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Basic questions about Islam (2)

Jan 25, 2013
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Huh? That's a new one on me!

Yep, what my brother already said.

What evil? Will the evil be no more on the Day of Judgement?

This verse is referring to the terror and the bad 'end' that some people will have.

In the exegesis of ibn Katheer about this verse:

These people also abandon those forbidden things which He (Allah) has prohibited for them, due to their fear of having an evil reckoning on the Day of Return.

From the exegisis of Maududi (which I don't use often but it's the only one I could find in English that went into this much detail):

"Freshness and joy": freshness of the face and joy of the heart. In other words, all the severities and terrors of the Day of Resurrection will be meant only for the disbelievers and the culprits. The righteous will on that Day remain immune from every hardship and will be well-pleased with their lot. The same theme has been expressed in Al-Anbiya': 103, thus: "The time of great fright will not trouble them at all; the angels will rush forth to receive them, saying: this is the Day that you were promised; and in An-Naml: 89 thus: "He who brings good deeds, will have a reward better than that, and such people shall be secure from the terror of that Day. "

What is the end of the evil (in Quran)?

For humans? The inhabitants of Paradise will never have any bad feelings ever again and they will be completely pure of heart. They won't commit sins. As for the inhabitants of Hell, they have a bad 'end' (i.e. will continue to face punishment for their disbelief).

And, what is the origin of the evil?

Evil is only attributed to the human being and to Satan. However, evil is created by Allah. There is both good and evil in all of Allah’s creatures. However, this evil is attributed to the creatures themselves and not to Allah....

...The Prophet (peace be upon him) said about Allah: “Evil does not belong to You.” This means the evil cannot be attributed to Allah.


http://en.islamtoday.net/node/1289

Are angels functioning today?
If yes, how do them function?

Yep. They were created before the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him). They don't have free will and are praised creatures of God. We know the duties assigned to some of them.

Malaaikah (Angels)
Duties assigned to the Angels with regards to human beings

Some of them record our deeds, some of them are sent to protect us. Some of them are the bearers of the Throne of Allaah while another has the Trumpet ready on his mouth ready to blow when the commandment comes from Allaah (the Messenger Muhammad peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him said, "The gaze of the one who will blow the Trumpet has been fixed since he was entrusted with it, looking towards the Throne, ready (to blow it), in case he will be commanded to do so before he blinks, as if his eyes are two shining stars."). Another still is responsible for taking out the souls of people (the Angel of Death). Another (considered the best - Angel Gabriel) was the one who often came down with the Revelation from his Lord to convey to His Prophets. There are many angels as the 2nd link mentions (70,000 angels go to a place in Paradise (the Much-Frequented House) every day, leave it, and never return to that place).

Here is a narration I hadn't read in awhile from the 2nd link:

Some of the angels travel throughout the world, seeking out gatherings of dhikr (remembrance of Allah). Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) said: "The Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon Him) said: ‘Allah, be He blessed and exalted, has angels who travel the highways seeking out the people of dhikr. When they find people remembering Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, they call out to one another, "Come to what you hunger for!" and they enfold them with their wings, stretching up to the lowest heaven. Their Lord asks them, and He knows better than them, "What are My slaves saying?" They say: "They are glorifying, magnifying, praising and extolling You." He asks, "Have they seen Me?" They say, "No, by Allah, they have not seen You." He asks, "And how would it be if they saw Me?" They say, "They would be even more fervent and devoted in their praise and worship." He asks, "What are they asking me for?" They say, "They ask You for Paradise." He asks, "And have they seen it?" They say, "No, by Allah, O Lord, they have not seen it." He asks, "And how would it be if they saw it?" They say: "They would be even more eager for it and they would beseech You even more earnestly." He asks, "And what do they seek My protection from?" They say, "From the Fire of Hell." He asks, "Have they seen it?" They say, "No, by Allah, they have not seen it." He asks, "And how would it be if they saw it?" They say: "They would be even more afraid and anxious to escape it." Allah says: "You are My witnesses that I have forgiven them." One of the angels says: "So-and-so is not really one of them; he came (to the gathering) for some other reason." Allah says, "They were all in the gathering, and one of them will not be excluded (from forgiveness)."" [al-Bukhaari].

My Lord is truly very merciful. peace be upon all of the angels

Who wrote the Quran?

Allaah wrote it, and all other things, in the Preserved Tablet. The Qur'aan is solely comprised of God's Words in our beliefs.

Is the red square on her dress only a decoration? Or does it means something?

Already answered fully by smaneck. Distinctive Palestinian thobes characterized by Palestinian embroidery.
 
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juvenissun

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Yep, what my brother already said.



