6] Do the angels see Allah in this world?

6]
Angel Jibreel or any of theangels have they ever seen Allah (sabhanu wa tala)?.
Praise be to Allaah.
There is nothing in the Qur’aan or Sunnah to indicate that Jibreel (peace be upon him) or any other angel has seen Allah, may He be exalted, and it is well known that this is one of the issues of the unseen which cannot be proven except on the basis of evidence.
In the hadeeth of the Mi‘raaj (Prophet’s ascent to heaven) it says that Jibreel (peace be upon him) ascended with our Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to a level where the scratching of the pens could be heard, but there is no proof that either of them saw Allah (may He be glorified and exalted) in that place.
The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Then I passed by Ibraaheem, andhe said: ‘Welcome to the righteous Prophet and therighteous son.’ I said: ‘Who is this?’ He said: ‘This is Ibraaheem (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).’” Ibn Shihaab said: And Ibn Hazm told me that Ibn ‘Abbaas and Abu Habbah al-Ansaari used to say: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Then I was taken up until we reached a level where I could hear the scratching of the pens.” Ibn Hazm and Anas ibn Maalik said: The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said: “Allah enjoined upon my ummah fifty prayers, and I went back with that until I passed by Moosa…”
Narrated by al-Bukhaari, 349; Muslim, 263
The scholars differed concerning this seeing: some of them affirmed it and some of them denied it.
Ibn Hajar al-Haythami (may Allah have mercy onhim) was asked: ||Do the angels see Allah, may He be exalted?
He replied:
Shaykh ‘Izz al-Deen ibn ‘Abd al-Salaam stated thatthey do not see Him, and he quoted evidence at length to support that, and he was followed in that by some scholars, buthe was refuted by the statement of the imam of Ahl al-Sunnah, Shaykh Abu’l-Hasan al-Ash‘ari (may Allah be pleased with him) who said that they do see Him. This was mentioned in his book al-Ibaanah fi Usool al-Diyaanah. He was followed by al-Bayhaqi who narrated it with its isnaad from ‘Abd-Allah ibn‘Amr ibn al-‘Aas and another Sahaabi. This wasalso followed by Ibn al-Qayyim and al-Jalaal al-Balqeeni. According to a hadeeth that was classed as saheeh by al-Haakim, Jibreel never saw his Lord before the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) prostrated before hisLord on that occasion, butthis does not necessarily mean that he did not see Him after that or that others of the angels do not see Him. The view that only Jibreel could seeHim is invalid.
End quote from al-Fataawa al-Hadeethiyyah, p. 153
Shaykh Ibn Baaz (may Allah have mercy on him) was asked: Do the angels see their Lord in this world or does He send revelation to them from beyond a screen?
He replied: Allah knows best.
End quote from Fataawa Noor ‘ala al-Darb.
Shaykh ‘Abd al-Rahmaan al-Barraak (may Allah preserve him) was asked:
There is evidence to suggest that they do not see Him. That is the verse in Soorat Ghaafir in which Allah, may He be exalted, says (interpretation of themeaning): “Those (angels)who bear the Throne (of Allâh) and those around itglorify the praises of their Lord, and believe in Him, and ask forgiveness for those who believe (in the Oneness of Allâh) (saying):‘Our Lord! You comprehend all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Your Way, andsave them from the torment of the blazing Fire!’” [Ghaafir 40:7].
The word “believe” in thisverse may point to that meaning -- is this correct?
He replied:
The fact that Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says of the angelswho bear the Throne and who are around it that they believe in Him does not necessarily mean that they do not see Him, or that some of them do not see Him, or that other angels do not see Him, just as (aspiring to) see Him does not contradict faith. Similarly, the fact that Allah spoke (to some of the Prophets) is not contrary to faith. Ibraaheem (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) saw how Allah brought the dead back to life and that increased him in faith, as Allah says (interpretation of the meaning):
“And (remember) when Ibrâhim (Abraham) said, ‘My Lord! Show me how You give life to the dead.’ He (Allâh) said: ‘Do you not believe?’ He [Ibrâhim (Abraham)] said: ‘Yes (I believe), but to be stronger in Faith’”/ - - - :-> Transtors: 1.http://free-translation.imtranslator.net/lowres.asp 2.http://translate.google.com/m?twu=1&hl=en&vi=m&sl=auto&tl=en

