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ESTABLISHING
THE EXISTENCE OF THE INVISIBLE BEINGS
I
take refuge in God from the accursed
Satan.
In
the name of God, the Merciful, the
Compassionate.
The
Angels and the Spirit descend in (the
Night of Power) by the leave of their
Lord. Say: ‘The Spirit is of my Lord’s
Command.
Introduction
Since
our sensory powers are limited, it is not
wise to deny outright the existence of
realms beyond our senses. Also, we know so
little about existence that what we do know
is considerably less than what we do not.
Our sciences are still in their “childhood,”
and the future will witness dazzling
scientific discoveries and developments.
Sciences
are supported by theories and develop
through trial-and-error investigation of
those theories. Numerous “established”
facts were once considered false, and many
other “established” facts are now known
to be incorrect. We accept unquestionably,
and without any scientific basis, the
existence of many things. Since the
beginning of time, most people have believed
in the existence of the spirit and angels,
jinn and Satan. So, it would seem to be more
scientific to allow their existence in
theory and then investigate it. Denying
their existence is unscientific, insofar as
such a judgment or conclusion must be based
on concrete proof. No one can prove and
therefore scientifically claim the
non-existence of the invisible realm of
existence.
Many
physical qualities, such as heat and cold,
and such abstract qualities as beauty and
charm, and feelings of joy, sorrow, and
love, can be experienced directly and
measured to some degree. Materialists
attribute these to some biochemical
processes in the brain, and some scientists
(like psychologists and psychiatrists) still
try to explain them by natural or physical
laws. However, our nonphysical side (namely,
our feelings, beliefs, potentialities,
desires, and so on that vary enormously from
individual to individual, although everyone
has the same material elements) is too
profound to be explained by physics,
chemistry, or biology. Believers can (and
do) observe that the stronger their belief,
the deeper and more regular their worship;
and the higher their morality, the more
radiant and lovable their faces appear to
be. Can this fact be explained in merely
physical terms?
The
existence of the angels and other
spiritual beings is as evident as the
existence of human beings and animals
It
can be argued that the existence of the
angels and other spiritual beings is as
evident as the existence of man and animals.
Reality and universal wisdom require that
the heavens should have conscious
inhabitants of their own as does the earth.
These inhabitants of many different kinds
are called ‘angels and spirit beings’ in
the language of the Shari‘a.
It
is true that reality and universal wisdom
require the existence of the angels and
other spirit beings because the earth,
although insignificant in size compared with
the heavens, is continually being filled
with and emptied of conscious beings. This
clearly indicates that the heavens, which
resemble decorated castles having
awe-inspiring towers, are filled with living
beings who are the perfect class of living
creatures. These beings are conscious and
have perception, and they are the light of
existence; these are the angels, who, like
the jinn and mankind, are observers of the
universal palace of creation and students of
this book of the universe and heralds of
their Lord’s Sovereignty. Through their
comprehensive worship, they manifest the
praises of God by the whole of creation.
The
universe requires the existence of the
angels because the finely adorned works of
art and meaningful decorations and
purposeful, delicate embroideries displayed
in it demand sentient beings who will
reflect upon those perfections, and praise
and commend them in full appreciation. Just
as a beauty needs a lover, and food is given
to the hungry, so the food for the souls and
the hearts, provided through this infinite
beauty of art, is, first of all, related to
the existence of the angels and other spirit
beings. The infinite beauty and majesty of
the universe calls for a response, which has
to be an infinite duty of contemplation and
servanthood, but since the capacity of the
jinn and mankind is inadequate for this
duty, countless angels and spirit beings
fill the great mosque of existence with rows
arranged in worship of the Creator. This is
what the bands of the angels and other
spirit beings do in every corner of the
universe. Each band has a duty of
servanthood particular to itself. This is
implied by some Prophetic sayings, and the
order of the universe manifests it: some
mobile objects, from certain heavenly bodies
like stars to raindrops, for example,
provide vehicles for the angels, who mount
them by the leave of God and travel through
the material world praising and glorifying
God.
Furthermore,
certain sorts of living bodies provide
vehicles for some souls. For example, there
is a hadith that the souls of the people of
Paradise enter into ‘green birds’ of
Paradise in the Intermediate Realm--the
world of the grave--and travel around
Paradise in them, and those birds, and even
some flies are from these groups of living
bodies. These souls, by the authority of
God, enter into these living things and
observe the wonders of creation through
their senses and perform the glorification
of the Creator on their behalf. Reality and
the Divine Wisdom require this, since, just
as God has breathed life into gross clay and
muddy water, which have little to do with
the spirit, and produced numerous conscious
beings, so too, He surely creates certain
sorts of intelligent beings from light and
other subtle substances like air and
electricity as they are more appropriate for
the creation of the spirit and life.
