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Do Angels Have Freewill
The common narrative is that they are basically robots. Is this true?
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13 Replies
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Do Angels Have Freewill
updated 3 years, 6 months ago
3 Members
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13
Replies
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They do have freewill but chances of their disobedience are almost none because of no veil between them and God and for being under constant supervision. Hypothetically speaking (because Quran has clearly mentioned that they never disobey), if any Angel does disobey, he’ll be dealt with immediately because unlike humans and Jinns, Angels have not been put through this test for which they have to wait till the day of judgement for their respective reward and punishment.
Also refer to the following video from 1:28:07 to 1:30:17 and from 1:52:09 to 1:56:23
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The idea of ‘freewill’ that we get from the Quran is that from the ayah where Allah is talking about making Adam (as) the ‘Khalifa’ of the Earth. This is the foundation and then the other ayahs that provide us with the law of guidance and misguidance provide a structure to this base.
There are three known creations which are told to us as being conscious. The angels, the jinn and human beings. And as stated by many scholars including Ghamidi sb, this consciousness is actually ‘the Rooh’ or soul. The Rooh is that consciousness inside of us. The Quranic ayah to support this would be the ‘alastu birabikum’ ayah. So the rooh is aware of Allah and all that is in the unseen. That is why the guidance from revelation is referred to as the reminder. It is there to remind us of the realities both around and ‘inside’ of us. In Surah at Tin Allah tells us ‘Indeed we created man in the best of moulds. Then we reverted him to the lowest of the low.’ Dr. Israr has mentioned in his tafsir Bayan ul Quran that this best of moulds part refers to the Rooh (soul). And then the latter part refers to when this Rooh was blown into the physical body of the human being and sent down to this Earth. Now this human being can only get himself at the highest level of his self by iman and amal saleh. (Basically recognizing God and living life according to His way) is how a human being can reach the highest of his self. (This is something that can only be felt/experienced).
From this I’ll add my own reflections on this topic.
Now, angels are only Rooh. What makes them apart from jinns and human beings is the physical existence of both jinns and human beings. Angels are the ‘razaa’ of Allah. They only do what Allah commands and only carry out the Razaa (will) of Allah. Jinns and human beings on the other hand are capable of coming to that level and carrying out Allah’s razaa only by the ilm that Allah has provided for their guidance. Through that they can better themselves to the point when they realise that Allah is the All Knowledgeable, the All Knower, All Wise. And then you submit your will to Allah. You know that this is the best and only way for me to he successful in this world and the Hereafter.
So now if we tie these things together, and angels have a will which is in conformity with Allah’s will because Allah made them like that. Human beings and jinn have a will of their own to an extent but even in that if one reflects and learns to introspect can one realise how bound he is. Anyway, their will can then be in conformity with the will of Allah and this actually their free will. Meaning, by using their will, either they can make their will in conformity with that of Allah or otherwise. But if the latter is the case then there is only loss ‘Thumma Radadnahu Asfala Saafileen. However, the former could lead you to the highest of your existence. ‘Fi Ahsani Taqweem.’
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Please read Ghamidi sahabs Tafsir of surah tin I think it follows the flow of the surah a lot better with its context too.
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Yes. He applies it to the chosen ones among Zurriat e Ibrahim. His explanation works perfectly in that context. However, the same law can be extracted and applied to the whole humanity as well since the beginning of time in my opinion. Because the underlying message of both is the same.
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I think the underlying message being given here is the repercussions of itmam e hujjat rather than the rooh
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But aren’t both linked so to say?
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Not really I don’t think
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Hmm. I’d have to revisit these ayahs again then! InshaAllah
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I want this one to be the concluding paragraph of my above reflection. (I do realise my posts are very long but I just want to share my reflections – Im sorry!).
The angels asked the question because no one other than Allah can know the past, future and present unless Allah informs about all three. Because obviously, every other being has a beginning and an end unlike Allah hence only and only His Ilm is covering All. He alone is the Al Alim.
Now it would have made no difference if He hadn’t informed the angels about the unseen. They would have still kept on carrying His will. But since He is Ar-Rahman, He unfolded from His knowledge to the angels (a being that is meant to carry His will). Imagine being able to carry His will and that too with the full knowledge that His will is the way to go, that its Perfectly Wise. Imagine the coolness, peace, happiness etc.
And that brings me to the point I wanna make. Its all about His Knowledge. Whether or not you make yourself eligible for it. Angels did not have to make that struggle cause they were already created to be eligible for it. Human beings and Jinn have to make that struggle to make themselves qualify for Allah’s knowledge (His guidance). It is this guidance then that makes you recognise the will of Allah for your creation in general and you specifically. And then struggling to make yourself eligible and holding on to it till your last breath. So its all about ‘Knowledge.’
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You indeed put a lot of effort in organizing and presenting your thoughts, which is very commendable.
From one Philosophical end, this is a very insightful notion that you presented. The only part I disagree with is the application of Surah Tin to this scenario. Because the start of Surah encompassing the whole of Abraham’s Progeny by identifying the major symbolic places of Shahdah-Alan-Nas, leaves no room for its general application and it must be associated with Abraham’s Progeny.
P.S. I was being told since my childhood that “Zaitoon” is a vey sacred fruit because it is mentioned in Quran and majority still believes that
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A) Umer bhai some have also interpreted ‘tin’ as the mount tin located in the area where Nuh (as)’s people were settled and it is this mount where Nuh (as) gave Dawat o Tabligh. I guess we would have to see what fits better out of the two, according to the context?
B) Ghamidi sb in the tafsir of this surah mentions, that all these are to portray the Adalat which was established in this world for Zurriat e Ibrahim, for the rest of the world it will established only in the Akhirah.
Wasnt this adalat established in this very world even for the nations before Ibrahim (as) aswell?
C) What are your comments about the philosophical part that I presented? (Considering it in isolation). This is important to me because I have built many views upon it. Its fine if it could work, otherwise save me from the mind gymnastics that keep me awake at night.
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A) Regarding interpretation of Tin, the ones who took it in context of Nuh (AS) should give a stronger evidence in support of their view because Ghamidi Sahab’s view not only fits perfectly in the overall framework of Adalat of Abraham’s (AS) progeny (as mentioned in Quran) but is also supported by Bible History and by the context of the verses as well.
B) It is true that adalat was established for previous nations as well, but the adalat of Abraham’s (AS) progeny has been given a distinct status as well and the symbols used in the Surah clearly use symbols related to this second phase of global adalat established by God.
C) It is true that the ultimate journey is that of achieving Allah’s maarfat for which both Humans and Jinns have been put through this test. Angels on the other hand have not been put through this test and that is the reason there are no veils kept for them to reach to that maarfat. While the veil is big for Jinns and even bigger for Humans and the biggest of the veils in addition to irada-o-ikhtiyaar is the veil of Khilafat for human beings where they have been given kingdom of this world to be used in accordance with their sole discretion. Therefore, I do not find your notion objectionable that Angels indeed have a higher level of maarfat to begin with while we humans have to recognize God through a journey of taking each veil off one by one.
P.S. You can sleep in peace now
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You have definitely presented very strong points in A and B. 👍
JazakAllah!
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