “convince me first; convince me to wear the hijab and then if convinced, I’ll wear it”?
In a Hadith narrated by Abu-Dawud, the Prophet (PBUH) says, “I’ve been allowed to tell you about one of the angels who is responsible for carrying the Throne. Between his earlobe and his shoulders is a distance of 700 years on foot. Remember always the verse that says what can be translated as, “Are you more complex to create or is the heaven that He constructed?” (TMQ, 79:27-28).
Angels have wings; Allah (SWT) described them as having two, three, four or more. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “All praise and thanks are Allah’s, the (Only) Originator (or the Only Creator) of the heavens and the earth, Who made the angels messengers with wings, two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Verily, Allah is Able to do all things.” (TMQ, 35:1).
Are there some angels better than others? Yes and I want to remind you for the second time that we want to love the angels and that I’m not here just to provide you with lots of information. In a Hadith narrated by Bukhari, it says, “Jibril came to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and said ‘how do you regard those who witnessed the battle of Badr?’ the Prophet (PBUH) said ‘they are the elite among us.’ ‘We too regard the angels who witnessed Badr the same way’ said Jibril”. See how valuable we are to Allah. He considered the angels who witnessed Badr as the best of all the angels. This is very nice.
The angels do not eat or drink. In Ibrahim’s story, Allah says what can be translated as, “But when he saw their hands went not towards it (the meal)…” (TMQ, 11:70), till the end of the verses. Also, Allah says “And placed it before them He said, “will ye not eat?” (TMQ, 51:27).
How many angels are there? They are very great in number. The total number of human beings is nothing compared to theirs. The Prophet’s Hadith, which says, “Every day, 70000 angels enter Al-Bait-ul-Ma’mur and go on circumambulating it, then leave and never return to it till the Day of Judgment” (Sahih Bukhari, 3887), demonstrates this. By the way, Al-Bait-ul-Ma’mur lies above the Holy K’aba in the seventh heaven. Can you imagine how great the number is? Multiply 70000 by 365, and then multiply the results by millions of years.
Another Hadith: “On the Day of Judgment, Hellfire will be pulled by 70000 straps each held by 70000 angels.” (Sahih Muslim, 2842).
What is the worship of the angels? It’s the same as our worship. They do tasbeeh (glorify Allah). Allah says what can be translated as, “They celebrate His praises night and day, and do not ever flag or intermit.” (TMQ, 21:20), and “And we are verily ranged in ranks (for service); And we are verily those who declare (Allah’s) glory” (TMQ, 37:165-166) . Do you remember the last time that you glorified Allah? How many days have you spent without glorifying Him? How can a whole day pass without you glorifying Him in it? Glorify Allah everyday. You are wronging yourself if you do not do so. The angels never get bored or tired of glorifying Him.
What else do they do? They fear Allah (SWT). Their fear of Him is a hundred times greater as yours. Allah (SWT) says about them what can be translated as, “And they stand in awe and reverence of His (glory)” (TMQ, 21:28). Many young men and women are not present today and I wanted them to hear these words. As for those who are present today, when was the last time you felt the fear of Allah? Since last Ramadan, you haven’t felt afraid and you haven’t cried. Where is your submissive prostration? Where is the two rakat (prayer unit) prayer that, while performing it, you deeply hope will never end? When was the last time you cried while raising up your hands and asking Allah saying, “O, Lord! Forgive me. I repent to You.” The angels are in reverence day and night, so why are we so hardhearted? Allah says what can be translated as, “Has not the time arrived for the Believers that their hearts in all humility should engage in the remembrance of Allah.” (TMQ, 76:1). The angels glorify Allah, feel reverence before Him and perform Hajj for Him.
Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “By the Tur (Mount). And by a Book inscribed. In parchment unrolled. And by Al-Bait-ul-Ma’mur (the house over the heavens parallel to the K’aba at Makkah, continuously visited by the angels)” (TMQ, 52:1-4).
