2.3 Angels

The Arabic word for angel is malak, of which the plural form is mala’ika The Holy Qur’an speaks of the creation of man from dust and of the creation of jinn from fire, but it does not speak of the origin of angels. There is, however, a report from ‘A’ishah, according to which the Holy Prophet said that the jinn are created from fire (nar), and that the angels are created from light (nur) (M. 52:22). This shows that the angels are immaterial beings, and further, that the jinn and the angels are two different classes of beings, and that it is a mistake to consider them as belonging to one class. In the Holy Qur’an angels are spoken of as “messengers (rusul) flying on wings” (35:1). Their descriptions as rusul has reference to their spiritual function of bearing Divine messages. Sacred history, indeed, represents angels as possessing wings, but so far as the Holy Qur’an is concerned, it would be a grievous mistake to confuse the (janah) wing of an angel with the fore-limb of a bird which fits it for flight. The wing is a symbol of the power which enables those immaterial beings to execute their functions with all speed; and in Arabic, the word janah is used in a variety of senses. In birds it is the wing; the two sides of a thing are called its janahain (two janahs); and in man, his hand is spoken of as his janah (R.). The word has further been used metaphorically in the Holy Qur’an in several places, as in 15:88 and 26:215, where the “lowering of the janah” stands for “being kind.” The Arabic proverb, huwa maqsus al-janah (lit., he has his janah — wing — clipped), really means, he lacks the power to do a thing (LL.), which also shows that janah is used for power in Arabic. In the immaterial beings called angels who are created from light (nur), and in whom therefore a material janah cannot be thought of, it is simply the symbol of a power which is speedily brought into action.

It is commonly thought that the immaterial beings, whom we call angels, can assume any shape they like, but the Holy Qur’an gives no countenance to this idea. On the contrary, it is repeatedly stated in answer to the demands of the Holy Prophet’s opponents, who desired to see an angel or to have an angel as a messenger, that angels could not be seen and that an angel would have been sent as a messenger had angels, and not human beings, lived on earth: “And nothing prevents people from believing when the guidance comes to them except that they say, Has Allah raised up a mortal to be a messenger? Say, Had there been in the earth angels walking about secure, We would have sent down to them from the heaven an angel as a messenger” (17:94, 95). Twice it is related in the Holy Qur’an that the angelic hosts sent to help the Muslims were not seen by human eye: “Then Allah sent down His calm upon His Apostle and upon the believers, and sent hosts which you saw not” (9:26); “Call to mind the favour of Allah to you when there came against you hosts, so We sent against them a strong wind and hosts that you saw not” (33:9). The Holy Qur’an further states that the devils or jinn cannot be seen by human eye: “He sees you, he as well as his host, from whence you see them not” (7:27).

Two cases have, however, to be considered. In the first place, there is a story related about Abraham’s guests who first came to him and gave him the good news of a son, Isac, and then went to Lot and bade him leave the city along with his followers, since punishment was about to overtake his people. It is generally supposed that these were angels, as angels alone are deputed to deliver messages to prophets, and the Bible says that they were angels. But the Holy Qur’an speaks of them only as the guests of Abraham and as “Our messengers,” and nowhere says that they were angels. Had they been angels, they would have delivered the Divine message to Abraham and Lot in the manner in which the angels deliver such messages, which is by revealing the Divine message to the heart of the prophet: “He revealed it to thy heart by Allah’s command” (2:97); and the angel, though he may come in the shape of a man, is not seen by the physical eye of the prophet but by his spiritual eye. Therefore, if the guests spoken of were angels, their appearance to both Abraham and Lot must have been in vision, in which state it is that revelation comes to the prophets of God; but if it was with the physical eye that Abraham and Lot beheld them, then they were men and not angels. The fact that they did not take any food when it was offered by Abraham merely shows that they did not need it, or that they were fasting at the time. Abraham had received the news of a son independently of them and Lot had also been informed of the impending fate of his people without their agency.

The other case is that of Harut and Marut. Special stress has been laid on this point by Western writers generally, and by the Christian missionaries in particular, and the inference is drawn, from what is related of them in the Holy Qur’an, that angels are not immaterial creatures and that they have desires like human beings; and thus it is sought to contradict the whole teaching of the Holy Qur’an on angels by a story which is based neither on the Holy Qur’an nor on any authentic hadith. In fact, the Holy Qur’an rejects the story which was current among the Magi and the Jews about these two angels. According to Sale, the Persian Magi “mention two rebellious angels of the same names, now hung up by the feet, with their heads downwards, in the territory of Babel.” And he adds: “The Jews have something like this, of the angel Shamhozai, who, having debauched himself with women, repented, and by way of penance hung himself up between heaven and earth.” These stories, and others ascribing evil practices to Solomon, were rejected by the Holy Qur’an in the following words: “And Solomon disbelieved not, but the devils disbelieved, teaching men enchantment. And it was not revealed to the two angels in Babel, Harut and Marut. Nor did they teach it to anyone, so that they should have said, We are only a trial, so disbelieve not” (2:102). The statement made here amounts to this. The Jews instead of following the word of God went after certain evil crafts which they attributed to Solomon and to two angels at Babel. Solomon is declared to be innocent of evil practices, and the story of the two angels a fabrication. All reliable commentators have taken the same view of the Qur’anic statement. The hadith which is quoted in support of the other view is not to be met with in the six reliable collections, but only in the Musnad of Ahmad, and the Musnad contains many untrustworthy reports. Moreover, nothing which contradicts the very principles laid down in the Holy Qur’an can be accepted on the basis of such weak authority. The commentators have actually condemned the alleged report as untrue (fasid) and repudiated (mardud) (Rz.). Another authority says that nothing in this story can be traced to the Holy Prophet and calls it puerile and worthless (khurafat) (RM.). Hence the alleged story of Harut and Marut which is rejected by the Holy Qur’an, and is not based on any authentic hadith, cannot be made a basis for rejecting the principles laid down in the Holy Qur’an that angels cannot be seen.

