Are the angels superior or the Prophet and the righteous?

Do the angels worship Allah better and more perfectly than the
Prophets themselves?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The angels are honoured slaves and do not disobey Allah in what He
commands them to do; they do whatever they arecommanded. Allah
createdthem and made their innate nature one of obedience and worship
of Him. Some of them are appointed in charge of therevelation, some
are appointed in charge of provision, some are appointed in charge of
themountains and some are created to worship, pray, and glorify and
remember Allah.
At-Tirmidhi (2312) narrated, in a report whichhe classed as hasan,
that Abu Dharr said: The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him) said: "Verily I see what you do not see and I hear
what you do not hear. The heaven is creaking and it should creak, for
there is no space in it the width of four fingers but there is anangel
there, placing his forehead in prostration to Allah."
Classed as hasan by al-Albaani in Saheeh at-Tirmidhi
In the hadeeth of the Isra' (Prophet's Night Journey) it says: "Then
the Much-Frequented House (al-bayt al-ma'moor) was raised up for me,
and I asked Jibreel (about it). He said: 'This is the Much-Frequented
House. Every day seventy thousand angels enter it and when they depart
from it, they never return to it.'"
Narrated by al-Bukhaari (3207) and Muslim (164).
At-Tabari narrated in his Tafseer (21/127) from Ibn Mas'ood (may Allah
be pleased with him) that he said: Among the heavens is one in which
there is no space the size of a handspan but on it there is the
forehead of an angelor his foot standing there. Then he recited the
words:"Verily, we (angels), we stand in rows for the prayers (as you
Muslims stand in rows for your prayers). Verily, we (angels), we are
they who glorify (Allah's Praises i.e. perform prayers)" [as-Saffaat
37:165-166].
Classed as saheeh by al-Albaani in as-Saheehah, 1059
Such worship is beyond the capabilities of any human being, and they
are not able to do it. The angels do not slow down or become tired, as
Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning):
"But if they are too proud (to do so), then there are those who are
with your Lord (angels) glorify Him night and day, and never are they
tired"
[Fussilat 41:38].
What is instilled in human beings is human nature, including the
Prophets and Messengers of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
them); they are different from the angels in their attributes and
natures.
The angels are able to do feats of worship that no human is able to do.
But the fact that their worship is greater does not mean that they are
superior to the Prophets; the Prophets are to be viewed on the basis
that they are human beings with human nature. It is because they have
risen tosuch a high status in obedience to their Lord that they have a
particularvirtue and sublime position, so much so that more than one
of the scholars has said that the righteous among mankindare of a
higher status thanthe angels, because the angels do not have any
inclination towards evil or disobedience, whereas therighteous among
mankindhave these inclinations, but they resist them and overcome them
in order to obey Allah.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyah was asked about those who obey Allah
among the ummah of Muhammad (blessings and peace of Allah be upon
him): are they superior to the angels?
He replied:
It was proven that 'Abdullah ibn 'Amr said: The angels said: O Allah,
You have created the sons of Adam, and they eat anddrink and enjoy
life in the world; create for us the Hereafter as you created the
world for them. He said: I shall not do that. They asked Him again and
He said: I shall not do that.Then they asked Him again two or three
times and He said: By My Glory, I cannot regard the righteous among
the descendants of the one whom I have created withMy own hand as
being likeone to whom I said: Be! And he was (i.e., the angels). This
was narrated by 'Uthmaan ibn Sa'eed ad-Daarimi.
It was narrated from 'Abdullah ibn Salaam that he said: Allah has not
created any creation dearer to Him that Muhammad. It was said tohim:
Not even Jibreel and Mika'eel? He said to the one who asked him: Do
you know what Jibreel and Mika'eel are? Jibreel and Mika'eel are
subjugated creations like the sun and the moon. Allah has not created
anyone who is dearer to him than Muhammad (blessings and peace of
Allah be upon him)....

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