The angels

The angels

The Holy Qur'an has mentioned the angels in ninety verses. The Qur'an considers the angels as enemies to the disbelievers and one, who disbelieves in the angels, as deviate and away from the truth.

“Whoever is the enemy of Allah and His angels and His messengers and Gabriel and Michael, so surely Allah is the enemy of the unbelievers.” Qur'an, 2:98

“…and whoever disbelieves in Allah and His angels and His messengers and the last day, he indeed strays off into a remote error.” Qur'an, 4:136

We notice in the first speech of Nahjol Balagha three matters about the angels: the first about the activities and worships of the angels; prostration, rukou’,[1] standing together in rows when offering their worships, glorifying Allah, Gabriel the guardian of revelation and the correspondent of the prophets, the activities concerning the matter of the Divine fate, guarding the people, guarding the gates of Paradise and Hell.

The second matter is about the existence of the angels such as their being in every point in the heavens and the earth.

The third matter is about the aspects of the angels: they do not feel tired, do not sleep, do not forget or become inattentive, do not ascribe the aspects of the creatures to Allah, do not limit Allah to the limits of place and do not refer to Him with a like or an equal.[2]

The angels are among the proofs of the unseen in this world. The Holy Qur'an and the prophetic traditions have shown their states and conditions. The angels have a vital connection with the life of man especially in recording the deeds of people, saving their good and bad sayings and situations, being responsible for taking out the souls of people at death and responsible for torturing the disbeliveers; therefore believing in them has positive effects on the life of man. Believing in these Divine beings and soldiers of Allah gives to the soul and the inward of man special moral beauty.

Barzakh

Barzakh is the interval between this life and the afterlife according to the view of the Qur'an. The persons, who leave this world, enter the world of barzakh at the beginning and live there a special life according to their beliefs, deeds and morals. Their lives there are like neither the worldly life nor the afterlife.

“Until when death overtakes one of them, he says: Send me back, my Lord, send me back. Haply I may do good in that which I have left. By no means! It is a (mere) word that he speaks; and before them is a barrier until the day they are raised.” Qur'an, 23:99-100

But since the law of creation does not allow anyone whether good or bad to come back, so they are answered: “Certainly not! It is impossible for you to go back to the worldly life!”

Of course this speech comes out of a sinful’s tongue and not heart. This speech is said by every sinful person when seeing himself tied with the chains of punishment and said by every killer when seeing the stage of hanging. Anyhow it is the speech of one when being afflicted with misfortunes but when the storm calms down and the crises disappear, this one returns to his previous state as if nothing has happened.

At the end of the verse there is a little token but with a big meaning referring to the world of barzakh and its secrets. The verse has said,

“And before them is a barrier until the day they are raised.”

The word “barzakh” originally means an obstacle that partitions between two (material) things but then it is said to refer to everything lying between two matters and therefore the world between the worldly life and afterlife is called “barzakh”.

The evidence on the existence of this world, which is called sometimes the world of grave or the world of spirits, is derived from the verses of the Qur'an. It has been mentioned apparently sometimes and metonymically other times. This verse “and before them is a barrier until the day they are raised” refers to this world clearly. But there are other verses talking about this world metonymically like the verses concerning the martyrs as this one:

“And reckon not those who are killed in Allah's way as dead; nay, they are alive (and) are provided sustenance near their Lord.” Qur'an, 3:169

This state is not limited to the martyrs in the world of barzakh but also the disbelievers and tyrants like the Pharaoh and his men enter into the world of barzakh as this verse declares,

“The fire; they shall be brought before it (every) morning and evening and on the day when the hour shall come to pass: Make Firon's people enter the severest chastisement.” Qur'an, 4o:46

In the famous books of the Shia and other than the Shia many traditions and with different wordings have been mentioned about the world of barzakh and the world of spirits and with the statement “the separating world between this world and the afterworld”. It has been mentioned in Nahjol Balagha that when Ameerul Mo’mineen (s) had come back from the battle of Siffeen and arrived at a graveyard near Kufa, he turned towards the graves and said, ‘O people of desolate lands, dreary places and dark graves! O people of soil, O people of estrangement, O people of loneliness, O people of desolation! You have preceded us and we will follow you! As for the houses they have been inhabited and as for the wives they have got married and as for the monies they have been distributed. This is the news we have so what is the news you have?!’