Though angels are spoken of as beings, they are not endowed with powers of discrimination like those of human beings; in this respect, indeed, they may be said to partake more of the attributes of the powers of nature than of man. Their function is to obey and they cannot disobey. The Holy Qur’an says plainly: “They do not disobey Allah in that which He commands them, but (they) do as they are commanded” (66:6); which also shows that the story of Harut and Marut, which ascribes disobedience to angels, is without foundation. And inasmuch as man is endowed with a will while the angel is not, man is superior to the angel; which superiority is also evident from the fact that angels were commanded to make obeisance to him (2:34).

It is true that the angel Gabriel is spoken of as coming to the Holy Prophet with the Divine revelation, but as has been already shown, it was with the spiritual senses that the Holy Prophet received the revelation, and therefore it was not with the physical eye that he beheld Gabriel. The angel came to him sometimes in the shape of a man; the Holy Prophet heard the words of revelation, on occasions, with the force of the ringing of a bell; yet those who were sitting next to him, while fully conscious of the change coming over him, neither saw the angel, nor heard the words of the revelation. Numerous incidents are related in which the Holy Prophet received the revelation while he was sitting among his Companions, yet not one of the Companions ever saw the angel, or even heard his voice. And even when Gabriel came to him at other times, it was always with the spiritual eye that the Holy Prophet saw him. ‘A’ishah is very explicit on this point. It is related that on a certain occasion the Holy Prophet said to her: “O ‘A’ishah! Here is Gabriel offering salutation to thee.” She said: “And on him be peace and the mercy and blessings of Allah; thou seest what I do not see” (Bu. 59:6). This shows that even ‘A’ishah never saw Gabriel, whether he came with revelation or on other occasions.

There are, however, a few stray incidents, related in certain hadith, from which inference is drawn that others besides the Holy Prophet saw Gabriel, but, from what has been stated above, it is clear that either it was in a vision ( a state of kashf), and therefore with the spiritual senses, that they saw him or that there had been some misunderstanding in the relation of the incident. For instance, it is stated that a stranger came to the Holy Prophet while he was sitting with his Companions, and asked him questions about faith and religion; and when he went away, the Holy Prophet said that it was Gabriel who had come to teach them their religion (Bu. 2:37). But it is doubtful whether the Holy Prophet meant that the man who put the questions was Gabriel, or that the answers which he gave to the stranger were at the prompting of Gabriel. The latter interpretation of his words is more in consonance with the principle laid down that the angel cannot be seen with the physical eye, and with the vast majority of other incidents in which Gabriel came to the Holy Prophet and was seen by him but not by others present at the same time. It is also possible that the few people who were present with the Holy Prophet shared his vision and saw Gabriel with the spiritual eye.

There are two other cases in which there seems to be a misunderstanding. The first is the case of Umm Salama, the Holy Prophet’s wife. Some one was talking with the Holy Prophet, and Umm Salama thought it was Dihya. Afterwards she heard the Holy Prophet delivering a sermon which gave her to understand that it was Gabriel (Bu. 66:1). Here, clearly there seems to be a misunderstanding. The Holy Prophet never told Umm Salama or anybody else that it was Gabriel who talked to him in the presence of Umm Salama. Her first impression was that it was Dihya, and when she expressed that opinion to the Holy Prophet, he did not contradict her, which shows that she was right. Afterwards certain words of the sermon gave her the impression that it was Gabriel, but she never expressed that opinion to the Holy Prophet, and therefore her second impression cannot be accepted in face of the fact that whenever Gabriel appeared to the Holy Prophet, whether with or without a revelation, he was never seen by any one except the Holy Prophet, and that too with the inner light. The second is an incident recorded by Ibn Sa’d about ‘A’ishah having seen Gabriel. It cannot be accepted when, according to the report earlier quoted from Bukhari, ‘A’ishah had herself told the Holy Prophet that she could not see the angel whom he saw.