A
parable to understand the existence of
angels
If
you wish to understand how true and rational
it is to accept the existence of angels and
other spirit beings, and as the Quran
shows, how contrary to truth and wisdom, and
what a superstition and foolishness it is
not to accept them, consider the following
parable :
Two
men, a wild nomad and a civilized person,
went to Istanbul. In a remote corner of that
well-ordered and magnificent city they came
across an old building which contained a
factory. They observed that the factory was
full of miserable workers. They also noticed
that there were numerous living beings in
the neighborhood, some living upon
vegetables and some eating fish only. Whilst
they were watching these people, they had a
vision of palaces and castles, amongst which
were huge workshops. However, they could see
no inhabitants living in them, either
because of their defective eyesight or
because the inhabitants were hiding. There
was no comparison between the living
conditions of the old building and these
palaces, and because of this, the wild man
of the desert concluded that these palaces
were devoid of inhabitants. His friend, who
was civilized and sensible, admonished him
by saying, ‘O you unfortunate man, you can
see this poor, dilapidated factory is
inhabited by workers-somebody very powerful
and wise is employing them, and replacing
them by new ones. Furthermore, there is no
empty space around the factory, everywhere
has been made use of, so how is it possible
that those palaces and castles should be
unoccupied? They are certainly inhabited by
beings who have different conditions of
life; you should never consider them
unoccupied, you cannot see those inhabitants
only because they hide themselves. Because
you cannot see, something does not mean that
it does not exist.
The
earth, although many times smaller than
other heavenly bodies, is so densely
inhabited by countless living creatures that
even a most insignificant part of it is the
home of numerous living things like
microorganisms. This shows that those
infinite firmaments with numerous stars and
constellations are inhabited by conscious,
living beings created from fire, light, air,
ether, and other subtle forms of matter.
Such living beings, in the language of the
Holy Qur’an and the pure teaching of the
Prophet Muhammad, upon him be peace and
blessings, are known as angels, jinn and
spirit entities, and like earthly creatures,
they have their kinds. The angel in charge
of a raindrop is certainly different from
the one in charge of the sun, and the jinn
are also of different kinds.
Life
and angels
The
perfection of a thing’s existence is
through life. Moreover, life is the real
basis and the light of existence, and
consciousness, in turn, is the light of
life. It is also life that constitutes the
foundation of everything. Life appropriates
everything for each living thing, and only
through life can a living creature claim
that everything belongs to it. The whole
world, it can claim, is its home and the
entire universe is its property conferred
upon it by the Owner.
Just
as light causes (concrete) things to be seen
and, according to one theory, is the real
cause of color, so life may be said to
unveil the creation. It is life again which
causes the qualities to be realized, and the
archetypes to gain material existence, thus
making the particular acquire universality
and universals be concentrated in a
particular.
Life
also causes existence to attain to
perfection and achieve the rank of
possessing a soul, by making countless
factors unite into a whole to become a
sentient, percipient being. Furthermore,
life is the manifestation of oneness in the
realm of multiplicity, and the reflection of
unity in plurality. See how lonely a
substance is without life, even though it is
as big as a mountain. Its interactions are
restricted to its own location, and whatever
else exists in the universe means nothing to
it since it is unconscious of other
existents. Now observe a minute living being
such as a honeybee, what close interactions
it has with the universe, particularly with
its environment of plants and flowers--so
that it can properly argue that the earth is
the garden or the market- place where it
does business. The bee has, through the
unconscious instinctive senses which enthuse
and motivate it, in addition to its external
and inner senses, close relations and
familiarity with most of the species in the
world.
If
the effect of life upon the humble honeybee
is so great, how much more will it be upon
man, as it expands into his consciousness,
reason and intellect. Man, by means of
reason and consciousness, which are the
light of life, travels through the higher
worlds of corporeal and spiritual existence
as easily as he passes from one room to
another in his house. That is, just as that
conscious and living being may go in spirit
as a guest to those worlds, those worlds too
come as guests to his mirror-like spirit by
being reflected there.
Life
is a most manifest evidence of God’s
Unity, a greatest source of His bounty and a
most subtle manifestation of His Compassion;
it is also a most hidden and delicate
embroidery of His art. Life is really so
mysterious and subtle that even the life of
plants, which is the simplest of the levels
of life, and the awakening of the life-force
in seeds as the beginning of a plant’s
life, is still not fully understood.