This verse is referring to the terror and the bad 'end' that some people will have.

In the exegesis of ibn Katheer about this verse:

These people also abandon those forbidden things which He (Allah) has prohibited for them, due to their fear of having an evil reckoning on the Day of Return.

From the exegisis of Maududi (which I don't use often but it's the only one I could find in English that went into this much detail):

"Freshness and joy": freshness of the face and joy of the heart. In other words, all the severities and terrors of the Day of Resurrection will be meant only for the disbelievers and the culprits. The righteous will on that Day remain immune from every hardship and will be well-pleased with their lot. The same theme has been expressed in Al-Anbiya': 103, thus: "The time of great fright will not trouble them at all; the angels will rush forth to receive them, saying: this is the Day that you were promised; and in An-Naml: 89 thus: "He who brings good deeds, will have a reward better than that, and such people shall be secure from the terror of that Day. "

Did you say that on that Day, everyone has already been dead? This is a very confusing idea.
 
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juvenissun

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Yep. They were created before the Prophet Adam (peace be upon him). They don't have free will and are praised creatures of God. We know the duties assigned to some of them.

Malaaikah (Angels)
Duties assigned to the Angels with regards to human beings

.

Really? This is important. How do you know angels do not have free will? They obey God's command and carry out their duties does not mean they don't have free will.

A slightly harder question: If God is all knowing and all capable, why does He need angels to do things for Him (such as: "find" people)? If you know scriptures about this, then please let me know. Otherwise, you may skip this one.
 
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juvenissun

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For humans? The inhabitants of Paradise will never have any bad feelings ever again and they will be completely pure of heart. They won't commit sins. As for the inhabitants of Hell, they have a bad 'end' (i.e. will continue to face punishment for their disbelief).

Evil is only attributed to the human being and to Satan. However, evil is created by Allah. There is both good and evil in all of Allah’s creatures. However, this evil is attributed to the creatures themselves and not to Allah....

...The Prophet (peace be upon him) said about Allah: “Evil does not belong to You.” This means the evil cannot be attributed to Allah.

Who is satan? What is his main job? Is he around somewhere today?
 
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Did you say that on that Day, everyone has already been dead? This is a very confusing idea.

Everyone will be dead after the Trumpet is blown (if they are not already dead). Then Allaah will resurrect us all (it is called the Day of Resurrection after all).

Really? This is important. How do you know angels do not have free will? They obey God's command and carry out their duties does not mean they don't have free will.

O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded. (Surah at-Tahreem 66:6)

What has been deduced from this by at least some scholars (if not the majority/all) is that they cannot disobey Him. Whatever the case, they're never disobedient.

A slightly harder question: If God is all knowing and all capable, why does He need angels to do things for Him (such as: "find" people)? If you know scriptures about this, then please let me know. Otherwise, you may skip this one.

Him creating angels and assigning duties to them does not mean He is not the All-Knowing and the All-Powerful. He is the Creator and He does what He wills and creates what He wills.

Who is satan? What is his main job? Is he around somewhere today?

Are you talking about the chief of devils aka Iblees (who was of the jinn)? He wasn't assigned a job by God. He had free will and he chose to act like he knew more than God which got him kicked out of Paradise. He asked God for respite until the Day of Judgement which he received and he will try at every turn to lead astray the sons of Adam (peace be upon Adam). Satan will not be successful with the believing slaves of God (and God has given us all the tools to defeat Satan).

[Iblees] said, "Do You see this one whom You have honored above me? If You delay me until the Day of Resurrection, I will surely destroy his descendants, except for a few." [ Allah ] said, "Go, for whoever of them follows you, indeed Hell will be the recompense of you - an ample recompense. And incite [to senselessness] whoever you can among them with your voice and assault them with your horses and foot soldiers and become a partner in their wealth and their children and promise them." But Satan does not promise them except delusion. Indeed, over My [believing] servants there is for you no authority. And sufficient is your Lord as Disposer of affairs.
(Surah al-Israa 17:62-65)

So he is still alive.

Jinn can also be evil.

True. I think they may have been putting the evil jinn under the "satan" category. But they should've included jinn for clarity.
 
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smaneck

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Are you talking about the chief of devils aka Iblees (who was of the jinn)? He wasn't assigned a job by God. He had free will and he chose to act like he knew more than God which got him kicked out of Paradise.

I have to wonder if angels were not originally considered jinn as well because there are various places in the Qur'an where Iblis is accounted as having been among the angels. In fact, the story of his fall is an interesting one.

"It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels prostrate to Adam, and they prostrate; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who prostrate.(Allah) said: "What prevented thee from prostrating when I commanded thee?" He said: "I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay." (7:12)

There is a sermon ascribed to Ali which states that the "original sin" of Satan was therefore prejudice ( ta'assob .)
 
