Q. Apart from the four famous
angels who are near and dear to Allah, are all angels equal or is there some
difference in their ranks?
A. You have already learnt about
the four well-known angels in Part II of this book. They stand above others. The
rest are either inferior or superior to each other. Some are nearer and dearer
to Allah than others.
Q. What work do the angels do?
A. Innumerable angels are deputed
different jobs in heaven and earth and on earth Allah has given them their
duties and the angels perform their duties exactly as Allah has ordered them.
Q. Name some of the duties of
the angels.
A. Hazrat Jibreel
(peace be upon him) brought Allah’s Books and Messages to the prophets.
Sometimes he was sent to help the prophets and even to fight the prophets’
enemies. Sometimes Allah’s anger came to the sinful through this angel.
Hazrat Mika’eel (peace be upon him) brings food and rain to
Allah’s creatures. Numerous angels work under him. Some are to administer the
clouds, the winds and others look after the rivers, ponds and canals. All these
are done as ordered by Allah.
Hazrat Israafeel (peace be upon him) will blow the soor
(trumpet) on the Day of Judgment.
Hazrat ‘Izraa’eel (peace be upon him) is there for taking
out creatures’ lives. There are different angels under him to take out the
lives of the good persons and of the sinful ones.
Apart from these, some of the duties of the angels are:
 | Two angels are always with every man and woman. One writes the good deeds
and the other records the bad ones. These two angels are called kiraamun-kaatibeen. |
| Some angels guard the human beings from calamities. They look after the
children, the old and the weak and any others whom Allah wants them to
protect. |
| Some angels question the dead in their graves. Two angels visit the grave
of every individual. They are called Munkar and Nakeer. |
| Some angels just keep roaming about the world. They attend places where
people pray to Allah, where religious lectures are being given or the Holy
Qur’aan is read, or where the darood shareef is recited, or
where religious education is given. These angels testify to Allah the
presence of those who attend such gatherings. |
| Some angels are posted to look after the jannah (Paradise). |
| Some angels look after jahannam (Hellfire). |
| Some angels bear the ‘arsh (throne of Allah). |
| Some angels keep worshipping Allah and praising His greatness all the
time. |
The duties of the angels working in the world keep on changing every morning
and evening. The angels on night duty go back when morning prayers are said, and
then the day angels take over. These go back at the time of the ‘Asr
prayer and those having night duty return once again.
Q. How is it known that the
angels do these jobs?
A. We know because these things
are mentioned in the Holy Qur’aan and the hadeeth shareef.
Q. How is it known that the Tawraah
(Old Testament), Zaboor (Psalms), and Injeel (Gospel) are heavenly
books?
A. The Holy Qur’aan says that
all these three books are heavenly books. Allah has said about these books:
Lo! We did reveal the Tawraah, wherein is guidance and a light.
(5: 44)
And We imparted unto Dawood the Zaboor (Psalms).
(4: 163)
And We caused ‘Isaa, son of Maryam, to follow and gave him the Gospel (Injeel).
(57: 27)
Thus Muslims came to know from the Qur’aan that these three books came from
Allah.
Q. What about a person who does
not accept Tawraah, Zaboor and Injeel as Allah’s books?
A. Such a person is kaafir
because these books have been proven to be Divine on the authority of the Holy
Qur’aan. If anyone does not accept these books as Divine, it means that he
does not believe in the Holy Qur’aan. And one who does not believe in what the
Holy Qur’aan says is a kaafir.
Q. Are the Tawraah, Zaboor
and Injeel, which the Jews, Christians and others have today, the same
heavenly books?
A. No: it is made clear by the
Qur’aan that these books have been changed and altered by the people. So the
present books are not the original Tawraah, Zaboor and Injeel,
as they have been changed and altered. They should not be taken as the original
books.
Q. How is it known that saheefay
(smaller books) came upon some prophets?
A. It is proved by the Qur’aan
that saheefay came on some prophets. There is a mention of Hazrat Ibraaheem’s saheefa in Surat-ul-A’laa (87: 18-19).
Q. Is the Holy Qur’aan
Allah’s book or His speech?
A. The Holy Qur’aan is both
Allah’s book as well as His speech. In the Qur’aan it has been called as kitaabullaah
(the Book of Allah) as well as kalaamullaah (the Speech of Allah).
Q. Which stands highest among
the Tawraah, Zaboor, Injeel and the Qur’aan?
A. The Holy Qur’aan is the
highest and the best.
Q. How is the Holy Qur’aan
superior to all the previous Divine Books?
A. There are many reasons for the
superiority:
| The Holy Qur’aan has been kept without the change of even a single word-
there will not be any change in it till the Qiyaamah. In other
previous Divine Books, people have made great alterations. |
| The text of the Qur’aan is miraculous and is of such a high literary
standard that even its smallest surah or verse cannot be matched. |
| The Holy Qur’aan brought the last and final Commands of Allah and
cancelled many Commands of the previous Books. |
| The previous Books came all at once. The Holy Qur’aan took 23 years to
complete and it came in parts as and when it was needed. This gradual
revelation won it a place in the hearts of men. Hundreds and thousands of
people accepted its orders and embraced Islam. |
| The Holy Qur’aan has been learnt by heart, thus it is safe in the memory
of millions of Muslims. This practice continues to this day since the time
of the Prophet ( )
and Allah-willing it will continue till the Qiyaamah. This way
prevented the enemies of Islam from making changes or adding or taking out
anything from the book or destroying it. Allah-willing, these people will
not be able to do so up till the Qiyaamah. |
| The Commands of the Qur’aan are so moderate and easy that they suit all
people at all times. There are not any people in the world who feel
difficulty in adopting the orders of the Holy Qur’aan. Since these
principles suit all times and all people, there is no need of a new Shari’ah
or a new heavenly Book. The Prophethood of our beloved Prophet ()
was meant to be for the whole rest of the world and mankind up till the Day
of Judgment. |
