Kitaab At-Tawheed, Chapter: 14
The Words of Allah , 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 , 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 , 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 has said and what He has revealed; and some of them will answer that He has said naught but the Truth, and He 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 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 ? And if such acts of worship are rejected, whether they are worshipped directly or as intercessors with Allah , then what must be said about worshipping others such as the inhabitants of graves? - they have even less right to be worshipped.
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It is authentically reported from Abu Hurairah (ra) that the Prophet said: "When Allah 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 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 informs us in this Hadith that when Allah , 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 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 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 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.
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An-Nawwaas Ibn Sam'aan (ra) reported that Allah's Messenger said: "When Allah , 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 , the Almighty, the All-powerful, and when the inhabitants of the heavens hear it, they fall down in prostration to Allah , and Jibreel (as ) is the first to raise his head; then Allah speaks to him and Allah 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 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 , the Almighty, the All-powerful."
Allah's Messenger informs us in this Hadith that when Allah 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 then speaks to him as He Wills, after which Jibreel 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 has spoken the evident Truth, and He 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 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 .
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 , 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).