Then he turned towards his companions and said, ‘If they were permitted to speak, they would tell you that, “The best provision is to ward off evil.”[3]

Imam Zaynol Aabideen (s) has said, ‘The grave is either a garden of Paradise or a hole of Fire[4].’[5]

Imam as-Sadiq (s) has said, ‘The barzakh is the grave and it is the reward and the punishment between the worldly life and the afterlife… by Allah, we do not fear for you except the barzakh.’[6]

Someone has asked Imam as-Sadiq (s) about the barzakh and Imam as-Sadiq (s) has said, ‘It is the grave since death until the Day of Resurrection.’[7]

It has been mentioned in al-Kafi that Imam as-Sadiq (s) has said, ‘…in chambers in Paradise they eat from its (Paradise’s) food, drink from its drinks and say: our Lord, bring the (hour) to an end and carry out what You have promised us!’[8]

Believing in the barzakh has been mentioned by the clear Qur’anic verses and holy traditions. It gives to the believers special moral beauty with paying attention to the states of the believers and the disbelievers in the world of the barzakh and it has useful effects on the state of man in the worldly life and it leads him towards piety, perfection and purification of the inward and outward.

The Day of Resurrection

The Day of Resurrection, which is the day when all the creatures will be rewarded for their good and bad deeds, is a definite fact in all the Divine books and in the teachings of the prophets and the infallible imams (s).

Believing in the Day of Resurrection is a part of faith and denying this great event is equal to disbelief.

The Holy Qur'an has mentioned the Day of Resurrection in more than one thousand verses and the hereafter has been mentioned in details in the many traditions concerning this matter. Here are some of them:

“Then how will it be when We shall gather them together on a day about which there is no doubt, and every soul shall be fully paid what it has earned, and they shall not be dealt with unjustly.” Qur'an, 3:25

“And if indeed you die or you are slain, certainly to Allah shall you be gathered together.” Qur'an, 3:158

“…And be careful of (your duty to) Allah, to Whom you shall be gathered.” Qur'an, 5:96

“…most certainly He will gather you on the resurrection day-- there is no doubt about it.” Qur'an, 6:12

“…and (as to) the dead, Allah will raise them, then to Him they shall be returned.” Qur'an, 6:36

“…and now Allah and His Messenger will see your doings, then you shall be brought back to the Knower of the unseen and the seen, then He will inform you of what you did.” Qur'an, 9:94

“Then after that you will most surely die. Then surely on the day of resurrection you shall be raised.” Qur'an, 23:15-16

“Nay! I swear by the day of resurrection. Nay! I swear by the self-accusing soul. Does man think that We shall not gather his bones. Yea! We are able to make complete his very fingertip.” Qur'an, 75:1-4

Imam as-Sadiq (s) has said, ‘One day Gabriel came to the Prophet (s) and took him to al-Baqee’ graveyard. They came near one of the graves and Gabriel shouted at the dead one in the grave, ‘Get up by the will of Allah!’ Then a man with white head and beard came out of the grave wiping the dust away from his face and saying, ‘Praise be to Allah and Allah is great.’ Gabriel said, ‘Go back by the will of Allah.’ Then he came with the Prophet (s) to another grave and said (to the dead one in the grave), ‘Get up by the will of Allah!’ A black-faced man came out of the grave saying, ‘Alas! Alas!’ Then Gabriel said, ‘Go back to where you have been by the will of Allah!’ Then Gabriel said, ‘O Muhammad, such they will be resurrected on the Day of Resurrection. The believers will say so and those will say as you heard.’[9]

Luqman[10] the wise said to his son, ‘My son, if you doubt about death, prevent yourself from sleep and surely you cannot and if you doubt resurrection, prevent yourself from waking and surely you cannot. If you think of that, you will know that your self is in the hand of other than you. In fact (wakening from) sleep is like resurrection after death.’[11]

Anyhow the matter of the Doomsday and its aspects has been mentioned in the Holy Qur'an too much and repeatedly with confirmation, oath and insistence. The Day of Resurrection is seldom mentioned with an evidence or a proof unlike the matter of monotheism which has often been mentioned with evidences and with showing the signs of the power and wisdom of Allah the Almighty because when man accepts the matter of monotheism, the matter of the afterlife will be easy to him to believe in it.

Sometimes the afterlife has been mentioned with details, description and signs that show the power of Allah. In fact the evidences that prove the existence of Allah are the same to prove the existence of the afterlife too.

The Qur'an has mentioned some examples as practical applications on the matter of the afterlife and resurrecting the dead and made them as evidences on the existence of the Day of Resurrection. No one says: why there is afterlife? Because forming a fair court to distinguish the innocent from the sinful, to reward the good-doers and to punish the sinful and oppressors cannot be objected by anyone but the objection and the paradox that those, who deny the afterlife, mention is: is it possible to resurrect rotten bodies and decayed bones? How is it possible to collect the scattered parts of man and restore him to life? Therefore Allah has declared that with the evidences of monotheism and through showing the aspects of the afterlife and the Day of Resurrection to make the disbelievers and the deniers understand that power that has been able to create these creatures from nothing is the same that will resurrect them again and the same Creator Who has created the universe and given life to man will give life to the dead again.[12]

The holy Qur'an replies to the suspicion of those, who deny the afterlife, in the sura of Yaseen by saying,

“Does not man see that We have created him from the small seed? Then lo! he is an open disputant. And he strikes out a likeness for Us and forgets his own creation. Says he: Who will give life to the bones when they are rotten. Say: He will give life to them Who brought them into existence at first, and He is cognizant of all creation.” Qur'an, 36:77-79

In these verses the Qur'an guides man to think of the beginning of his life when he was as insignificant seed and then he grew and became powerful until he dared to dispute with his Creator and objected to Him openly!

