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The Words
of Allah (swt ), Most High:
" No
intercession can avail with Him, except for those whom
He allows so [much so] that, when terror is removed
from their hearts, they will say: "What
is it that your Lord has said?" They
will say: "The Truth; and He is the Most
High, the Most Great."" (Qur'an 34:23)
Allah (swt
), Most Glorified, Most High, informs us in this verse
that none can intercede on behalf of another on the Day
of Judgement - whosoever he might be - unless Allah (swt
), the Almighty, the All-powerful Permits him to do so,
and that all, including the angels, will be prostrate
due to their fear of Him. Then when the fear is removed
from the angels' hearts, they will begin to ask one
another concerning what Allah (swt ) has said and what
He has revealed; and some of them will answer that He
has said naught but the Truth, and He (swt ) is the Most
High, the Most Great.
Benefits
Derived From This Verse
1. That
none may intercede except if Allah Wills it.
2.
Confirmation of Allah's Greatness and His Fearfulness.
3.
Confirmation of Allah's Divine Attribute of Speech.
4. That
the Words of Allah are free from all falseness.
5.
Confirmation of His Divine Attribute of being Above all
of His creation - in His Self and in His Attributes.
6.
Confirmation of two of His Names, which are: The Most
High and the Most Great.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of the Chapter
That the
verse proves that even the angels fear Allah (swt ) and
are humbled before Him.
Relevance
of This Verse to the Subject of Tawheed
That it
proves that the angels themselves fear their Lord, so
how can anyone call upon them instead of Allah (swt )?
And if such acts of worship are rejected, whether they
are worshipped directly or as intercessors with Allah (swt
), then what must be said about worshipping others such
as the inhabitants of graves? - they have even less
right to be worshipped.
..ooOOoo..
It is
authentically reported from Abu Hurairah (ra ) that the
Prophet (saas ) said: "When Allah (swt ) orders a
matter in the heaven, the angels beat their wings in
humility and submission to His Words, and the sound is
like the sound of a chain on smooth rocks; they continue
to do so until it enters their hearts. Then, when fear
has been removed from their hearts, they (i.e. some of
the angels) say: "What has your Lord said?"
They (the others) reply: "The Truth, and He (swt )
is the Most High, the Most Great," and the
listening thief and (another listening thief) hears it,
so, one above another," Sufyaan (one of the
narrators) described it by spreading out his fingers,
"...and he (the thief) hears the Words (of Allah
swt ) and transmits them to the one below him and he
transmits it to the one below and so on, until it
reaches the tongue of the magician or the
fortune-teller, and sometimes the meteorite strikes him
(the thief) before he can convey the news, and sometime
he conveys it before he is struck, and then he adds a
hundred lies to what he hears, and it is said: "Did
not he (the fortune-teller) tell us such-and-such on
such-and-such a day?" Then he is believed because
of these Words which were overheard from the
heaven." 1
Allah's
Messenger (saas ) informs us in this Hadith that when
Allah (swt ), Almighty, All-Powerful, decrees a matter
in the heaven, the angels fall prostrate in fear of Him
and in glorification of Him; then, when the fear is
removed from their hearts, they begin to ask one another
about what the Lord, Almighty, All-powerful has said.
One of them (probably Jibreel as )2
replies that Allah (swt ) has spoken the uncompromising
Truth, of which there is no doubt; and it could be that
the listening thief, who is a devil, overhears what is
said and transmits it to the awaiting magician or the
fortune-teller, although a meteorite might strike the
devil and incinerate him before he has the chance to
pass on what he has heard, or it might be passed on
before he is destroyed - all in accordance with Allah's
Will. And the devil, the magician or the fortune-teller
adds a hundred lies to what he has heard and the people
hear and believe ninety-nine lies because of this one
scrap of Truth which was heard from the heaven.
Benefits
Derived From This Hadith
1.
Confirmation of Allah's being above His creation.
2.
Evidence of Allah's Greatness.
3.
Confirmation of Allah's Divine Attribute of Speech.
