بِسْمِ اللَّهِ الرَّحْمَٰنِ الرَّحِيمِ
“The evil of mens actions hit or miss you in the spiritual world long before anything occurs in life”
“For (every person) are angels ranged before him and behind him, who guard him by Allah’s command. Lo! Allah changeth not the condition of a folk until they (first) change that which is in their hearts; and if Allah willeth misfortune for a folk there is none that can repel it (not even the Angels with the power to normally do so) , nor have they a defender beside Him (Allah).”(13:11)
“Every action (we take) has an equal and opposite reaction” by the universe, this reverberates to the deepest most sensitive and subtle parts, its subatomic depths.
“They know but the outer surface of this world’s life, whereas of the ultimate [repercussion of] things (their actions) they are utterly unaware.” [Qur’an 30:7]
The prophet (saws) explained this fact in ahadith by quoting this verse; “O my son!” (said the prophet Luqman), If there be (but) the weight of a particle (Habatin) (of your actions) and it were (hidden) in a rock (in subatomic space), or (anywhere) in the heavens or on earth (so here we have three seperate locations for the rock and it isn’t in space or earth), Allah will bring it forth: for Allah understands the finest (most subtle) mysteries (meaning the subatomic, because that is the most subtle and sensitive part of the universe), (and) is well-acquainted (with them).”(31:16)
“And We place the scales of justice for the Day of Resurrection, so no soul will be treated unjustly at all. And if there is [even] a particle (Habatin), We will bring it forth (from the subatomic depths). And sufficient are We as reckoners (of every particle of your actions).” (21:47)
The following is a generalisation illustrating the perspective on life of Angels Jinns and Humans, in contrast to each other.
The conception of each issue we face in life begins in the subatomic world, at the point that issue begins to come into existence in that world, the Angels see it from its first moments in subatomic space since they are subatomic creatures made entirely of sub atomic particles (Light/Photons), this is their world and natural habitat.
From that point they see how it will evolve and grow and where it will impact life on earth, at this moment in time they can choose to affect it as it grows and evolves and direct it’s path before it affects humans or leave the matter to itself. Either according to something Allah decreed about life on earth or their personal moral choices based on the immense knowledge Allah gave them and their role in life as those who help Allah create what comes into existence from the subatomic world to the physical world (15:21).
We all know about their role in creating children in the mothers womb they shape and mould everything from particles to atoms to human life itself.
When that issue begins to surface in the atmosphere of our world around us, that is when the Jinn first see it, since the Jinn created from atoms (a smokeless fire) see this world from that depth of the universe, the Angels created from subatomic particles of light and one of the smallest particles in existence see matters from a greater depth than the world of Atoms.
When the Jinn see the issue growing and evolving in the atmosphere around the humans they attach themselves to that is when they are able to shape and affect how that issue grows and evolves from that point before it affects the lives of people.
Angels make their choices about matters then the Jinn after them, each according to their own capacity and their is a vast difference between Angels and Jinn.
Finally this issue reaches the perception of man as a feeling or an idea or a situation he falls into and man is given the choice of how to bring it to fruition, act upon it, react to it, or do nothing about it but he tastes it only after the Angels and Jinn have influenced it.
This order is entirely because of our physiology and place in the universe, the Angels influence life from the subatomic, the Jinn from the Atom and man once he is able to perceive it, mans perception once he sees a matter overpowers the will of Angels and Jinn in the matter and it becomes entirely his, Angels and Jinn are forced to follow his lead at that point.
Man has the most freewill of all creatures but he makes his choices last, after everything has manifested itself in his life.
All of this is a matter of physics because the human body has the greatest “gravity” around it so it moves any Atoms and particles in its wake, the advantage of the Angels and Jinn is the sensitivity of their perception from their place in the universe, but in the bigger picture that advantage limits your ultimate perception of life which Allah taught to the Angels and Jinn when He created man.
This all occurs because the thoughts we have in our minds or the feelings we feel are all made of subatomic particles, think of a sunny day and the warmth you feel beocuse of all those light particles hitting you and how issues also shape what you feel and think, our thoughts are the subatomic aspects of our body. The fact is everything is made of them including the images we see in our minds.
The world of Angels is the subatomic, the world of Jinn is the atom and the world of humans is the environment and earth, but mans perception reaches into the depths of subatomic space and that is where is spirituality is created from, Allah teaches this in Surah al Shams (91) where it talks about the subatomic influences on life and what shapes the human soul.
All of this influence on man is why life may seem chaotic at first, other beings have made choices about our life before we have so we can’t understand the reason why things occur, but once you wake up to our spirituality we see the origins of things a lot better and that chaos disappears.
That issue which first begins in the world of Angels comes into our perception and mind last because what we are perceiving in our self is subatomic space itself, that is the spiritual world religion talks about and many of the great scholars affirmed this.