In the Holy Qur’an, angels are generally described as having a connection with the spiritual state of man. It was an angel, Gabriel by name, who brought revelation to the Holy Prophet (2:97; 26:193, 194) and the prophets before him (4:163). The same angel is mentioned as strengthening the prophets (2:87) and the believers (58:22). While angels generally are spoken of as descending on believers and comforting them (41:30), they are also intermediaries in bringing revelation to those who are not prophets, as in the case of Zacharias (3: 39) and Mary (3: 42, 45). Angels were sent to help the believers against their enemies (3:124, 125; 8:12); they pray for blessings on the Holy Prophet (33:56) and on the believers (33:43); they ask forgiveness for all men, believers as well as non-believers (42:5); they cause believers to die (16:32) and also non-believers (4:97; 16: 28); they write down the deeds of men (82:10-12); they will intercede for men on the Day of Judgement (53:26). There is no clear reference to their function in the physical world unless the causing of death may be treated as such, but I have classed it as a spiritual function because death makes both the believers and unbelievers enter a new life. It may be added here that the Hadith mentions an angel of birth, that is an angel appointed for every man when he quickens in the mother’s womb (Bu. 59:6). There are, however, verses in the Holy Qur’an which show that the angelic hosts have some sort of connection with the physical world. The most important of these verses are those which speak of the creation of man (Adam). When God wished to create man, He communicated His wish to the angels (2:30; 15: 28; 38:71). This shows that the angels were there before man was created, and, therefore, must have had some sort of connection with the physical world and with the forces which brought about the creation of man. Unless they are treated as intermediaries carrying out the Divine will, the communication to them of the Divine will to create man is meaningless. These verses, therefore, lead us to the conclusion that the laws of nature find expression through angels. It is due to this function of theirs that they are called messengers (rusul) (22:75; 35:1). Expression of the Divine will is a Divine message, and the angels as bearers of that message carry it into execution. Their description as bearers of the Throne (‘Arsh) of the Lord (40:7; 69:17) leads to the same conclusion for, as already stated, the ‘Arsh stands for the Divine control of the universe, and the angels, the bearers of that control, are in fact the intermediaries through whom that control is exercised.

Vastly greater importance is, however, attached to the angelic function in the spiritual world, because it is primarily with the spiritual development of man that the Holy Qur’an is concerned. To put it briefly, the function of the angel in the spiritual world is the same as his function in the physical world — to serve as an intermediary in carrying out the Divine will which, in the latter case, is to bring about the evolution of creation, and in the former, the evolution of man. According to the teachings of Islam, the angel has a close connection with the life of man from his birth, even from the time he is in the mother’s womb till his death, and even after death, in his spiritual progress in Paradise and his spiritual treatment in Hell. The different functions of the angel in connection with the spiritual life of man may be broadly divided into seven classes which are detailed below.

The most important and, at the same time, the most prominent function of the angel, in the spiritual realm, is the bringing down of Divine revelation or the communication of Divine messages to the prophets. The prophet not only sees the angel but also hears his voice, and the angel is to him, therefore, a reality. This has been the universal experience of humanity in all ages. As the angel is an immaterial being, the prophet sees him sometimes in the shape of a human being and sometimes in other forms. Thus the angel Gabriel often appeared to the Holy Prophet in the shape of a man, but sometimes he saw him “in his shape” (fi surati-hi) “filling the whole horizon” (Bu. 59:7). It is not stated what that shape was, and probably it could not be described; only the spiritual eye could recognize it. Once, also, he saw his six hundred wings (ajnihah) (Bu. 59:7) which no doubt stand for his immense power. On another occasion he saw him in a cloud (Bu. 59:6), the cloud itself being probably a part of the vision.

According to the Holy Qur’an, the angel who brought revelation to the Holy Prophet is known by the name of Gabriel (2:98). The Arabic form is Jibril which according to ‘Ikrimah is composed of jibr meaning servant (‘abd) and ’il meaning God (2:97, Bu. 65). Gabriel is also mentioned in the Holy Qur’an as Ruh al-Amin or the Faithful Spirit (26:193, 194), and Ruh al-Qudus or the Holy Spirit (16:102). In all these places, Gabriel or the Faithful Spirit or the Holy Spirit is said to have revealed the Holy Qur’an to the Holy Prophet. The revelation to the prophets that appeared before him is said to have been granted in a similar manner (4:163). In Hadith, Gabriel is spoken of as the great angel who is entrusted with secret messages (al-Namus al-akbar), and the same Namus is said to have appeared to Moses (Bu. 1:1). Gabriel is also called the messenger (rasul) through whom God speaks to His prophets (42:51).

While Gabriel is thus spoken of as bringing revelation to the prophets, angels generally are said to bring revelation to other righteous servants of God: “He sends down the angels with revelation (al-ruh) by His command on whom He pleases of His servants” (16:2). And again: “Exalter of degrees, Lord of the Throne; He makes the spirit (al-ruh) to light by His command on whom He pleases of His servants” (40:15). These are general statements; and in the case of Mary who was undoubtedly not a prophet, the angels are also spoken of as bearing Divine messages: “And when the angels said, O Mary, surely Allah has chosen thee and purified thee” (3:42); and again: “When the angels said, O Mary, surely Allah gives thee good news with a word from Him of one whose name is the Messiah” (3:45). And so in the case of Zacharias, the father of John the Baptist: “The angels called to him as he stood praying in the sanctuary: Allah gives thee good news of John” (3:39). And the believers generally are thus spoken of: “As for those who say, our Lord is Allah, then continue in the right way, the angels descend upon them, saying: Fear not, nor be grieved, and receive good news of the Garden which you were promised” (41:30).