4.
Confirmation that the devils overhear what the angels
are saying in the heaven, and that Allah (swt ) has
allowed them to do so as a test and a trial for them.
5. The
permissibility of the use of practical examples in
order to explain abstract matters.
6. That
the devils are the source of knowledge for both the
magician and the fortune-teller.
7. The
attachment of some souls to that which is vain and
futile.
8.
Evidence that the sorcerors and fortune-tellers are
liars and cheats.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of the Chapter
That it
shows the position of the angels, that they fear and
revere their Lord.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of Tawheed
That the
Hadith proves that the angels themselves worship Allah (swt
) and fear Him, and so, if it is not permissible to
worship them, whether by calling upon them as
intercessors, or as gods, then it is eminently clear
that calling upon them is even more obviously futile.
..ooOOoo..
An-Nawwaas
Ibn Sam'aan (ra ) reported that Allah's Messenger (saas
) said: "When Allah (swt ), Most High, wishes to
reveal something, He speaks out the Revelation and the
heavens begin to shake (or he said: thunder heavily) due
to fear of Allah (swt ), the Almighty, the All-powerful,
and when the inhabitants of the heavens hear it, they
fall down in prostration to Allah (swt ), and Jibreel
(as ) is the first to raise his head; then Allah (swt )
speaks to him and Allah (swt ) gives him the Revelation
according to His Will. Then Jibreel (as ) passes by the
angels, and every time he passes through a different
heaven, its angels ask him: "What Has our Lord
revealed, oh, Jibreel as ?" Jibreel (as ) then
answers: "He has spoken the Truth, and He (swt ) is
the Most High, the Most Great." Then they all
repeat the same after him, and then Jibreel (as )
proceeds to the destination commanded by Allah (swt ),
the Almighty, the All-powerful."
Allah's
Messenger (saas ) informs us in this Hadith that when
Allah (swt ) speaks the Revelation which He wishes, it
causes the heavens to shake with thunder and convulsions
and the angels to fall down prostrate, in fear of His
Majesty; then the first of them to recover and raise his
head is the angel Jibreel (as ), and Allah (swt ) then
speaks to him as He (swt ) Wills, after which Jibreel (swt
) departs with the Revelation to wheresoever Allah
Commands him; and every time he passes through one of
the heavens, its inhabitants from among the angels
enquire of him as to what the Rabb, Almighty,
All-powerful has commanded. And each time he gives the
same reply: That Allah (swt ) has spoken the evident
Truth, and He (swt ) is the Most High, above all His
creation, the Most Great, without equal in greatness.
Benefits
Derived From This Hadith
1.
Confirmation of Allah's Divine Attribute of Iradah.
3
2.
Confirmation of Allah's Divine Attribute of Kalaam
(speaking) and that His (saas ) Speech is heard.
3.
Evidence of Allah's unparalleled Might.
4.
Evidence that all of the heavens are inhabited.
5. Proof
of Jibreel's superiority over the rest of the angels.
6.
Confirmation of Allah's Divine Attribute of Qawl.
4
7.
Confirmation of two of Allah's Names: The Most High and
the Most Great.
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of the Chapter
That the
Hadith clearly shows the position of the angels that
they fear Allah (swt ).
Relevance
of This Hadith to the Subject of Tawheed
That the
Hadith proves that the angels, who are amongst Allah's
finest creations, fear Allah (swt ), and so worship of
them by others is false and an act of Shirk.
Footnotes
1.
Narrated by Bukhari
2.
Since he is the leader of the angels and the greatest of
them.
3.
Iradah: Want, wish, will, decree.
4.
It is not easy to adequately translate the words Qawl
and Kalaam into English, but we may say that Qawl is
when we say: "Such-and-such a person said:
"...", whereas Kalaam refers to the spoken
words of Allah (swt), which are spoken to whom He wills
from amongst the angels or Prophets (alayhum-as-salaam)ز
Kitaab
At-Tawheed, Chapter: 14
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