We can see this fact from the topics Allah chose to mention together in these verses;
“His is what is in the heavens and what is in the earth and what is between them [the subatomic] and what is beneath the ground (every kind of location in existence is mentioned, then Allah directs these themes to our own thoughts). And if you utter the saying aloud (or keep silent), then surely He knows what is secret, and what is yet more hidden (Akhfa/Deeper)” [Qur’an 20:6-7]
What is more hidden then the thoughts you keep to your self are the depths of those thoughts in the subatomic world, their sources, their origins.
“and there is not a thing but its (sources) treasures (origins) are with Us (subatomic), but We only send down thereof in due and ascertainable measures”(15:21).
Imam Suyuti said in His Tafsir: “And there is not a thing but that the stores thereof (the source off it’s origin) the keys to its stores (origin of it’s particles) are with Us and We do not send it down (to this world) except in a known measure according to the benefits of all creatures.”
But it is precisely because we are the last to receive all issues and decide upon them that Allah said to the Angels I am placing a khalifa on earth, one who will represent Me, and the Angels replied that ‘man would not be able to know You and become corrupt in this place’, because earth is the lowest of the low, the lowest place of spiritual perception (Intellect) and the Angels worried man did not have the ability to know Allah if he is blind to the spiritual world that proves His existence, how will they know their Lord.
But Allah replied to the Angels by showing them Adam (as) and His ability to receive revelation, the names of all things and act upon it, this is His ability to know the spiritual world through his heart better than them with their eyes who see it perfectly, because the example Allah set ended in the Angels not knowing what Adam (as) was able to know with his heart of that world which they governed.
Man with his heart can sense the unseen world better than the Angels because he can encapsulate with his spiritual sight the entire universe to get a sense of the greater picture that represented Allah’s qualities to ultimately see Him, Imam Ali (ra) said “The vision of the eye is limited; the vision of the heart transcends all barriers of time and space”.
This is why Allah expands the heart (gives it depth) of every prophet (saws) after they are given prophethood, “Did We not expand for you, [O Muhammad], your breast?(94:1), “[Moses] said, “My Lord, expand for me my breast”(20:25).
Angels who know the unseen primarily with their eyes would have to travel from one end of the universe to the other to get that same sense, Man was created for this very purpose and earth is his training ground. Allah’s signs (ayat) are seen in the smaller picture of the universe while Allah Himself is seen in the larger picture hence man can know Allah better than Angels.
“And surely, We created you and then gave you shape (that surpassed the Angels); then We told the angels, “Prostrate yourselves to Adam,” and they prostrated”(7:11)
“And He taught Adam the names – all of them. Then He showed them to the angels and said, “Inform Me of the names of these, if you are truthful. They said, “Exalted are You; we have no knowledge except what You have taught us. Indeed, it is You who is the Knowing, the Wise.”(2:31-32)
Adam named things both Angels and Him had never seen before from the revelation (light filled with knowledge) Allah placed in His heart. Scientifically the heart has a sophisticated nervous system that qualifies it as a miniature brain because of it’s complexity and role in the body and it is the only organ that is independent of the brain, meaning it does what it wants.
It also generates the bodies strongest electromagnetic field which it senses the world around it with. In plain language it generates a strong light it uses to send and receive signals at the subatomic level like a mobile phone and the brain decodes all of this information.
The prophet (saws) said Allah “created from the first (particles to exist) the Light in the believers visions (imagination), and from the second (another particle after it) the light of their hearts which is knowledge of Allah (how they know the world and Allah), and from the third (another particle) the light of their inner harmony (‘Uns) which is Tawhid (how they know that) ‘There is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah…”. (Abd al-Razzaq (d. 211) narrates it in his Musannaf according to Qastallani in al-Mawahib al-laduniyya (1:55) and Zarqani in his Sharh al-mawahib (1:56 of the Matba`a al-`amira edition in Cairo).
We should explain that seeing with the heart also means learning and gaining knowledge at the same time, because multiple organs are focused simultaneously, our inner sight is connected directly with our mind (intellect) and heart and all related faculties are focused together. So you need knowledge to direct and focus your sight inwardly and you gain immediate knowledge of things in the unseen as you see them which is why the awliyah called this experience “taste”, you feel what you see and that feeling explains the nature of the things you see.
This is also why the prophet (saws) in the hadith above said “the light (vision) of their hearts is knowledge of Allah”, evil hearts mainly sense the evil in the universe while pure hearts sense everything pure, eventually the heart will get a sense of Allah in the universe as it gains more experience in life and when it is given depth like the prophets it can see Him directly, which our prophet (saws) achieved.