Although it is something commonly observed
by man, it has remained a mystery from the
time of Adam, since the human mind has been
unable to grasp the nature of life.
Life
in both its outer or material and inner or
immaterial aspects is pure. The Divine Power
creates life directly without the
participation of causes, while on the other
hand It employs natural causes in the
creation of everything else. The reason why
God operates behind the veil of natural
causes in the creation of things other than
life is that man, being unable to discern
Divine Wisdom in some occurrences, might
ignorantly ascribe to Him some things which
he deems unpleasant.
In
short: It may be argued that inanimate
things cannot be regarded as really
existent, not being substantially different
from non-existence. Life is the light of the
spirit, and consciousness is the light of
life. Since life and consciousness are so
important, and a perfect harmony evidently
prevails over the whole creation, and again
since the universe displays a firm cohesion,
and as this small ever-rotating sphere of
ours is full of countless living and
intelligent beings, so it is equally certain
that those heavenly castles, those lofty
constellations, should have conscious living
inhabitants peculiar to themselves. Just as
the fish live in water, so those spirit
beings may exist in the heat of the sun.
Fire does not consume light, on the
contrary, light becomes brighter because of
fire. We observe that the Eternal Power
creates countless living beings from inert,
solid substances and transforms the densest
matter into subtle living compounds by life.
Thus It radiates the light of life
everywhere in great abundance and furnishes
most things with the light of consciousness.
From
this we can conclude that the All-Powerful,
All-Wise One would certainly not make subtle
forms of matter like light and ether, which
are close to and fitting for the spirit,
without life and consciousness; indeed He
creates animate and conscious beings in
great numbers from light, darkness, ether,
air and even from meanings (conceived) and
words (uttered). As He creates numerous
species of animals, He also creates from
subtle forms of matter numerous different
spirit creatures. One of their kinds are the
angels, others are the varieties of spirit
beings and jinn.*
*Scientists restrict the concept of life
to the conditions that obtain on or
beneath the outer surface of our planet.
Therefore, when they look for
extraterrestrial life, they look for
conditions that are the same as or
closely correspond to the conditions for
life on Earth. But surely, if they had
retained a sufficient sense of the
absolute wonder of life (an aspect of
life’s being a direct manifestation of
the Ever-Living), they should not have
ruled out forms and conditions of life
currently beyond their understanding. In
their view, the arguments put forward by
Said Nursi for the existence of angels
and other spirit beings may not be
worthy of consideration. However, the
latest discoveries in deep-sea biology
may persuade them to review his
arguments. V. Tunniclife writes:
All
life requires energy, and nearly all
life on Earth looks to the sun as the
source. But solar energy is not the only
kind of energy available on the Earth.
Consider the energy that drives the
movement and eruption of the planet’s
crust. When you look at an active
volcano, you are witnessing the escape
of heat that has been produced by
radioactive decay in the Earth’s
interior and is finally reaching the
surface. Why should there not be
biological communities associated with
the same nuclear energy that moves
continents and makes mountains? And why
could not whole communities be fuelled
by chemical, rather than, solar energy?
…
Most of us associate the escape of heat
from the interior of the Earth with
violent events and unstable physical
conditions, with extreme high
temperatures and the release of toxic
gasses-circumstances that are hardly
conducive to life. The notion that
biologic communities might spring up in
a geologically active environment once
seemed fantastic. And until recently,
few organisms were known to survive
without a direct or indirect way to tap
the sun’s energy. But such communities
do exist, and they represent one of the
most startling discoveries of 20th
century biology. They live in the deep
ocean, under conditions that are both
severe and variable. (Discover, 8.20.93)
Matter
serves life, not the other way
As
may be established empirically, matter is
not essential so that existence may be made
subject to it and be dependent upon it.
Rather, matter subsists by means of a
meaning, and that meaning is life, it is
spirit.
Also,
as may be established through observation,
existence is not in the service of matter so
that everything should be ascribed to it.
Rather, matter exists so that it may serve
for the perfection of a reality, which is
life, and spirit is the foundation of life.
Also,
it is evident that matter does not rule over
existence so that perfections may be sought
from it. Rather, it is dominated; it is
subject to the decree of a fundamental and
fashioned according to the dictates of that
decree. That fundamental is life, spirit,
consciousness.
Life
does not depend on matter
Furthermore,
matter is not the unchanged essence of
existence and the source of perfections,
rather, it is a form and outer covering
subject to disintegration. It can be
observed that a microorganism possesses
acute senses; it can hear the voice of its
mate, and see its food. This demonstrates
that the more refined matter becomes, the
more manifest are the effects of life and
the brighter the light of the spirit grows.
