Saturday, May 16, 2020

Are the Angels of Allāh Males or Females? by Mallam Sanusi Lafiaji

Belief in the Angels (their existence, purpose of creation and servitude to Allāh, etc) is one of the fundamentals of the Muslim faith. In Q.2:177, Allāh says:
ﺍ“Righteousness is not whether you turn your face towards East or West; but the righteousness is to believe in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Books and the Prophets…”
Also, in Q.2:285, Allāh establishes the validity of the faith of whoso believes in the Angels, saying:

“The Messenger ˹firmly˺ believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. They ˹all˺ believe in Allah, His angels, His Books, and His messengers...”
Angels are special creatures of Allāh, configured to do just one thing: obedience to Allāh. They are not programmed for anything else. They have no will of their own save what their Lord commands. Allāh says:

“O believers! Protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, overseen by formidable and severe angels, who never disobey whatever Allah orders—always doing as commanded.”
Regarding the gender of the Angels, some unbelievers have asserted that they are females and daughters of Allāh. This is why in some religions, Angels are depicted as beautiful damsels. Allāh condemned this assertion in Q. 16:57, 17:40, 37:149 & 153, 39:150, 43:16, 49:13, & 52:39. For instance, in 17:40, He says:َ

“They regard the angels, who are themselves servants of the Compassionate, as female divinities. Did they witness their creation? They should know that their testimony shall be noted down and they shall be called to account for it.”
However, despite debunking the claim of femininity of the Angels, there is no where in the Qur’ān that they are described as males. Some may want to argue that Allāh in the Qur'ān used masculine pronouns for the Angels, which gives the impression of their masculinity. This argument seems logical, but contradicts clear texts.
Ibn Bādīs in his Al-‘Aqā’id al-Islāmiyyah wrote:

“The Angels were created from light. They are neither described as males or females. They are facilitated with obedience to Allāh; infallible; put in charge of affairs of the universe, protection of human beings and recording of their deeds. They also are trusted with the protection and conveyance of the divine revelation.” (p.26)
Similarly, Dr Muhammad bn Abd’Rahmān al-Khamīs wrote:

The belief in the Angels implies acknowledging their existence; and that they are honorable servants of Allāh, who He created solely for His worship. They do not disobey Him in His command and they do exactly what they are ordered to do...We say, whoever claims that the Angels are females has disbelieved, for contradicting the Book of Allāh. We also do not say that they are males, because there’s no authentic text in such.” (p.9)
Some may also want to argue that since Allāh himself says in several passages in the Qur’ān: (see, Q.51:49, 53:45, 75:39 & 92:3) “I’ve created all things in a pair of male and female”; then, it is only logical to assert that the Angels are either males or females. Thus, since Allāh has refuted the claim of their feminity, that leaves us with the male gender.
The answer to this argument is that the creation and nature of the Angels are among the ghaybiyyāt (hidden events) which no one but Allāh knows. Therefore, it is better for the believer to refrain from making comments about them until he finds a clear text establishing such claims. In this case, there’s no clear text.
Allāh knows best.
Mallam Sanusi Lafiagi

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