Al-Bait-ul-Ma’mur is the house in which the angels perform hajj and around which they circumambulate. I advise all the young people here to go and perform the hajj. I know that you will say ‘I’m still young’ but hajj is one of the best acts of worship that bring you closer to Allah and help you to stick to His path. If you still can’t perform hajj, at least perform Umrah.
Angels line up in rows before Allah. This is the same as when we stand in lines during prayers. During prayers, one day, the Prophet (PBUH) told the companions, “Will you stand in rows the same way the angels do?
- ‘How do the angels stand in rows, o Messenger of Allah?’ they asked.
- ‘They complete the first row and then the next until they reach the last.”
Can you imagine Heaven and how the angels make their rows? The Prophet (PBUH) says, “Heaven is crackling and it is justified in so doing. There is not any empty place, even for three fingers, as angels fill it either standing, bowing or prostrating and it will remain thus until the Day of Resurrection. On that Day, they will rise from their bowing and prostration and say ‘Glory be to You, o Allah! We haven’t worshipped you in the way You deserve.’ “
“O ye men! It is ye that have need of Allah: but Allah is the One Free of all wants, worthy of all praise. If He so pleased, He could blot you out and bring in a New Creation: Nor is that (at all) difficult for Allah.” (TMQ, 35: 15-17). Think about yourself and then think about the angels, the worshippers of Allah. However, in spite of all of this, by worshipping Allah, you become dearer to Allah than the angels and through your obedience to Him, you become closer to Him than the angels and the angels become your servants in paradise. “..And angels shall enter unto them from every gate (with the salutation) “Peace unto you for that ye persevered in patience! Now how excellent is the final Home!” (TMQ, 13:23-24).
By his repentance to Allah, a needy and poor person becomes dearer to Him than the angels.
Do angels die or not? Of course they die. Listen to these verses that can be translated as, “Everything (that exists) will perish except His own Face” (TMQ, 28:88), and “And the Trumpet will be blown, and all who are on the earth will swoon away” (TMQ, 39:68). Yet, does this death take place during our life cycle or by the end of it? We don’t know and we shouldn’t ask. Brothers and sisters, there are some points which neither Allah nor His Messenger illustrated. Thus, we don’t need to know.
Do the angels have a certain behavior? Actually, we know only of one behavioral characteristic of the angels and we should try to adopt it, which is modesty. “Once, Othman Ibn Affan came to the Prophet. When he entered, the Prophet (PBUH) sat up straight. When asked about this, he said, “He (Othman) is a man from whom the angels feel shy.” (Sahih Muslim, 2401). This is the only characteristic that is known about the angels.
At this point, I would like to ask all the young men who harass girls in streets, how dare you? Where is your modesty? Those girls and boys who talk to each other on the telephone at 2 a.m. and say the worst things imaginable, while Allah is calling to His believers in the last third of the night, “who is going to ask me so that I answer him?”- How dare they behave like that, especially at that time? Imagine if you are talking to this girl and your father picked up the other handset? It’d be a real scandal, wouldn’t it?
And what if it were her father and not yours who heard the phone call? Now, don’t you know that Allah hears and sees all of this? Allah says what can be translated as, “Knows he not that Allah sees (what he does)?” (TMQ, 96:14).
As for the boy who lies down, relaxing on the sofa while his father is standing, that’s because he lacks modesty. You who raise your voice when talking to your parents, don’t you have modesty? And the girl who laughs loudly in her the college does it out of a lack of modesty. The girls and the boys who play football together don’t have decency and the boy who dances at a wedding party and says, “the bridegroom is my friend. I have to dance at his wedding,” he too lacks modesty. The girls who dance in public, how dare they do that? And then they say this is a wedding and our family is well established and has certain traditions. Believe me, modesty is an integral whole.
In the “friendship” between girls and boys, where is the modesty? Where is your shyness, sister, when you listen to Allah addressing you, saying, “No taking boy-friends” (TMQ, 4:25). A woman can never have a boyfriend. Where is the modesty that she and her boyfriend should have? Allah says what can be translated as, “It is not Al-Birr (piety and righteousness) that you enter the houses from the back but Al-Birr (is the quality of the one) who fears Allah. So, enter houses through their (proper) doors” (TMQ, 2:189). Where is their shyness from the whole society? Where do they meet? Their answer is: “We meet every Thursday and go out together. Nothing is strange. We are friends.” You all know that in Islam a virgin’s silence (when asked her for her answer concerning a marriage proposal) taken as her consent. This is due to her shyness and we should not embarrass her. This is what the Sharia (Islamic law) says.