It
is as though the more closely matter
resembles the realm of spirit and
consciousness, the more ethereal it becomes,
and the light of life is manifested more
brightly. Therefore, could the inner world
of existence fail to be occupied with
conscious living beings, whilst the
reflections of life and consciousness
continue to be manifested upon the veil of
matter? Besides, is it possible that the
countless manifestations and reflections of
meaning, spirit, life, and consciousness in
the corporeal world could be ascribed solely
to matter and its motion? On the contrary,
these countless manifestations and
reflections indicate that the corporeal
world is nothing more than a lace veil over
the world of the spirit, and the inner
worlds.
While
accepting the existence of natural laws, why
should
we not accept the existence of invisible
beings?
We
accept the existence of natural laws and
forces unquestionably, and even go so far as
to attribute to them all phenomena in the
universe. We ascribe a tiny seed’s growth
into a huge, elaborate tree to the law of
germination and growth in that seed, and the
universe’s incredible balance to the laws
of gravitation and repulsion. But we ignore
the absolute will, knowledge, power, and
wisdom necessary for the universe’s very
existence, operation, and balance. The One
Who has absolute Will, Knowledge, Power, and
absolute Wisdom uses such powerful invisible
beings as winds or gales, and others much
more powerful than natural forces or laws,
behind natural forces and laws to make those
very natural laws and forces operative.
These beings are angels.
Human
existence depends on the spirit
This
spirit-body relation can be likened to that
between electrical power and a factory
operating by electricity. If there is no
electricity, the factory is reduced to heap
of junk. Likewise, when the spirit leaves
the body because of some rupture or
disconnection (e.g., illness or death),
despite our matchless value when alive, we
are reduced to mass of tissue and bone that
decomposes in the soil. This means that our
real existence and uniqueness depend on this
spirit.
Consensus
on the existence of angels
There
has been a consensus of most philosophers
and religious scholars on the existence of
angels and spirit beings of all kinds,
although there have been some differences in
naming them. Of the schools of philosophy,
the Peripatetics (Mashshaiyyun), who were
inclined to explain the origin of existence
in materialistic terms, had to admit the
existence of angels, on the ground that
there exists a spiritual, incorporeal
essence of each species. As for the
Illuminists (Ishraqiyyun), they could not
deny the existence of angels but wrongly
called them ‘Ten Intellects and Masters of
Species’. On the other hand, the followers
of all the Divine religions, guided by the
Divine Revelation, have believed that there
is an angel in charge of each kind of
existence. They called them by the name of
that kind of existence such as ‘the Angel
of the mountains, the Angel of the seas, the
Angel of rain’, and so on. Even the
naturalists and materialists, who have
restricted themselves only to what they see,
cannot help but admit the meaning of the
angels by calling them ‘pervasive forces’.
Philosophers
and religious scholars have unanimously
agreed that creation is not limited to this
visible world; although this world is
material and, accordingly, is not suitable
to receive and be the ‘home’ of spirits,
it has been decorated by countless living
creatures. It is this very fact which causes
us to conclude that there are many degrees
of existence, over which this material world
is, as it were, a lace curtain. Furthermore,
as the sea is the home of the fish, so the
unseen world of the spirit is occupied by
spirit beings. In short, all the arguments
we have mentioned and many more others that
can be concluded from the operation of the
universe indicate the existence of the
angels, and the Qur’an explains the
meaning of the angelic existence so
reasonably that every sensible person can
understand it. As the Qur’an puts it,
mankind is a community responsible for
carrying out the Divine Commandments issuing
from the Divine Attribute of Speech, and the
angels constitute a community whose ‘working’
stratum carry out the Divine laws of nature
issuing from the Attribute of Will. They are
God’s honored servants who perform
whatever He commands them.
The
angels are spiritual, subtle bodies divided
into different classes. Being servants of
God, they obey the commandments issuing from
the Eternal Will and the Creative Power,
which rules over the universe. Each of the
heavenly bodies is a place of worship for
the angels.
All
of the Prophets reported the invisible
dimension of existence
All
Prophets, numbering 124,000 in reliable
religious sources, unanimously report the
existence of angels, spirit beings, jinn,
and Satan. All saints and religious scholars
agree on this invisible realm’s existence.
We hardly need to say that two specialists
in a matter are preferable to thousands of
non-specialists. In addition, it is an
established fact that once a matter is
confirmed by two people, its denial by
thousands carries no weight. Furthermore,
all people of religion and followers of
almost all religions unanimously accept the
existence of these beings.