First the Qur'an stresses on the concept of man; every man of any belief or religion, with any level of knowledge; every man can perceive the truth. Then it talks about the insignificant sperm which is the origin of man to make the proud man ponder on his beginning and what he has been. The origin of man is just one very minute cell which cannot be seen with the naked eye from among thousands of cells in one drop of sperm and then this cell coheres with a very minute cell in the womb of woman and then these two cells form man to grow and to put his feet in the field of life.

Then the Qur'an mentions the other stages of man’s growth one after the other. They are six stages as mentioned at the beginning of the sura of al-Mo’minoon. These stages, since man is in the mother’s womb, are: seed, clot, lump of flesh, appearance of bones, covering the bones with flesh and then inspiration of spirit in him.

When the infant is born, it is too weak and then it grows until it reaches the stage of adulthood bodily and rationally.

This weak and powerless being soon gets strong and powerful to a degree that he permits himself to stand before Allah the Creator objecting and resisting His invitation and being inattentive to his past and future. He indeed becomes an “open contender” to his Creator.

That ignorant man set forth an example to Allah while he imagined that it was an evidence to refute the afterlife whereas he had forgotten the beginning of his creation when he said, ‘Who will restore life to these decayed bones?’

Yes, this “open contender” brought a piece of rotten bone that he had found in the desert and it was unknown whose bone it was; whether to one that had died naturally or in the war or of hunger or thirst! Anyhow he took this piece of bone as an irrefutable evidence to deny the matter of the afterlife. He, with delight mixed with rage, brought the bone and said to himself, ‘With this evidence I will refute Muhammad and he will not be able to reply!’

He hastened to the Prophet (s) and shouted at him, ‘O Muhammad, tell me who can restore life to this decayed bone!’ Then he crumbled a piece of the bone with his hand and spread it on the earth while thinking that the Prophet (s) would be unable to reply to his ignorance.

How nice it was when the Qur'an answered him with a very short phrase “…and forgets his creation” though it detailed the answer after that and mentioned evidences on the afterlife.

The Qur'an says: o ignorant, inattentive and forgetful man! Go back a little and ponder on the beginning of your creation when you were an insignificant seed and then you put on a new dress of life day after day! You are always between death and life. in the past you were dead solid and then you became a plant and died and then you became an animal and from the world of animals you moved to the world of man. O forgetful man, you have forgotten all these and now you have come to say, “Who will give life to the bones when they are rotten?” When these bones become rotten, they turn into soil. Have you not been soil before your creation? Allah has ordered the Prophet (s) to say to that proud and ignorant man, “He will give life to them Who brought them into existence at first.”

If nowadays some bones have remained from man, one day he himself was nothing and so were these bones and so was the soil itself. He, Who was able to create man from nothing, is able now to restore life to his rotten bones easier than before.

One may think: when these bones become rotten, turn into soil and scatter everywhere, then would it be possible to gather these scattered parts from the different points of the world? The Creator is more aware of His creatures and He knows everything about everything,

“…and He is cognizant of all creation.” Qur'an,36:79

The Creator Who has had all this knowledge and wonderful power will not face a bit of difficulty with the matter of the afterlife.

If we put a piece of magnet in the soil which has small pieces of scattered iron and when we move this piece of magnet in the soil, the small pieces of iron will soon gathered on it where this piece of magnet has no mind nor does it have any kind of life. Allah the Almighty can gather the scattered parts of man’s body from every point in the world easily with just one order.

The knowledge of Allah is not limited to the very creation of man only but also He knows man’s intentions and deeds and He will punish him for that because everything is recorded in a book near Him.

Punishing man for bad deeds, intentions and beliefs also does not cause any difficulty:

“…and whether you manifest what is in your minds or hide it, Allah will call you to account according to it.” Qur'an, 2:284

On the basis of this Allah has ordered Prophet Moses (s) to answer the Pharaoh, who doubted about the matter of the afterlife, about resurrecting the ancient nations and punishing them, by saying,

“The knowledge thereof is with my Lord in a book, my Lord errs not, nor does He forget.” Qur'an, 20:52

Anyhow the matter of resurrection and Doomsday when all the human beings are gathered to be rewarded for their deeds and intentions is a matter of the unseen. Believing in this matter does not become easy except by the help of the Qur’anic verse and holy traditions. It gives to man moral beauty that leads him to high morals and perfection and it has many useful effects on man’s life.