The last question is: what is our relation to the angels? It is a wonderful relationship. One part of this relation is that they pray for us and ask Allah to forgive us; not all angels do this, only the angels that sustain the Throne. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Those who sustain the Throne (of Allah) and those around it sing Glory and Praise to their Lord; believe in Him; and implore forgiveness for those who believe…” (TMQ, 40:7).
Can you imagine that? A supplication of forgiveness is sent especially to you from the Throne and those who do it and send it to you are angels whom you don’t even know about. How strange! Brothers and sisters, there are many things in life more enjoyable than playing around, having fun and forgetting about your duty to Allah, one of which is knowing Allah and His angels and knowing that those angels are praying for you.
“And implore forgiveness for those who believe: “Our Lord! Thy Reach is over all things, in Mercy and Knowledge. Forgive, then, those who turn in Repentance, and follow thy Path; and preserve them from the Penalty of the Blazing Fire! And grant, our Lord! that they enter the Gardens of Eternity, which Thou hast promised to them, and to the righteous among their fathers, their wives, and their posterity! for Thou art (He), the Exalted in Might, Full of Wisdom. And preserve them from (all) ills; and any whom Thou dost preserve from ills that Day, on them wilt Thou have bestowed Mercy indeed.” (TMQ, 40:7-9).
Do you imagine? A young man may be indulging in all kinds of sins while one of the angels carrying the Throne is praying for him!!
Another aspect of the angels’ relation to us is that they tell us in advance whether we will enter paradise. Allah says what can be translated as, “In the case of those who say, “Our Lord is Allah,” and, further, stand straight and steadfast, the angels descend on them (from time to time): “Fear ye not!” (they suggest), “Nor grieve! but receive the Glad Tidings of the Garden (of Bliss), that which ye were promised!” (TMQ, 41:30).
A third aspect is that the angels keep watch over us. We always say things like, “the eye is protected by a guardian”, and “I was about to die yet the rock didn’t hit me. It was about to fall from the next building’s fence”, and “It is a miracle that I was saved from that car accident. I don’t know what happened”. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “For each (such person) there are (angels) in succession. Before and behind him: they guard him by command of Allah.” (TMQ, 13:11). They keep watch over him, yet, if Allah’s decree comes to pass, the angels leave him to his fate. The word “he” refers to man. See how dear and close their relation to you is, even when you are heedless of Allah.
The angels constantly surround us; every one of us has angels around them. If you don’t believe it, listen to this Hadith. The Prophet (PBUH) says, “Angels keep praying for you so long as you are in the mosque saying, ‘O, Lord! Forgive him’”. (Sahih Bukhari, 445). Do you feel now how nice the angels are and how great the mosque is? Go to the mosque. You will certainly gain many merits and the angels will go on praying for you “O, Lord! Forgive him. Have compassion on him”
There are angels that record whatever you do, be it a good deed or a bad one. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “Nay! But you deny the Day of Recompense. But verily, over you (are appointed angels in charge of mankind) to watch you, writing down your deeds” (TMQ, 82:9-11).
They also play a great role in carrying our salutations to the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH). The Prophet (PBUH) says, “Allah has some angels who move all around the world then deliver to me the greetings of my Ummah.” (Sahih al-Albany, 1664). Imagine if you said “peace be upon Muhammad” now, an angel would bear your greeting and deliver it to him in Al-Madinah, saying, “O, Messenger of Allah! So and so from the mosque called so and so is greeting you” so the prophet says “peace be upon him/ her.”