The second function of the angels, as revealed in the Holy Qur’an, is to strengthen the righteous servants of God, prophets as well as others, and to give them comfort in trials and affliction. Jesus Christ is specially mentioned in this connection because of the serious allegations of the Jews against him. Thrice it is stated in the Holy Qur’an that Jesus Christ was strengthened with the Holy Spirit which, as shown earlier, is another name of Gabriel, according to the Holy Qur’an. And the believers generally are said to be strengthened with the Spirit: “These are they into whose hearts He has impressed faith, and strengthened them with a Spirit from Him” (58:22), where instead of the Ruh al-Qudus we have Ruh-in min-hu (Spirit from Him), the meaning being the same. In one hadith, the Holy Prophet is reported as asking Hassan, the poet, to defend him against the abuse of the unbelievers and adding: “O Allah! Strengthen him with the Holy Spirit” (Bu.8:68). Elsewhere the words are: “And Gabriel is with thee” (Bu. 59:6). And again we find in the Holy Qur’an that the angels are spoken of as friends (awliya) or guardians of the faithful in this life and in the Hereafter (41:31). It was in this sense, i.e., to strengthen the believers, that the angels were sent to help them in their struggle against the unbelievers, as in these verses: “When you sought the aid of your Lord, so He answered you: I will assist you with a thousand of the angels” (8:9); “Does it not suffice you that your Lord should help you with three thousand angels sent down” (3:124); while yet on a third field of battle the Muslims were promised the help of five thousand angels (3:125). The Holy Qur’an itself explains why the angels were sent: “And Allah made it only a good news for you and that your hearts might be at ease thereby” (3:126; 8:10). It was through the strengthening of the believers’ hearts that the angels worked (8:12). These angelic hosts were sent when the Muslims had to fight in defence against heavy odds, 300 against a thousand, 700 against three thousand, and 1,500 against 15,000. And on all three fields the Muslims were victorious and the unbelievers had to go back without attaining their objective. The strengthening of hearts through the angels is, therefore, a solid fact of history.

Closely allied with this strengthening of the believers is the third function of the angels—that of executing Divine punishment against the wicked, because in the contest between the righteous and the wicked the punishment of the latter and the help of the former are identical. Often would those who sought to extirpate the truth by physical force say that if there were a God Whose messenger the Holy Prophet was, and if there were angels who could help his cause, why did they not come? “Why have not angels been sent down to us, or why do we not see our Lord?” (25:21). “They wait for naught but that Allah should come to them in the shadows of the clouds with angels, and the matter has already been decided” (2:210). “Await they ought—but that the angels should come to them or that thy Lord’s command should come to pass” (16:33). “They wait not aught but that the angels should come to them or that thy Lord should come, or that some of the signs of thy Lord should come” (6:158).

To these demands, the Holy Qur’an replies in the following words: “And on the day when the heaven bursts asunder with clouds, and the angels are sent down, as they are sent. The Kingdom on that day rightly belongs to the Beneficent, and it will be a hard day for the disbelievers” (25:25, 26). This shows that it was the promised punishment of the unjust which was hinted at in the coming of the angels. Elsewhere it is said: “And if thou couldst see when the angels cause to die those who disbelieve, smiting their faces and their backs” (8:50). “But how will it be when the angels cause them to die, smiting their faces and their backs?” (47:27). And on one occasion, the demand and the answer are thus put together: “Why bringest thou not the angels to us if thou art of the truthful? We send not the angels but with truth, and then they would not be respited” (15:7, 8).

Another very important function of the angels is that of intercession—an intercession which includes both the believer and the unbeliever. As God “has ordained mercy on Himself” (6:12), and His “mercy encompasses all things” (7:156) — in fact, it was to show mercy that “He created them” (11:119) — it was necessary that His angels, who are intermediaries carrying out His will, should include all in their intercession. The intercession of the angels is mentioned in the Holy Qur’an on one occasion in particular: “And how many angels are there in the heavens whose intercession avails not except after Allah gives permission to whom He pleases and chooses” (53:26). The Hadith also speaks of the intercession of angels (Bu. 98:24). Now intercession is really a prayer to God on behalf of the sinners on the Day of Judgement, but we are told that the angels pray for men even in this life: “The angels celebrate the praise of their Lord and ask forgiveness for those on earth” (42:5), “those on earth” including both the believer and the unbeliever. And while this prayer is all-comprehensive, it grows stronger in the case of believers: “Those who bear the Throne of Power and those around it celebrate the praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask protection for those who believe: Our Lord, Thou embracest all things in mercy and knowledge, so protect those who turn to Thee and follow Thy way … (and) make them enter the gardens of perpetuity which Thou hast promised them and such of their fathers and their wives and their offspring as are good … and guard them from evil” (40:7-9). As a result of the prayers of the angels, the faithful are actually guided forth from every kind of darkness into light: “He it is Who sends His blessings on you and (so do) His angels, that He may bring you forth out of darkness into the light” (33:43). And as regards the Holy Prophet, the angels bless him: “Surely Allah and His angels bless the prophet. O you who believe, call for blessings on him” (33:56). Thus the angels’ connection with man grows stronger as he advances in righteousness. As regards men generally, the angels pray for their forgiveness so that punishment in respect of their evil deeds may be averted; as regards the faithful, they lead them forth from darkness into light, and thus enable them to make progress spiritually; and as regards the Holy Prophet, they bless him and are thus helpful in advancing his cause in the world.