The return of China’s wild panda

Bamboo is luring the pandas back to China's Sichuan province, its
spiritual home. (Thomas Kokta/Getty)
When it comes to picking national animals, there is no doubt that
China has struck gold in choosing theloveable, ink-eyed, roly poly
panda, and the Sichuan province, in the country's southwest, is
thepanda's spiritual home. Shops in Chengdu, the capital of the
province, andon the outskirts of Jiuzhai Valley (China's most popular
national park, attracting some 10,000 visitors a day) are packed with
panda paraphernalia, from furry-eared hats to huge panda boxing
gloves.
*. Related slidehow: The falls and hues of Jiuzhaigou
There is only one thing missing -- the pandas.
Uncovered by the Chinese government in the late 1960s and populated
only by a handful of tiny Tibetan villages (the local name,
Jiuzhaigou, means "Nine Villages Valley"), the remote Jiuzhai Valley
was threatened by logging until 1982 when it becameone of the
country's first protected national parks to preserve the region's
staggering beauty. Midnight blue lakes reflect the huge forested
canyons in their flawless waters, crystalline waterfalls flow from the
mountain tops and exquisite orchids and rhododendrons weave threads of
colour through the greenery of the forest floor. Most importantly,
these mountains were covered in bamboo, making Jiuzhai a haven
forpandas.
But bamboo is something of a tragic plant -- it only flower once in
its lifetime -- and the Jiuzhai Valley bamboo flowered and died in the
1980s, depriving pandas of the food that makes up 99% of their diet.
The animals were forced to leave the park and move into the even more
remote Min Shan mountains in search of sustenance.
Since then, the only way tosee a panda in the Sichuan province has
been to visit the Chengdu Panda Reserve -- one of the most important
international centres for panda research -- which provides a fantastic
opportunity to get up close to the animalsand watch them chompingdown
on bamboo and playfighting. The chance of seeing pandas in the wild –
always remote, even when the bamboo was at its height -- was thought
to have gone forever.
But slowly and surely, bamboo has started to regrow in Jiuzhai. And in
June 2012, a mountain ranger working for the national park authority
came across evidence of panda feeding sites within the boundary of the
park. Droppings that looked like panda scat were collected and brought
back for testing, and the results confirmed that after a gap of 20
years, pandas have begun their return to the valley.
"If pandas do return here in greater numbers they will be returning to
a well-protected nature reserve with no threat from logging or
poaching,"said Kieran Fitzgerald, a sustainable tourism expertwho has
worked at the park for the past four years. "Even though Jiuzhai
Valley is a popular tourist site, the tourist buses will be far enough
away so as not to affect these reclusive mountain dwellers."
The chances of seeing a panda in the wild at Jiuzhai remain very slim
– but there is now at least a chance. "Pandas are very shy, reclusive
animals," said Fitzgerald. "If in the future if they do return in
better numbers, it would still be extremely hard for tourists to see
them in the wild. But when the time comes, there could be some viewing
opportunitythrough long range telescopes or binoculars – who knows?"
And in any case, there are plenty of other reasons to go to Jiuzhai.
Visiting someof the park's Tibetan villages is a fantastic way to
learn about the region'sTibetan culture. Everywhere you look, linesof
colourful prayer flags flutter in the breeze and prayer wheels spin as
the water flows beneath them.
The local Tibetan people are beginning to adapt to the tourism that
the natural beauty of their home has inspired. The road leading to the
entrance of the park is lined with the high risechain hotels that are
popular with many Chinese tourists, but there are also signs that an
alternative, more sustainable approach to tourism is on the rise.

Is the Rock in Bayt al-Maqdis (Jerusalem) suspended in the air?

They told us that the sacred rock from which the Prophet (peace and
blessings of Allaah be upon him) started his ascent into heaven on
thenight of the Mi'raaj is suspended in the air by the power of
Allaah. Please tell us if this is correct, may Allaah reward you.
Praise be to Allaah.
Everything is standing in its position by the permission of Allaah,
whether it be the heavensand all that is in them or the earth and all
that is on it – even the rock which you asked about. Allaah says
(interpretationof the meanings):
"Verily, Allaah grasps the heavens and the earth lest they move away
fromtheir places, and if they were to move away from their places,
there is not one that could grasp them after Him…" [Faatir 35:41]
"And among His Signs is that the heaven and the earth stand by His
Command…" [al-Room 30:25]
The Rock in Bayt al-Maqdis is not suspended in space with air around
it on all sides; it is attached to the side of the mountain of which
it is a part and by which itis supported; both it and the mountain
stand in their positions because of the well-known physical laws
governing the universe; in this regard it is like everything else
thatexists. We do not deny that Allaah is Able to hold part of His
creation in space; all of creation is standing in space by the power
of Allaah, as stated above. Allaah raised the mountain above the
people of Moosa when they refused to follow thelaws that Moosa brought
them. It was held up by the power of Allaah. Allaah says
(interpretationof the meaning):
"And (remember) when We took your Covenant and We raised above you the
Mount (saying): 'Hold fast to that which We have given you, and
remember that which is therein so that you may become al-muttaqoon
(the pious)." [al-Baqarah 2:63]
"And (remember) when We raised the mountain over them as if it had
been a canopy, and they thought that it was going to fall on them. (We
said): 'Hold firmly to what We have given you, and remember that which
is therein, so that you may fear Allaah and obey Him." [al-A'raaf
7:171]
But our point here is to explain what is in fact the case: the rock in
Jerusalem is not suspended in space, completely separate from the
mountain; it is attached to it and is supported by it. And Allaah
knows best.
:- keyword: Islamic history and biography

Should a woman start with making up missed fasts from Ramadaan or with the six days of Shawwaal?

What should a woman dofirst: fast the six recommended days of Shawwal
( Alayam Alsetta Albeed) or fast equivalent to the days she missed in
Ramadan due to her monthly period?
Praise be to Allaah.
If she wants to earn the reward mentioned in the hadeeth of the
Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him), "Whoever fasts
Ramadaanthen follows it with six days of Shawwaal, it will be as if he
fasted for a lifetime" (reported by Muslim, no. 1984), then she should
complete her Ramadaan fasts first, thenfollow it with six days of
Shawwaal, so that the hadeeth with be applicable to her too, and she
will gain the reward mentioned in it.
As regards the matter of permissibility, it is permissible for her to
delay making up her Ramadaan fasts, provided that she makes them up
before the next Ramadaan comes along./
Sheikh Muhammed SalihAl-Munajjid
:- key word : Naafil (supererogatory) fasts