All
Divine Scriptures record the existence of
spirit beings and the human spirit, and the
story of Satan and his intrigues to seduce
us exist in all of them. Above all, can one
doubt the report of the Qur’an and the
testimony and experiences of Prophet
Muhammad, upon him be peace and blessings?
The proofs of the Qur’an’s Divine
authorship, the mission of Prophethood, and
the Prophethood of Muhammad and all other
Prophets, upon them be peace, also prove the
invisible realm’s existence and thus the
existence of the spirit, angels, jinn, and
Satan.
The
best and most rational way of establishing
the existence of such beings is expounded by
Islam, described by the Qur’an, and was
seen by the Prophet, upon him be peace and
blessings, during his Ascension through the
heavens. The Qur’an explains the meaning
of angelic existence so reasonably that
anyone can understand it. It relates that we
are a community responsible for carrying out
the Divine Commandments issuing from the
Divine Attribute of Speech, and angels are a
community whose “working class” carry
out the Divine Laws of nature issuing from
the Attribute of Will. They are God’s
honored servants who do whatever He
commands. The existence of angels and other
spirit beings can be established by proving
the existence of an individual angel,
because their denial amounts to denial of
the species. Thus, the acceptance of the
individual requires the acceptance of the
species.
The
experience of some people with invisible
beings prove their existence
A
consensus has formed, especially among
followers of religions, that there have
always been some who can see and converse
with angels, jinn, Satan, and other spirit
beings. Had angels not existed, if a single
angel had never been seen, or the existence
of one or more angels not been established
through observation, how could such a
general belief continue? If this belief were
not based on strong evidence, could it have
come down to us despite the changing ideas
and beliefs and the passage of time?
Therefore, we can conclude that religious
belief in the existence of such beings is
based on the experiences which the Prophets
and other godly persons have had with them.
Such accounts have been narrated by reliable
sources.
Existence
of a species can be proved by establishing
the existence of one individual
The
existence of the angels and other spirit
beings can be established by proving the
existence of an individual angel, because
their denial amounts to the denial of the
species. Thus, the acceptance of the
individual requires the acceptance of the
whole species. Does it not suffice to prove
the existence of the angels and other spirit
beings that all the people of religion from
the beginning have unanimously believed in
their existence, and that a consensus has
been formed that some human beings have seen
and conversed with them, and related from
them. Had the angels not existed, and if a
single angel had not been seen or the
existence of one or numerous individual
angels not been established through
observation, would it have been possible for
such a general belief to continue, and had
this belief not been based on strong
evidences, could it have come down to the
present time in spite of the changing of
ideas and beliefs along with the passage of
time? Besides, is it possible that such a
religious belief and the consensus of the
religious scholars is not based on a certain
intuition and an experienced certainty which
originated in countless signs and numerous
experiences? Therefore, we can conclude that
the religious belief in the existence of the
angels and other spirit beings is based on
the experiences which the Prophets and some
other godly persons have had with them, and
this has been narrated by reliable sources.
Angels
stand for the good aspect of humanity,
while
Satan represents the bad one
Angels
are purely spirit beings that stand for the
purely good aspect in existence, while Satan
and his descendants represent the purely
evil aspect. God is One and Infinite,
without opposite. All other beings and
existents have an opposite. Since we have
two opposite aspects in our nature, one
inclined toward good and the other toward
evil, angels represent this good aspect
while Satan represents the evil one. Angels
invite us to our purely spiritual or “angelic”
aspect, while Satan tries to seduce us
through tempting us to do evil. The
resulting struggle in each individual, and
in the universe as a whole, has been ongoing
since the beginning of existence. Everyone
feels a stimulus toward good and evil at the
same time. The former comes from the angels
or our unpolluted spirit; the latter comes
from Satan collaborating with our carnal
self, which represents our animal aspect.
Each
thing has a collective identity and performs
a unique function
When
we examine the creation carefully, we
discern that each thing, whether universal
or particular, has a collective identity and
performs a unique, universal function. As
each flower displays a superlative design
and symmetry and recites, in the tongue of
its being, the Names of the Creator, so the
whole earth performs a universal duty of
glorification as though it was a single
flower. A single fruit glorifies God within
an order and regularity, and a tree does the
same on a larger scale through the ‘words’
of its leaves, flowers, and fruits.
Likewise, the vast oceans of the heavens
give praise to and glorify the Majestic
Maker through suns, moons and stars, which
are like words, and so on. Even inert
material bodies perform a vital function in
praising God, although they are outwardly
inanimate and unconscious. Angels are the
representatives of such bodies in the world
of the inner dimensions of things, and
express praises on behalf of them, and these
bodies are, in turn, the representatives,
dwellings, and mosques of the angels in the
material world.
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