It will be seen that in his spiritual function the angel is meant to render help in the spiritual advancement of man. The angel brings Divine revelation, and it is only with the help of such revelation that man is able to realize what the spiritual life is, and to make advancement spiritually by a development of his inner faculties. The angel strengthens the Holy Prophet, through whom the law of spiritual progress is revealed, and also the believers who are instrumental in carrying the ennobling message to humanity, and thus renders help in establishing the law of spiritual advancement; and the same end is achieved by the punishment of those who try to exterminate that law and its upholders. The angels’ intercession and prayer even for the unbeliever are undoubtedly meant to set him on the road to spiritual progress, while his bringing of the believers from darkness into light, and his blessings on the Holy Prophet, are the advancement of the cause of spiritual progress. Thus, if analyzed, each one of the functions of the angel is aimed at helping the spiritual advancement of man and bringing about his spiritual perfection. This is further borne out by the fact that there are angels even in Paradise and Hell which are really two different places or conditions, wherein man is enabled to carry on his spiritual progress after death, the former opening the way to immeasurable heights of spiritual progress, and the latter cleansing man of the spiritual diseases which he has himself contracted by leading an evil life in this world.

Every good and noble deed is the result of the promptings of the angel. The Holy Qur’an speaks of the angel and the devil as leading man to two different courses of life: the former, as shown above, to a good and noble life aiming at the development of the human faculties, and the latter, as will be shown later, to a base and wicked life tending to the deadening of those faculties. Every man is said to have two associates, an associate angel and an associate devil. The first is called a ‘witness’ (shahid), and the second a ‘driver’ (sa’iq): “And every soul comes, with it a driver and a witness. Thou wert indeed heedless of this, but now We have removed from thee thy veil, so that thy sight is sharp this day” (50:21, 22). The driver is the devil who makes evil suggestions and leads man to a state of degradation, and the witness is the angel who helps man on to a good and noble end. Man is said to be heedless of it here, there being a veil over his eyes, so that he cannot see to what condition he is being led, but he will see the result clearly on the Day of Judgement. In Hadith we are told that every man has an associate angel and an associate devil. Thus Muslim reports from Ibn Mas‘ud: “The Holy Prophet said, There is not one among you but there is appointed over him his associate from among the jinn and his associate from among the angels. The Companions said, And what about thee, prophet of Allah? He said, The same is the case with me, but Allah has helped me over him (i.e., the associate jinn) so he has submitted and does not command me aught but good”. According to another hadith, the Holy Prophet is reported to have said: “There are suggestions which the devil makes to the son of man, and suggestions which the angel makes. The devil’s suggestion is for evil and giving the lie to the truth, and the angel’s suggestion is for good and the acceptance of truth”.

Another spiritual function of the angels, on which special stress is laid in the Holy Qur’an, is the recording of the good and evil deeds of man. These angels are called ‘honourable recorders’ (kiram-an katibin), the words being taken from the verse of the Holy Qur’an: “And surely there are keepers over you, honourable recorders, they know what you do” (82:10-12). And elsewhere we have: “When the two receivers receive, sitting on the right and on the left. He utters not a word but there is by him a watcher at hand” (50:17,18). “Alike (to Him) among you is he who conceals the word and he who speaks openly, and he who hides himself by night and who goes forth by day. For him are (angels) guarding the consequences (of his deeds), before him and behind him, who guard him by Allah’s command” (13:10, 11).

The guarding in the last verse refers to the guarding of man’s deeds. The angels are immaterial beings, and hence also their recording is effected in a different manner from that in which a man would prepare a record. In fact, their record exists, as elsewhere stated, in the form of the effect which an action produces: “And We have made every man’s actions cling to his neck, and We shall bring forth to him on the Day of Resurrection a book which he will find wide open” (17:13). The clinging of a man’s actions to his neck is clearly the effect which his actions produce and which he is powerless to obliterate, and we are told that this effect will be met with in the form of an open book on the Resurrection Day, thus showing that the angel’s recording of a deed is actually the producing of an effect.

The different functions of angels in the spiritual world are thus connected, in one way or another, either with the awakening of the spiritual life in man or its advancement and progress. Herein lies the reason why faith in angels is required along with a faith in God: “Righteous is the one who believes in Allah, and the Last Day, and the angels, and the Book and the prophets” (2:177). “The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. They all believe in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers” (2:285).

Faith or belief in any doctrine, according to the Holy Qur’an, is essentially the acceptance of a proposition as a basis for action. Faith in angels, therefore, means that there is a spiritual life for man, and that he must develop that life by working in accordance with the promptings of the angel and by bringing into play the faculties which God has given him; and that is why—though the existence of the devil, who makes the evil suggestions, is as much a fact as the existence of the angel who makes the good suggestions—the Holy Qur’an requires a belief in angels and a disbelief in devils. This, of course, is not to say that one must deny the existence of the devil. The significance is clear enough: one must obey the commandments of God and refuse to follow the suggestions of the devil. Faith in the angels, therefore, only means that every good suggestion—and such is the suggestion of the angel—must be accepted, because it leads to the spiritual development of man.

