Prophets themselves?.
Praise be to Allaah.
The angels are honouredslaves and do not disobey Allah in what He
commands them to do; they do whatever they are commanded. Allah
created them and made their innate nature one of obedience and worship
of Him. Some of them are appointed in charge of the revelation,some
are appointed in charge of provision, some are appointed in charge of
the mountainsand some are created to worship, pray, and glorify and
remember Allah.
At-Tirmidhi (2312) narrated, in a report which he 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 andI 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 an
angel 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 sizeof a handspan but on it there is the
forehead of an angel or 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. Theangels 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 to such a high status in obedience to their Lord that they have
a particular virtue and sublime position, so much so that more than
one of the scholars has said that the righteous among mankind are of
ahigher status than the angels, because the angels do not have any
inclination towards evil or disobedience, whereas the righteous among
mankind have 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 (blessingsand 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 and drink 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 with My own hand as
being like one 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 creationdearer to Him that Muhammad. It was said to him:
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).
I do not know of any one among the Sahaabah who disagreeswith that.
This is the well-known view amongthose who claim to belong to Ahl
as-Sunnah,the companions of the four imams and others, namely (the
view that) the angels and close friends of Allah (awliya') are
superior to the angels.
End quote from Majmoo'al-Fataawa, 4/344
He also said:
Allah created Adam from clay; because He shaped him and breathed into
him the spirit He createdfor him, and instructed the angels to
prostrate to him, and He favoured him over them by teaching him the
names of all things and He created him with His own hand and so on, he
and the righteous among his descendants are superior to the angels,
even though mankind was created from clay and the angels from light.
End quote from Majmoo'al-Fataawa, 11/95
Ibn al-Qayyim (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Allah, may He be glorified, created from inferior material that which
is superior to that which was created from something else. This is a
sign of His perfect power, may He be glorified. Hence Muhammad,
Ibraaheem, Moosa, 'Eesa, Nooh and the Messengers are superior to the
angels. The view of Ahl as-Sunnah is that the righteous among mankind
are superior to the angels, even though their substance is light and
the substance of mankind is dust.
End quote from as-Sawaa'iq al-Mursalah,3/1002
He also said:
The righteous among mankind are superior to the angels, because the
worship of the angels is free from any contamination of the whims and
desires of thehuman nafs; it is done bybeings that have nothing to
prevent, undermine or resist it. It is like breathing for the living.
As for the acts of worship of human beings, they are done despite the
inclinations of their hearts and by suppressing their whims and
desires and going against their natural urges. So they are more
perfect. Hence most of the scholars said that humans were superior to
the angels for this reason and others.
End quote from Tareeq al-Hijratayn, 349-350
There are some scholars who highlighted a different approach to this
issue. Shaykh Ibn 'Uthaymeen (may Allah have mercy on him) said:
Comparing angels to the righteous among mankind is a matter concerning
which there are differences among the scholars, each of whom quoted
texts to support his opinion. But the most correct view is that the
righteous among mankind are superior to the angels on the basis of the
final outcome because Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, will
give them reward the like of whichcannot be attained by the angels as
far as we know. Rather the angels will be in the abode of the
believers – namely Paradise – and will enterupon them from every gate,
congratulating them (with the words): "Salamun Alaikum (peace be upon
you) for that you persevered in patience! Excellent indeed is the
final home!" [ar-Ra 'd 13:24 – interpretation of the meaning]. From
the point of view of their origin, the angels are superior because
they were created from light and their innate nature is to worship and
obey Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, and they have been given
the strength to do that. Allah, may He be exalted, says that amongthe
angels are the angelsof Hell:
"over which are (appointed) angels stern(and) severe, who disobey not,
(from executing) the Commands they receive from Allah, but do that
which they are commanded"
[at-Tahreem 66:6]
"And those who are nearHim (i.e. the angels) are not too proud to
worship Him, nor are they weary (of His worship).
They (i.e. the angels) glorify His Praises night and day, (and) they
never slacken (to do so)"
[al-A'raaf 7:206].
This is the decisive view concerning this matter.
Indulging in discussion of this matter and seeking to determine
whether the righteous among mankind or the angels are superior is a
kind of superfluous knowledge. Man has no need of understanding and
learning about this matter.
End quote from Fataawa Noor 'ala ad-Darb, 8/6
He is right, may Allah have mercy on him. This and similar matters are
things that people have no need to indulge in discussion of and enter
into disputes as to whichgroup is superior and which group worships
more? It is a kind of superfluous knowledge and the Muslim has no need
to know which group is superior and more perfect. What the Muslim
should do is focus on putting his ownaffairs in order by obeying his
Lord.
And Allah knows best.
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