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juvenissun

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Are you talking about the chief of devils aka Iblees (who was of the jinn)? He wasn't assigned a job by God. He had free will and he chose to act like he knew more than God which got him kicked out of Paradise. He asked God for respite until the Day of Judgement which he received and he will try at every turn to lead astray the sons of Adam (peace be upon Adam). Satan will not be successful with the believing slaves of God (and God has given us all the tools to defeat Satan).

[Iblees] said, "Do You see this one whom You have honored above me? If You delay me until the Day of Resurrection, I will surely destroy his descendants, except for a few." [ Allah ] said, "Go, for whoever of them follows you, indeed Hell will be the recompense of you - an ample recompense. And incite [to senselessness] whoever you can among them with your voice and assault them with your horses and foot soldiers and become a partner in their wealth and their children and promise them." But Satan does not promise them except delusion. Indeed, over My [believing] servants there is for you no authority. And sufficient is your Lord as Disposer of affairs.
(Surah al-Israa 17:62-65)

So he is still alive.

Does satan work along on his goal? Or satan also has some angel followers? From what you said: "chief of devils", it seems that there are a bunch of devils. Are devils evil angels? Why would some angels become evil?
 
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smaneck

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Does satan work along on his goal? Or satan also has some angel followers? From what you said: "chief of devils", it seems that there are a bunch of devils. Are devils evil angels? Why would some angels become evil?

Devils are usually thought to be jinn, although as I indicated the Qur'an is a bit ambiguous on this point.
 
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I have to wonder if angels were not originally considered jinn as well because there are various places in the Qur'an where Iblis is accounted as having been among the angels. In fact, the story of his fall is an interesting one.

He was worshipping with the angels but he was not an angel himself.

‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The angels were created from light, the jinn were created from smokeless fire and Adam was created from that which has been described to you.” [Muslim, Ahmad, al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Hibban].

Iblis himself.....said:


“ ‘I am better than him (Adam), You created me from fire, and him You created from clay.’” [7:12, 38:76 – interpretation of the meaning]. This indicates that he was one of the jinn.


Is Iblees a Jinn or an Angel?

The fact that Allaah described the angels as being those who do not disobey Him and they wait for His commandment is also proof against Iblees being an angel.

Does satan work along on his goal? Or satan also has some angel followers? From what you said: "chief of devils", it seems that there are a bunch of devils. Are devils evil angels? Why would some angels become evil?

No angel (peace be upon them all) follows Shaytaan. They solely follow Allaah and they are His noble creation. So it goes without saying that there aren't any evil angels.

You are correct in saying that there are a bunch of devils.

Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The throne of Iblees is on the sea and he sends out his troops to spread mischief (fitnah) among the people. The greatest of them in his sight is the one who causes the most fitnah.” (Narrated by Muslim, 5031; Ahmad, no. 1427)

Is Iblees still alive?
 
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juvenissun

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I have to wonder if angels were not originally considered jinn as well because there are various places in the Qur'an where Iblis is accounted as having been among the angels. In fact, the story of his fall is an interesting one.

"It is We Who created you and gave you shape; then We bade the angels prostrate to Adam, and they prostrate; not so Iblis; He refused to be of those who prostrate.(Allah) said: "What prevented thee from prostrating when I commanded thee?" He said: "I am better than he: Thou didst create me from fire, and him from clay." (7:12)

There is a sermon ascribed to Ali which states that the "original sin" of Satan was therefore prejudice ( ta'assob .)

Who are the WE?

Are all angels created from fire?
 
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juvenissun

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He was worshipping with the angels but he was not an angel himself.

‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The angels were created from light, the jinn were created from smokeless fire and Adam was created from that which has been described to you.” [Muslim, Ahmad, al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Hibban].

Iblis himself.....said:


“ ‘I am better than him (Adam), You created me from fire, and him You created from clay.’” [7:12, 38:76 – interpretation of the meaning]. This indicates that he was one of the jinn.


Is Iblees a Jinn or an Angel?

The fact that Allaah described the angels as being those who do not disobey Him and they wait for His commandment is also proof against Iblees being an angel.



No angel (peace be upon them all) follows Shaytaan. They solely follow Allaah and they are His noble creation. So it goes without saying that there aren't any evil angels.

You are correct in saying that there are a bunch of devils.

Jaabir (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: I heard the Prophet (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) say: “The throne of Iblees is on the sea and he sends out his troops to spread mischief (fitnah) among the people. The greatest of them in his sight is the one who causes the most fitnah.” (Narrated by Muslim, 5031; Ahmad, no. 1427)

Is Iblees still alive?