There is a popular misconception, into which many writers of repute have fallen, that Iblis or the Devil is one of the angels. The misconception has arisen from the fact that where the angels are commanded to make obeisance to Adam, there is also mention of Iblis and his refusal to make obeisance: “And when We said to the angels, Be submissive to Adam, they submitted, but Iblis (did not). He refused and was proud, and he was one of the disbelievers” (2:34). From these words it is clear enough that Iblis or the Devil was one of the unbelievers and refused to obey, and, therefore, he could not be an angel, because, of the angels, it is plainly said that “they do not disobey Allah in that which He commands them, but do as they are commanded” (66:6). And elsewhere it is stated in so many words that Iblis was not from among the angels but from among the jinn: “And when We said to the angels, Make submission to Adam, they submitted except Iblis. He was of the jinn, so he transgressed the commandment of his Lord” (18:50). Now jinn and angels are two different classes of beings; their origin and their functions have nothing in common. The jinn, as we have seen, are mentioned as being created from fire, while the angels are created from light, and the function of the jinn has also been shown to be quite different from the function of the angel. It is, therefore, an obvious error to look upon the jinn as being a branch of the angelic creation.

The word jinn is derived from janna meaning he covered or concealed or hid or protected. The word jinn has been used in the Holy Qur’an distinctly in two senses. It is applied in the first place to the spirits of evil or the beings that invite man to evil, as opposed to the angels who invite him to good, both being imperceptible to the senses. The origin of these beings is said to be fire, and their function is described as that of exciting evil passions or low desires. The Holy Qur’an is explicit on both these points. As regards the creation of jinn, it says: “And the jinn We created before of intensely hot fire” (15:27); and again: “And He created the jinn of a flame of fire” (55:15). And to show that the jinn and the devils are one, the devil is spoken of as saying: “I am better than he (i.e., man); Thou hast created me of fire while him Thou didst create of dust” (7:12). As regards the function of jinn, the Holy Qur’an is equally clear: “The slinking devil who whispers into the hearts of men, from among the jinn and the men” (114:4-6). Hadith have already been quoted showing that every man has with him an associate from among the angels who inspires him with good and noble ideas and an associate from among the jinn who excites his baser passions.

The question is often asked why has God created beings which lead man astray? There is a misunderstanding in this question. God has created man with two kinds of passions, the higher which awaken in him a higher or spiritual life, and the lower which relate to his physical existence; and corresponding to these two passions there are two kinds of beings, the angels and the devils. The lower passions are necessary for man’s physical life, but they become a hindrance to him in his advancement to a higher life when they run riot and are out of control. Man is required to keep these passions in control. If he can do so, they become a help to him in his advancement instead of a hindrance. This is the meaning underlying the Holy Prophet’s reply in the hadith already quoted, when he was asked if he too had an associate jinn. “Yes,” he said, “but Allah has helped me to overcome him, so he has submitted and does not command me aught but good.” His devil is said to have submitted to him (aslama), and instead of making evil suggestions commanded him naught but good, that is to say, became a help to him in the development of his higher life.

Such is the true significance underlying the story of Adam. The devil at first refuses to make obeisance to man, i.e., to become helpful in his spiritual advancement, and is determined, by hook or by crook, to set him on the wrong course and excite his baser passions: “Certainly I will take of Thy servants an appointed portion; and certainly I will lead them astray and excite in them vain desires” (4:118, 119). But he is subdued by the help of the Divine revelation, and those who follow the revelation have no fear of the devil’s misleading: “Then Adam received (revealed) words from his Lord, and he turned to him (mercifully) … Surely there will come to you guidance from Me, then whoever follows My guidance, no fear shall come upon them, nor shall they grieve” (2:37, 38). The presence of the devil thus indicates that, in the earlier stages of spiritual development, man has to contend with him by refusing to obey his evil promptings, and any one who makes this struggle is sure to subdue the evil one; while in the higher stages, the lower passions having been brought into subjection, the devil actually becomes helpful, “commanding naught but good,” so that even physical desires become a help in the spiritual life of man. Without struggle there is no advancement in life, and thus even in the earlier stages, the devil is the ultimate means of man’s good, unless, of course, man chooses to follow instead of stubbornly resisting him.

The other use of the word jinn is with regard to men of a certain class. Even the word devil (shaitan), or devils (shayatin), has been applied to men in the Holy Qur’an, and the leaders of evil are again and again called devils. But the use of the word jinn when speaking of men was recognized in Arabic literature before Islam. The verse of Musa ibn Jabir fa-ma nafarat jinn, which would literally mean, and my jinn did not flee, has been explained as meaning, “and my companions who were like the jinn, did not flee” (LL.). Here the word jinn is clearly explained as meaning human beings. And Tabrezi says, further, that the Arabs liken a man who is sharp and clever in affairs to a jinni and a shaitan. There are other examples in pre-Islamic poetry in which the word jinn has been used to denote great and brave men. In addition to this, the word jinn is explained by Arabic lexicologists as meaning mu‘azam al-nas (Q., TA.), i.e., the main body of men or the bulk of mankind (LL.) In the mouth of an Arab, the main body of men would mean the non-Arab world. They called all foreigners jinn because they were concealed from their eyes. It is in this sense that the word jinn is used in the Holy Qur’an in the story of Solomon: “and of the jinn there were those who worked before him by the command of his Lord … They made for him what he pleased of synagogues and images” (34:12, 13). The description of the jinn here as builders shows them to have been men. And they are also spoken of as devils (shayatin) in 38:37, where they are called builders and divers, and it is further added that some of them were “fettered in chains.” Surely those who built buildings and dived into the sea were not invisible spirits, nor do invisible spirits require to be fettered in chains. These were in fact the strangers whom Solomon had subjected to his rule and forced into service.