Allah then asked the Angels and Jinn to prostrate to Adam because once Adam surpassed Angels and Jinn on earth, the place he was destined for, they would need to follow Him to be able to measure matters with Haq and Justice, otherwise they would become unjust even if it is not their intention, they needed to follow the natural course of things, their consequences accurately, and the end of all matters that begin in the spiritual world are their effects on earth, the physical world.
“They know but the outer surface of this world’s life, whereas of the ultimate [repercussion of] things they are utterly unaware.” [Qur’an 30:7]
Judge matters before they run their course and you won’t see the complete picture, you then risk committing serious mistakes in life, something the Jinn fell into when they ignored the capacity and role of man, hence they became misguided and misguided those who followed their perspective on life.
“And [mention, O Muhammad], the Day when He will gather them together [and say]: “O ye assembly of Jinns! Much did ye take from men.” Their friends amongst men will say: “Our Lord! we made profit from each other: but (alas!) we reached our term – which thou didst appoint for us.” He will say: “The Fire be your dwelling-place: you will dwell therein for ever, except as Allah willeth.” for thy Lord is full of wisdom and knowledge.”(6:108)
Life was about to get complex on earth with mans arrival and only he was equipped to maintain the balance of life on earth and the universe because the spiritual creatures in charge of both would have to follow him. Allah advises us about this in the Quran and we see it from the themes Allah chooses to mention together in these verses;
“(Allah) Most Gracious! (1) It is He Who has taught the Qur’an. (2) created man: (3) and taught him speech (Intelligence) (4) The sun and the moon follow (defined) courses (in space); (5) And the Stars and the trees are in obedience. (6) And the Firmament (universe) He has (formed and) raised high, and set up its balance, (7) In order that ye may not transgress (due) balance (on earth, this is the reason fro the vastness of space). (8) So establish measure with justice and fall not short in the balance. (55:9)”
Prior to Adam’s arrival on earth only animals and Jinn existed here but after Adam the issues Jinn and Angels would face where becoming exponentially more complex, think of the world of animals and the complexities of our lives by comparison.
Angels see issues from the depths of subatomic space, while Jinn see them from the depths of the atmosphere around us, but mankind would be the ones to experience how they shape the world first hand, He would be the one to live them out and know them better from his own experiences than Angels and Jinn who would only observe them from their perspective on life.
Mans judgment on matters from his experiences would be more fair and balanced than either the Angels or Jinns could ever be, but man would first need to be nurtured spiritually from childhood to adulthood to have that capacity, he would need the guidance of both the Angels and Jinn before he can take the lead in life and properly become Allah’s khalifa (representative).
Allah placed this responsibility on both Angels and Jinn for which the Jinn would benefit from what He gave man and mature like Him while the Angels would learn from His life what they had not seen before, their reward is to know Allah better than they did before by completing their picture of life in the universe from mans experience, failings and triumphs. Through Him they would eventually see every kind of experience that Allah wills to exist and gain knowledge of it completing who Allah wants them be in the next life, they would then need that knowledge to help them judge correctly when Allah decides to reveal more of Himself to creation and asks man and Angels to take the lead in knowing Him.
Many have reached such a state of perfection among men and become Allah’s khalifa on earth to all his creatures, the prophets (ra) are not only the leaders of mankind but also the leaders of the Angels and Jinn and after them some of the Awliya also reach this state.
This is why one of Islam’s most known saints Shaykh Abdul Qadir al Jilani (ra), who often saw Angels said ‘some awliyah (saintly men) are shaykhs (leaders) only to people, others shaykhs only to people and Jinn but others are Shaykhs to People, Jinn and Angels’, Allah had made him one of them.
Imam Ibn al Arabi (as) who also often conversed with Angels, often mentioning it in his works, said by comparison “They (the Angels) are my shaykhs”.
This is the place of man in the universe who was also created in Allah’s image, something the Angels and Jinn where not granted. Imam Ibn al Arabi (as) explained this statement of the prophet (saws) by analogy regarding the creation of the universe from particles, He (as) said that Allah Imagined the universe and life into existence, meaning with His intellect (mind) He moulded all subatomic particles to create the universe and life.
So then how is man on that Image of Allah…when man imagines anything in His mind he likewise moves and moulds subatomic particles to create what ever He sees or imagines in himself. But unlike Allah man can’t create anything with his imagination, he doesn’t have complete knowledge or power to finish that creation with purpose, it is only an approximation based on his understanding of life.
This is why when the prophet (saws) said Adam was created on Allah’s image he advised that people should avoid hitting the face of a person, not because man looked like Allah but because his intellect should be respected, which did something very similar to Allah.
The Messenger of Allah (saws) said: “When any one of you fights his brother, let him avoid the face, for Allah created Adam in His image.” (Muslim)
Angels and Jinn where not given this to the same capacity as man, this is entirely physiological, Angels have no imagination and we do beocuse of our heart (emotions), mind (Intellect) and nafs (self/ego) which create it. The Jinn are something between man and Angels in this regard, they are closer to mans nafs (ego) while Angels are closer to mans intellect in their state of existence.