Now, it is more clear. Are you saying:
Allah created angel and devil. Angels do not have free will and devils do have free will?

If satan and devils have free will, do they also have chance to repent?
 
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smaneck

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‘Aishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said: the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said: “The angels were created from light, the jinn were created from smokeless fire and Adam was created from that which has been described to you.” [Muslim, Ahmad, al-Bayhaqi and Ibn Hibban].

So the notion that angels are created from light is based entirely on a hadith and nothing in the Qur'an? I wonder if this hadith isn't playing with the nur/nar duality?
 
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smaneck

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Who are the WE?

That's a royal "we", a reference to God.

Are all angels created from fire?

Traditionally the angels were thought to be made of light and the jinn made of fire as reflected in the hadith which was just posted. While the jinn being created from fire is Qur'anic I'm not sure about angels being created from light.
 
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smaneck

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Now, it is more clear. Are you saying:
Allah created angel and devil. Angels do not have free will and devils do have free will?

If satan and devils have free will, do they also have chance to repent?

Again, it does not speak of devils it speaks of jinn which are not necessarily demonic. If devils are equated with jinn that have rebelled against God, then yes, they have free will. Satan has already been damned as far as I know. But I think jinn, just like men are able to repent.
In any case, I'm not sure I would agree that angels lack free will. That seems to be a presupposition based on the Qur'an describing them as obedient. Too much of a leap, IMO.
 
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Now, it is more clear. Are you saying:
Allah created angel and devil. Angels do not have free will and devils do have free will?

Yes

If satan and devils have free will, do they also have chance to repent?

Iblees won't be forgiven for he is cursed until the Day of Judgement. As for the other devils, I don't know. Allaah knows best.

"As regards the name 'Satan', it is not specific to Iblees, but all the disbelievers among the Jinn are called Satans. An-Nawawi
icon--6.gif
said: 'He was called Satan because of his pride and arrogance, and every disobedient, rebellious and arrogant person is a Satan, and it appears that this word "Shaytaan" is derived from Shatana, which means distant (in the Arabic language), if he is far from goodness and mercy.'"


When Iblees was called Satan

Judging by the above, though, it is possible for them to repent since the Qur'aan and Islaam are for both mankind and jinn. It calls the disbelievers from both to Islaam.

So the notion that angels are created from light is based entirely on a hadith and nothing in the Qur'an? I wonder if this hadith isn't playing with the nur/nar duality?

Yep, and the authentic ahadeeth are authoritative for us since they consist of the Prophet's words (and he didn't lie regarding religion).
 
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smaneck

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Yep, and the authentic ahadeeth are authoritative for us since they consist of the Prophet's words (and he didn't lie regarding religion).

Not saying he lied. Ever play telephone?

Shaytan is presumably a direct cognate to the Hebrew Satan which means 'adversary.'
 
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Not saying he lied. Ever play telephone?

Playing a game that is not meant to be serious and typically involves whispering and likely a lot of giggling vs. transmitting the Prophet's words are two very different things especially in light of the fact that God promised to preserve the dhikr (which includes the Prophet's sunnah in our belief). There is a narration that states whoever attributes to the Prophet something he never said has reserved a seat in Hell. They were very cautious in talking about matters of the religion. The wording might be different but the meaning would be the same.

Bernard Lewis writes, "But their careful scrutiny of the chains of transmission and their meticulous collection and preservation of variants in the transmitted narratives give to medieval Arabic historiography a professionalism and sophistication without precedent in antiquity and without parallel in the contemporary medieval West. By comparison, the historiography of Latin Christendom seems poor and meagre, and even the more advanced and complex historiography of Greek Christendom still falls short of the historical literature of Islam in volume, variety and analytical depth." [Lewis, Islam in History, Open Court Publishing, 1993, p.105]

Shaytan is presumably a direct cognate to the Hebrew Satan which means 'adversary.'

Maybe. I quoted Imaam an-Nawawi's words regarding this in the previous post:

An-Nawawi
icon--6.gif
said: 'He was called Satan because of his pride and arrogance, and every disobedient, rebellious and arrogant person is a Satan, and it appears that this word "Shaytaan" is derived from Shatana, which means distant (in the Arabic language), if he is far from goodness and mercy.'
 
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juvenissun

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That's a royal "we", a reference to God.

Traditionally the angels were thought to be made of light and the jinn made of fire as reflected in the hadith which was just posted. While the jinn being created from fire is Qur'anic I'm not sure about angels being created from light.

Why "We", but not "I"? How many Gods?

Why are you not sure about angel and light?
 
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