In one place in the Holy Qur’an jinn and men are addressed as one class or community (ma‘shar). In this verse both jinn and men are asked the question: “Did there not come to you messengers from among you?” Now the messengers who are mentioned in the Holy Qur’an or Hadith all belong to mankind, and the Holy Book does not speak of a single messenger from among the jinn. The jinn in this case, therefore, are either non-Arabs or the iniquitous leaders who mislead others. In one verse, it is stated that “if men and jinn should combine together to bring the like of this Qur’an, they could not bring the like of it” (17:88), while in another, in an exactly similar challenge, the expressions “your helpers” or “leaders” have been used instead of jinn (2:23). The jinn mentioned in the first section of ch. 72 are evidently foreign Christians, since they are spoken of as holding the doctrine of sonship (72:3,4). In 72:6, they are called rijal (pl. of rajul), which word is applicable to the males of human beings only (LA.). Again, in the 46th chapter the word jinn has been used in the sense of foreigners when a party of the jinn is stated to have come to the Holy Prophet and listened to the Holy Book and believed in it, because all the injunctions contained in the Holy Qur’an are for men, and there is not one for the jinn. This was evidently a party of the Jews of Nisibus as reports show, and the Holy Qur’an speaks of them as believers in Moses.

Commenting on this incident, Ibn Kathir has quoted several reports from the Musnad of Ahmad, which establish the following facts. The Holy Prophet met a party of jinn at Nakhla when returning from Ta’if in the tenth year of the Call. These are said to have come from Nineveh. On the other hand, there is a well-established story that the Holy Prophet on his way back from Ta’if took rest in a garden where he met a Christian who was a resident of Nineveh; and the man listened to his message and believed in him. It may be that he had other companions to whom he spoke of the Holy Prophet, and that these came to him later on. Another party of jinn is said to have waited on him when he was at Makkah, and he is reported to have gone out of the city to a lonely place at night time, and to have spent the whole night with them. And we are told that their traces and the traces of the fire which they had burned during the night were visible in the morning. When prayer-time came and the Holy Prophet said his prayers in the company of Ibn Mas‘ud, the narrator, two of them are said to have come and joined the service. They are supposed to have been Jews of Nisibus and were seven in number (IK. 46:29). The Holy Prophet went to see them outside Makkah, evidently because the Quraish would have interfered with the meeting and ill-treated any who came to see him. At any rate the Holy Qur’an and the Hadith do not speak of the jinn as they exist in the popular imagination, interfering in human affairs or controlling the forces of nature or assuming human or any other shape or taking possession of men or women and affecting them with certain diseases.

There is another misunderstanding in connection with the devils or the jinn which should be removed. It is thought that according to the teachings of the Holy Qur’an, the devils have access to Divine secrets, and stealthily overhear the Divine revelation which is communicated to the angels. This was an Arab superstition borrowed either from the Jews or the Persians, and the Holy Qur’an has rejected it in emphatic words. Thus, speaking of the revelation of the Holy Book, it says: “And surely this is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds. The Faithful Spirit has brought it on thy heart … And the devils have not brought it. And it behoves them not, nor have they the power to do it. Surely they are far removed even from hearing it” (26:192-212). In the face of these words, it is impossible to maintain that the Holy Qur’an upholds the doctrine of the devils’ access to Divine secrets. The Divine message is entrusted to Gabriel, who is here called the Faithful Spirit to show that it is quite safe with him; and this message he brings direct to the heart of the Holy Prophet. The idea that the devils can overhear it by eavesdropping is strongly condemned; they do not ascend to heaven as is popularly supposed, nor do they come down to earth with the Divine secrets; nor does it behove them, nor have they the power to ascend to heaven and come down with the revelation; they are far removed even from the hearing of it, so their stealthy listening to the Divine secrets is only a myth. Another verse states: “Or have they the means by which they listen (to Divine secrets)? Then let their listener bring a clear authority” (52:38). Here too the claim made by superstition on behalf of the devils, that they can ascend into heaven and listen to the Divine secrets, is plainly rejected. And yet in a third verse it is reported that Divine secrets are safely entrusted to the apostles, and that no one else has access to them: “He makes known to none His secrets except a messenger whom He chooses. For surely He makes a guard to go before him and after him” (72:26,27).

