 Angelic influence shaping human destinies Prophet Muhammad ﷺ stated: "(A group of) angels stay with you at night and (another group of) angels by daytime, and both groups gather at the time of the 'Asr (late afternoon) and Fajr (before sunrise) prayers. Then those angels who have stayed with you overnight, ascend (to Heaven) and Allah asks them (about you) ---- and He knows everything about you. ‘In what state did you leave My servants?' The angels reply, ‘when we left them, they were praying, and when we reached them they were praying.'"[1] Actions of an entire nation is presented before Allah ﷻ, Who decides their destiny whether fortunate or unfortunate and if decisions made for them implemented immediately or gradually. He also said that prayers of the highest and lowest levels of angels intercede in the court of Allah ﷻ for our forgiveness and mercy in this world and hereafter: “Those [highest angels] who carry the Throne and those who surround it celebrate the praise of their Lord and have faith in Him. They beg forgiveness for the believers: “Our Lord, You embrace all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who turn to You and follow Your path. Save them from the pains of Hell and admit them, Lord, to the lasting Gardens You have promised to them, together with their righteous ancestors, spouses, and offspring: You alone are the Almighty, the All Wise. Protect them from all evil deeds: those You protect on that Day from [the punishment for] evil deeds will receive Your mercy- that is the supreme triumph.’”[2] In another hadith, we are informed that lowest level angels (the ones on earth) pray in favor of the righteous and against the sinners and their prayers are influential in deciding matters for humans: “Every day two angels come down from heaven and one of them says, ‘O Allah! Compensate every person who spends in Your Cause,’ and the other (angel) says, ‘O Allah! Destroy every miser’.”[3] Once Allah ﷻ makes His decisions and announces them among the heavenly angels, they act in accordance to His demands and carry out actions on earth inspiring hearts of humans and other creation, to make things happen in accordance to what has been decreed. A prophetic hadith sheds light on descent of such commands and how they are implemented: “….when our Lord [Blessed is His Name and Most High] decrees a matter, He is glorified by the bearers of the Throne (i.e. the highest council of angels). Then the inhabitants who are below them, then those below them, until such glorification reaches this (earthly) heaven glorify him. Then the inhabitants of the sixth heaven ask the inhabitants of the seventh heaven: "What did your Lord say?" So they inform them; then the inhabitants of each heaven seek the information, until the news is conveyed to the inhabitants of the heavens of the earth.” [4] Once Allah’s commandments reach the angels of earth then they act according to what good or bad has been decided for individuals as well as nations. The decision may be a punishment such as natural disasters. It may be punishment in the form of discord and infighting that has been decreed for a nation, and then angels inspire their hearts with hatred towards one another, which may last as long as Allah ﷻ wills. Likewise, the fighting could also be a source of mercy in the form of a trial for the good ones to defeat the rebellious for sake of justice and so on. The divine decisions may take effect immediately or years to materialize, depending on how, what Allah ﷻ decides, and He is Almighty All Wise: (Al Quran 32:05) He governs from the heaven to the earth and then the record (of this governance) goes up to Him in a day whose measure is a thousand years in your reckoning. - Maulana Maududi in his Tafheem comments on this verse: “Allah’s decrees are not passed and enforced in the history of mankind according to the earthly watches and calendars. People would be foolish if from this they understood that the predicted consequences would follow their evil acts and deeds immediately. Not to speak of days and months and years, the occurrence of the results may even take centuries.”[5] References: [1] Sahih al-Bukhari 7429 [2] Al Quran 40:7-9 [3] Sahih al-Bukhari 1442 [4] Jami at-Tirmidhi Vol. 5, Book 44, Hadith 3224 [5] Tafheem ul Quran - Maududi n.d.
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