Mu' meneen Brothers and Sisters,

As Salaam Aleikum wa Rahmatullahi wa Barakatuh.  (May Allah's Peace, Mercy and Blessings be upon all of you)

One of our brothers/sisters has asked this question:

Dear Burhan,

Your explanation of Angels’ job seems to be a contradiction to “Kun faya Kun”—God wills and it happens. Why would God need angels to do his work when he can do the same by just willing? If you imply that God needs intermediaries, the arguments of shafa-at will sneak in. Does it not sound that the concept that a master needs servants is a human experience projected on divinity?

Wassalam!

(There may be some grammatical and spelling errors in the above statement. The forum does not change anything from questions, comments and statements received from our readers for circulation in confidentiality.)

Answer:

Duty of angels contradicts “Be and it is”

In the name of Allah, We praise Him, seek His help and ask for His forgiveness. Whoever Allah guides none can misguide, and whoever He allows to fall astray, none can guide them aright. We bear witness that there is no one (no idol, no person, no grave, no prophet, no imam, no dai, nobody!) worthy of worship but Allah Alone, and we bear witness that Muhammad(saws) is His slave-servant and the seal of His Messengers.

Q-1: Why would God need angels to do his work when he can do the same by just willing?

The similarity of the relationship of Angel to Allah Subhanah, is the relationship of machine to man! Man creates and invents a machine, and the machine does what the man intends it to do. The machine has no intention or longing or interest of its own; it just does what it is has been programmed to do.

If the Angels were a self-created formation, then one may say that Allah Subhanah (Audobillah) could not get a work done Himself, and needed the help of an outside party to accomplish His Mission. But the Angels are nothing more than a creation of Allah Subhanah; and like each and every creation of Allah Subhanah, He Alone has absolute and supreme control of everything they do.

Allah Subhanah is Absolutely Self-Sufficient, and is in no need of any amongst His creation. He can, if He so Wills, do anything He wants with His Command of ‘Be’, and ‘It is’! But Allah Subhanah, in His Absolute Wisdom and Perfect Knowledge has created ‘asbaabs’ or avenues to accomplish His Design and Plan.

Allah Subhanah creates life; and if He Willed, He could have man born out of thin air with His Command of ‘BE’, and man would have been created! But He, in His Absolute Wisdom and Perfect Knowledge created the avenue for a man and a woman to meet, conjugate, allow the sperm to fertilize the egg, then place the creation in the womb for a period of time, and then cause it to be born as a human being! Glory be to Allah Subhanah, the Best of Creators! Each and every Command of Allah Subhanah has Perfect Wisdom behind it, which man cannot ever comprehend! The creation of man from a drop of sperm allows man to build a family, love and be loved, makes him responsible for giving rights to his loved ones, has implications of blood relationships, and builds the basic infrastructure of a society. Had Allah Subhanah Willed, He could have indeed created man from thin air; but that was not part of His Perfect Plan and Design for man and his society, and thus He created the ‘asbaabs’ or the avenues to accomplish His Plan.

Similarly, Allah Subhanah created the Angels to carry out certain duties, without any prejudices, likes, dislikes, emotions, etc. These Angels do exactly what Allah Subhanah has ordered them to do, and never ever fail in their duties or obedience. Had Allah Subhanah Willed, He could have done without the Angels or any of His creation; but that was not a part of His Perfect Plan and Design.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 35 Surah Fatir verses 15-17:

15 O mankind! It is ye that have need of Allah: but Allah is the One Free of all wants, Worthy of all Praise.

16 If He so Pleased, He could blot you out, and bring in a New Creation:

17 Nor is that (at all) difficult for Allah.

Q-2: If you imply that God needs intermediaries, the arguments of shafa-at will sneak in.

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 3 Surah Ale Imraan verse 97 (part): Allah stands not in need of any of his creatures.

Allah Forbid, we or any amongst Allah’s Creation, should imply that the All-Mighty ‘needs’ anything at all, leave alone intermediaries!

It is part of His Absolute Wisdom and Perfect Knowledge that if and when He Wills, He may use any amongst His creation as His intermediaries or Messengers to deliver His Message or Command to His creation; and it is also part of His Absolute Wisdom, that He has never ever allowed the use of intermediaries to receive a message or supplication from any of His creation to Himself!

Allah Subhanah commanded His Arch Angel, Hadrat Jibrael (a.s.) to deliver His Message to Prophet Mohamed (saws); but never ever did Prophet Mohamed (saws) give a message to Hadrat Jibrael (a.s.) to give to Allah Subhanah! Whenever the Messenger of Allah (saws) wanted to communicate his supplication to his Creator, he simply called upon the All Knowing, All Hearing Lord of the Worlds!

One who uses any sort of intermediaries to communicate his needs or wants to Allah Subhanah, strays away from the system or design approved by Allah Subhanah, and thus falls into manifest error!

Allah Says in the Holy Quran Chapter 10 Surah Yunus verse 18: They serve besides Allah things that hurt them not, nor profit them and they say: "These are our intercessors with Allah." Say: "Do ye indeed inform Allah of something He knows not in the heavens or on earth? Glory be to Him! And far Exalted is He above the ‘shirk’ they commit"

Whatever written of Truth and benefit is only due to Allah’s Assistance and Guidance, and whatever of error is of me. Allah Alone Knows Best and He is the Only Source of Strength.

Your Brother in Islam,

Burhan