Brothers and sisters, there are many beautiful meanings in this life and the most beautiful of them is our relationship to Allah (SWT). The angels record the name of those who perform the Friday Prayer. The Prophet (PBUH) says, “On Fridays (Jumu’a), the angels stand at every door of the mosque and write the names of the people who come in the order that they arrive, so that when the orator climbs the pulpit…etc” (Sahih Bukhari, 3211). The last part of the Hadith says that the angels enter the mosque to listen to the Friday sermon. A very famous scene is that of a man entering the mosque at the beginning of the second sermon because he has a headache. Normally, his name is not written. The angels haven’t written other people’s names for twenty years.
What’s our duty towards the angels? We should love them. I’ve been summarizing but actually loving angels requires many lessons.
Why don’t you establish a relationship with the angels on your right and left sides? Many of you ask “How”? When you do something good, look to your right side and tell the angel with great pleasure “record” and when you commit a sin, look to your left side and tell the angel “Wait, don’t record it, I’ll repent.”
It was mentioned in the traditions that when a person intends to do a good deed, the angel on the right side registers it immediately, and when he does a bad deed, the angel on his left side waits for a whole hour so that he may repent. Let me tell you about another very nice thing about angels. Be humble before them. Be humble in case they should see you committing a sin.
Another duty towards angels is to be clean. I say this especially to the young men who smoke. The Prophet (PBUH) says, “Angels feel disgusted from whatever disgusts man.” (Sahih Muslim, 564). When smoking, keep in mind that those angels whom we’ve been talking about now feel disgusted with you, so what if you were committing a sin? One of the greatest sins? By the way, don’t ever consider any sin a small one because it covers the mind, however small it is. Originally, the word (Khamr) meaning wine comes from the word (Khemar) meaning what covers the mind. So anything that covers the mind is called (khamr).
The last point I want to touch on here is the Prophet’s command regarding neighbors. He says, “Jibril kept advising me to care for my neighbors till I thought he will give them a share of my inheritance”. (Sahih al-Albany, 891). Normally, walls and distance separate neighbors from you. So, what about those neighbors on your left and right hand-sides? Since the Prophet has forbidden us from harming our neighbors, why not be nice to the angels? They are closer to you than your neighbors.
The previous points were just small examples of how we can love the angels, how to get closer to them, what we know about them and that we should believe in them. Thus, we have to believe in all that has been said about them.
What is left is belief in the jinn. They were created after the angels. Allah (SWT) says what can be translated as, “We created man from sounding clay, from mud molded into shape. And the Jinn race, We had created before, from the fire of a scorching wind.” (TMQ, 15:26-27). Thus, the jinn were created before Adam. The fire of a scorching wind is a very hot fire whose heat resembles poison.
In another verse, Allah says what can be translated as, “And He created Jinn from fire free of smoke.” (TMQ, 55:15). They were created from a mixture of things; it is a mixture of blazes of fire and the dark black fumes that come out of these blazes. They were mixed together and out of that mixture the jinn were created. Iblis (Satan) is from the jinn. This appears in the following verse that can be translated as, “And (remember) when We said to the angels: ‘Prostrate yourself to Adam.’ So, they prostrated themselves except Iblis. He was one of the Jinn.” (TMQ, 18:50).
One last point is that Allah has created all creatures before Adam; animals, birds and reptiles. All the creatures were created before Adam. Adam was the last to be created. The reason for this is to honor man by having the whole universe prepared to receive Allah’s vicegerent on earth. Do you feel your worth? The entire universe has been prepared to receive you, Allah’s vicegerent on earth. Allah says what can be translated as, “And (remember) when your Lord said to the angels: Behold ‘I will create a vicegerent on earth’” (TMQ, 2:30), thus, the whole world should be ready to receive this vicegerent.
We mean a lot to Allah. We are not created just to eat and drink. We are Allah’s vicegerents on earth. Hence, we and the whole of the Earth must have a connection to Allah. This will be discussed in the next lesson, insh’Allah. What was Adam created from? From mud or dust or mud molded into shape or sounding clay? How was he created? Why was he called Adam? And why was Hawa’ (Eve) so called? What is the story behind the angels being ordered to prostrate before him? Why did Allah order them to do so? All of this will be mentioned in the coming lesson, insh’Allah.