The entire idea of the devils’ eavesdropping on Divine secrets appears to have arisen from a misunderstanding of certain words, particularly the words shaitan and rajm. Shaitan (devils), as already shown, has admittedly been used for the iniquitous leaders of opposition to the Holy Prophet, as in the case of hypocrites: “And when they are alone with their devils (shayatin), they say we are with you” (2:14). All commentators are agreed that here by their devils are meant their leaders in unbelief. The opposition to the Holy Prophet came chiefly from two sources, viz., the worldly leaders and the diviners or soothsayers (kahin). As the simple faith of Islam was the death-knell of all superstitions, and the office of kahin represented one of the greatest superstitions that ever enthralled the Arab mind, at all times prone to superstition, the diviners fought the Holy Prophet tooth and nail. They deceived the people by their oracular utterances, and by presuming to foretell that the Holy Prophet would soon perish. Like the worldly leaders of the verse quoted above, these diviners are also spoken of in the Holy Qur’an as shayatin (devils), because they led people to evil courses of life.

The other word of which the meaning has been misunderstood, is rajm (used in connection with these devils or diviners). Rajm, no doubt, does mean the throwing of stone, but it is also used to indicate conjecture (zann), superstition (tawahhum), abusing (shatm) or driving away (tard) (R.). It occurs in the sense of conjecture in 18:22 — “Making conjectures (rajm-an) at “what is unknown”—, and in the sense of abuse in 19:46 in which the word la-arjumanna-ka is explained as meaning, “I will speak to thee in words which thou dost not like” (R.). And it is added that shaitan or the devil is called rajim, because “he is driven away from all good and from the high places of the exalted assembly” (mala’al-a‘la) (R.).

The two words explained above occur in the following verse: “And We have adorned this lower heaven with lights and We have made them rujum-an li-l-shayatin,” which words are wrongly translated as missiles for the devils. In the light of what has been stated above, the meaning clearly is means of conjecture for the devils or kahins, ie., the diviners and the astrologers. The following significance is accepted by the best authorities: “We have made them to be means of conjectures to the devils of mankind, i.e., to the astrologers” (LL., Bdz., TA). Another commentator says: “It is said that the meaning is that We made them so that the devils of mankind who are the astrologers make conjectures by them” (RM.). Ibn Athir gives the following explanation: “It has been said that by rujum are meant the conjectures which were made, … and what the astrologers state by guesses and surmises and by their coming to certain conclusions on account of the combination of the stars and their separation, and it is they that are meant by shayatin, for they are the devils of mankind. And it has been stated in some hadith that whoever learns anything from astrology … learns the same from sorcery, and the astrologer is a kahin (diviner or soothsayer) and the kahin is a sorcerer and the sorcerer is an unbeliever, and thus the astrologer who claims to acquire a knowledge of the stars to decide the happenings (of the future) thereby, and ascribes to them the sources of good and evil, is called a kafir” (N. art. rajm). Thus a plain verse of the Holy Qur’an which really condemns the practices of diviners and soothsayers has been misinterpreted to mean that the stars were used as missiles for the devils who went up to heaven. Reference to this subject is contained in two other places in the Holy Qur’an: “Surely we have adorned the lower heaven with an adornment, the stars. And (there is) a safeguard against every rebellious devil. They cannot listen to the exalted assembly and they are reproached from every side, (being) driven off, and for them is a perpetual chastisement; except him who snatches away but once, then there follows him a brightly shining flame” (37:6-10). “And certainly We have made strongholds in the heaven and We have made it fair-seeming to the beholders, and We guard it against every accursed devil, but he who steals a hearing; so there follows him a brightly shining flame” (15:16-18). On both these occasions, the principle is again stated in forcible words that the soothsayers and diviners have no access to heaven or the stars on which they base their conjectures; it is they again who are here called the rebellious or accursed devils—“They cannot listen to the exalted assembly.” But we are also told that “they are reproached from every side, being driven off,” i.e., their own votaries do not honour them, and they are reproached because what they assert proves untrue and therefore they live in perpetual torture. And then there is an exception: “Except him who snatches off but once”. Now this snatching away of the soothsayers, after we are told that they are reproached from every side and driven off, clearly means nothing but that occasionally their conjecture turns out to be true. The same idea is expressed in the second verse by the words “he who steals a hearing.” It is of course not meant that the Divine secrets are being discussed aloud somewhere in heaven and that the devil is hiding and overhears them. Divine revelation, as already shown on the authority of the Holy Qur’an, is entrusted to the Faithful Spirit, that is Gabriel, who, in turn, discloses it to the heart of the Holy Prophet — there is no question of overhearing in this process. It has also been established on the authority of the Holy Qur’an that the devils cannot ascend to heaven, that they have no access to Divine secrets. It would, therefore, be a travesty of all these clearly established principles to say that the devils can overhear the Divine secrets. Obviously, in both verses, it is the kahins of Arabia, the diviners and soothsayers, that are spoken of. The soothsayer’s occasional snatching and his stealthy hearing refer only to his conjecture sometimes coming true, the visible flame which follows meaning the subsequent failure and disappointment due to the advent of Islam, which destroyed the whole effect of the soothsayer’s pretensions. The description of spiritual truths in terms of physical laws which are prevalent in the world is of common occurrence in the Holy Qur’an; and it is a fact that the darkness of superstition — and the office of the kahin or the soothsayer was undoubtedly a superstition — was completely dispelled by the light of Islam, so that Islam may be said literally to have proved a flame of fire for the chaff of soothsaying and divination.