jnawaz%skat.usc.edu@usc.edu (Jemshed Nawaz) (08/31/90)
In article <14657@wpi.wpi.edu> kriz%skat.usc.edu@usc.edu (Dennis Kriz) writes: > > >Thanks for your replies. Now that I know that ginnies are part of Islamic >belief, can someone explain to me how they relate to Angels? Are Angels >basically good ginnies, and Satan an evil one? Or are they entities >altogether? Catholics believe for instance in guardian Angels, do Muslims >believe similarly? > >dennis >kriz@skat.usc.edu Angels are made of light (like humans are made of clay), and were created for total obediance to Allah (i.e. they have no free will): "They celebrate His praises, and bow down before Him" "Those who bear the throne, and all who are round about it, hymn the praises of their Lord and believe in Him" (40:7) Angels are not described on the basis of sex as males or females; and do not marry. Belief in Angels is an article of Faith: "the Messenger believes, and so do the believers, in the guidance sent down upon him from his Lord: each one believes in Allah, and in His angels, and in His Books, and in his Messengers...." (2;285) The Angels carry out Allah's orders in heavens and on earth and are grouped into various categories and denominations: "Praise be to Allah, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, Who appoints the angels messengers havings wings two, three and four. he multiplies in creation what He wills" (35:1) (The "two, three and four wings" suggest the importance of the duties that the angel carries out.) "There is not one of us(angels) but has his known position" (37:164) Some of the duties assigned to the angels are: (from the Qur'an) - Angel Jibril (Gabriel) conveys revelations to prophets: "Say:'Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel (should know that) he revealed this(Qur'an) to your heart by Allah's leave: it confirms the Scriptures revealed before it, and is a good tiding to the men of Faith." - Then there is the Angel of death: "Say:(one day), the Angel of death who has been given charge of you will gather you, and then unto your Sustainer you will be brought back." - The bearers of the Throne: "And the Angels will be on the sides thereof, and eight will uphold the Throne of thy Lord that day, above them" (69:17) - There are Angels who record the deeds of man: "He utters no word but there is with him an observer ready" (50:18) - Angels responsible for the comfort of those in Paradise: "Gardens of Eden which they enter, along with all who do right of their fathers and their helpmates and their seed. The Angels enter unto them from every gate" (13:23) - Angels who'll inflict punishment on those in Hell: "O ye who believe! ward off from yourselves and your families Fire whereof the fuel is men and stones, over which are set angels strong, severe, who resist not Allah in that which He commands them, but do that which they are commanded" (66:6) - At the time of death the Angels bring good tidings to the believers and reproach to the sinners: "(But) behold, as for those who say, 'Our Sustainer is God', and then steadfastly pursue the right way -- upon them do Angels often descend,(saying) 'Fear not and grieve not, but receive the glad tiding of that Paradise which has been promised to you!" (41:30) "Behold, those whom the Angels gather in death while they are still sinning against themselves, (the Angels) will ask, 'What was wrong with you?' They will answer: 'We were too weak on earth.' (The Angels) will say: 'Was, then, God's earth not wide enough for you to forsake the domain of evil?' For such, then, the goal is Hell -- and how evil -- a journey's end!" (4:97) "And if you could but see (how it will be) when He causes those who are bent on denying the truth to die: the Angels will strike their faces and their backs, and (will say): Taste suffering through Fire in return for what your own hands have wrought, never does God do least wrong to His creatures!" (8:50) And there are many more verses from the Qur'an about tasks assigned to angels. (e.g. Those who blow the trumpet, those who'll be witnesses on the Judgement Day, those who give courage to belivers during wars, those who pray for the warriors, those who witness the Dawn prayers, those who greet and welcome the people of Paradise) Belief in Angels also makes us better believers, as Shaikh Ali Al-Tantawi puts it: "Belief in the Angels increases our awareness of the Glory of God and makes us more conscious about His mercy because the Angels pray for the believ- ers and seek forgiveness for them. With such a consciousness we can abstain from sinful acts since we know that the Angels record every action and word of ours; we feel emboldened to embark on noble acts such as Jihad because the Angels are, on the command of our Lord, supporting us. We thus seek to perform only such actions which will lead us to Paradise where the angels will greet us with the greetings of peace and we will abstain from all actions which will take us to Hell where the Angels will rebuke us. To put it briefly, the over- all benefit from the belief in Angels, is that it will make us more committed in our obediance to God, in abstention from sinful acts; and in strengthening the angelic aspects within us." Jemshed Nawaz