Hence they can’t be on the Image of Allah, they are limited by their spiritual existence and bodies, while Man is both a spiritual and physical creature that Allah created from the entire spectrum of matter.
Man needs to grow spiritually until he is both the shaykh (leader) of the Jinn and Angels before that role is complete, but the Jinn chose to rebel and stunt mans spiritual growth in life not seeing how they stunted their own growth in the process, instead of being counted with the Angels like Allah intended in the Quran they stunted themselves over the centuries becoming twisted choosing to fool man from behind stones and wood (Idols) with an invented spirituality.
“Yet they (idol worshipers) make the Jinns equals with Allah (this is the limited spirituality behind idols, it comes from Jinn), though Allah did create the Jinns; and they falsely, having no knowledge, attribute to Him sons and daughters. Praise and glory be to Him! (for He is) above what they attribute to Him!” (6:100)
When the Prophet (saws) reached the nearest heaven on His (saws) night Journey he looked below it and he saw a dense cloud of smoke filled with Jinn. He asked: “What is this, O Jibril?” He replied: “These are the devils that swarm over the eyes of human beings so that they will not think about the dominions of the heavens and the earth, or else they would have seen wonders.” Perception opens deeper perception but the Jinn chose to turn mans eyes away from it all.
The Angels who chose to prostrate to Adam (follow him spiritually) only do so to humans who reach their spiritual height, this is so they can properly converse with him on an equal footing and raise him even further.
Knowledge opens more knowledge, the prophet (saws) said “My Lord came to me in the best form” -the narrator said: “I think he said: in my sleep”‘ – “and asked me over what did the Highest Assembly (al-mala’u al-avla) vie (“the angels brought near” to Allah according to Ibn al-Athir in al-Nihaya and others); I said I did not know, so He put His hand between my shoulders, and I felt its coolness in my innermost, and knowledge of all things between the East and the West came to me (and He (saws) understood what they said).” (Sahih, Tirmidhi)
For man, being brought close to the Angels entails taking responsibility in life for everything Allah places in front of you and disposing of its affairs wiht Haq (Justice), Angels only accept spiritually mature people who understand consequences and act accordingly from their heart, not out of obligation.
Man is only at a disadvantage in this life because he needs knowledge and wisdom to grow;
By the sun and his brightness, And the moon when she followeth (reflects) him, And the day when it revealeth him (his intensity), And the night when it enshroudeth him (the world is calm), And the heaven (atmosphere) and Him Who built it, And the earth and Him Who spread it (it’s gravity), And the soul and Him Who perfected it. And inspired it (through all of these with conscience of) what is wrong for it and (what is) right for it. He is indeed successful who causeth it to grow, And he is indeed a failure who stunteth it (buries it in darkness).(91:1-10)
And so man must rely on other creatures to learn and experience knowledge and wisdom properly, but once he has that his capacity far exceeds both Angels and Jinn because Allah’s knowledge is infinite and exists at depths even the Angels struggle with.
“Then he (the prophet on his night Journey) approached (Allah) and came close. And was at a distance of two bow lengths or nearer.”(53:8-9) At this point in the Journey of the prophet (saws) Jibril (as) had to stay back because this place was near the edge of the universe and the prophet (saws) was witnessing Allah’s splendour outside of it, something Musa (as) was not able to withstand.
The prophet (saws) said “Do you know the greatness of Allah? Truly, His Throne (‘arsh) is on His Heavens (the universe) like this” – and he formed with his fingers something like a dome over him (a dome around the universe)– and it (the Arsh) groans on account of Him like a saddle groans because of its rider.” (Abu Dawwud)
The prophet (saws) explained “Allah hath Seventy Thousand Veils of Light and Darkness: were He to withdraw their curtain (remove the veils between us and him, like He did for Musa (as)), then would the splendours of His Aspect surely consume everyone who apprehended Him with his sight (this is what is putting pressure on the Arsh and what the prophet (saws) witnessed).” (Imam al Ghazali, Mishkat Al Anwar)
The Awliya explained the place of man and what the prophet (saws) reached on that night when they said “Qalb al Insan, Arsh al Rahman”, the heart of man is the throne of the all merciful, man is the physical Kaaba that the spiritual world revolves around and Allah has created him to know Allah best.
In the next life the Jinn will be seen as the small immature creatures they chose to be, man who suffers them in this life will be free of them in the next and able to move at speed with the Angels.
Ultimately man will always rely on the Angels who Allah appointed to help him in life, this will be his state in the next life they will guide him and then follow His lead after their help, because like Adam, man has a capacity to sense the unseen better than them and Allah trained mankind for this on earth, a place his eyes are blind but not his heart.
Shaykh Rami Al Rifai.