Angels in the Battlefield

 بِسۡمِ اللّٰہِ الرَّحۡمٰنِ الرَّحِیۡمِ

سُبْحَانَ ذِي الْقُوَّةِ وَالْجَبَرُوتِ سُبْحَانَ ذِي الْمُلْكِ وَالْمَلَكُوتِ سُبْحَانَ الْحَيِّ الَّذِي لَا يَمُوتُ سُبْحَانَ الَّذِي يُمِيتُ الْخَلَائِقَ وَلَا يَمُوتُ سُبُّوحٌ ‌قُدُّوسٌ ‌قُدُّوسٌ ‌قُدُّوسٌ سُبْحَانَ رَبِّنَا الْأَعْلَى رَبِّ الْمَلَائِكَةِ وَالرُّوحِ سُبْحَانَ الْأَعْلَى الَّذِي يُمِيتُ الْخَلَائِقَ وَلَا يَمُوتُ

In the Name of Allah, the Rahman, the Merciful

Holy, Holy, Holy

The topic of Angels is extremely critical in Islam which has regrettably been neglected by the Muslims, despite the sheer immensity of content in the Holy Quran and the Sirah of the Prophet Muhammadصلى الله عليه وسلم which is about the Angels. As I mentioned in a previous entry on the topic of the wings of the Angels, the belief in Angels is not only one of the Six Articles of Faith in Islam, it is the second of these Articles preceded only by belief in Allah’s Person. And the reason Angels are so important in Islam is because they are the hosts of Allah that manifest His glory and grandeur. While Allah is not in need of His Angels He nevertheless created them as a reflection of His attributes. Their function is to ceaselessly worship and praise Him perfectly:

وَتَرَی الۡمَلٰٓئِکَۃَ حَآفِّیۡنَ مِنۡ حَوۡلِ الۡعَرۡشِ یُسَبِّحُوۡنَ بِحَمۡدِ رَبِّہِمۡ

And you will see the Angels going around the Throne, glorifying their Lord with praise

(Surah 39, Ayah 75)

In speaking of the theophany of Allah, the Quran mentions Him coming with a train of Angels (Surah 2:210; 89:22). That is because the glory of a person is enhanced when He appears with a multitude of hosts, like a majestic king has in his court many ministers and servants, and a great general comes with a large number of soldiers under his command.

Another function of Angels is that some of them have been appointed to serve as Messengers of God. The very word Malak is from Hebrew and means messenger (Strong’s Lexicon, #4397). So Allah says:

جَاعِلِ الۡمَلٰٓئِکَۃِ رُسُلًا

He made the Angels Messengers

(Surah 35, Ayah 1)

Even the English word angel is from the Greek angelos meaning messenger. The descent of Angels upon Saints and Believers of this Ummah till this day is affirmed by the Sunni Muslims. We do not discount the possibility and affirm actual incidents in which an Angel manifested himself to a Saint or Believer of this Ummah, including in a state of wakefulness. One may behold an Angel in human form, or in a vision with a more fearsome or awesome form especially with wings, or merely hear the voice of an Angel to speaking to them.

Yet another function of Angels is to physically protect or harm humans and even do battle on behalf of God, serving as His Army. Hence, Allah, Holy and Exalted is He, says:

یُمۡدِدۡکُمۡ رَبُّکُمۡ بِخَمۡسَۃِ اٰلٰفٍ مِّنَ الۡمَلٰٓئِکَۃِ مُسَوِّمِیۡنَ

Your Lord will help you with five thousand Angels, distinctively marked

(Surah 3, Ayah 125)

The descent of Angels upon the battlefield really happened in the momentous Battle of Badr. This was a point in history in which the steady cold war between Light and Darkness heated up into a volcanic eruption of physical violence in the human realm. That was because the Seal of Prophets صلى الله عليه وسلم had finally come into this world, the brightest light and the perfect man, the most beloved to God. The Devil is compelled in such times when a Prophet is in this world guiding people into the Light to use everything in his arsenal to extinguish that Light if possible. Hence, Allah says:

وَمَاۤ اَرۡسَلۡنَا مِنۡ قَبۡلِکَ مِنۡ رَّسُوۡلٍ وَّلَا نَبِیٍّ اِلَّاۤ اِذَا تَمَنّٰۤی اَلۡقَی الشَّیۡطٰنُ فِیۡۤ اُمۡنِیَّتِہٖ ۚ فَیَنۡسَخُ اللّٰہُ مَا یُلۡقِی الشَّیۡطٰنُ ثُمَّ یُحۡکِمُ اللّٰہُ اٰیٰتِہٖ ؕ وَاللّٰہُ عَلِیۡمٌ حَکِیۡمٌ

And We did not send before you a Messenger or a Prophet except when he desired (something) Satan threw (something) into his desire. But Allah abolishes what Satan throws then Allah establishes His Signs. And Allah is knowing, wise

(Surah 22, Ayah 52)

Because a Prophet is the brightest light of God’s creation and His most magnificent general to make battle against the Devil, the Devil throws everything he can at him in a vain attempt to dishearten him and weaken him. When we study the Sirah of the Holy Prophet Muhammad صلى الله عليه وآله وسلم we see that since his proclamation of Prophesy the Devil had been stirring up the hearts of the idolaters and Jews to oppose him violently, such that they even made several attempts to murder him, all which failed because of divine protection. It is narrated that in the Prophet’s childhood he met a Christian monk named Bahira while on a trip with his uncle Abu Talib to the Levant, in a town called Busra. Bahira saw the Seal of Prophesy, a physical mark, between the Prophet’s shoulder blades and was convinced he was destined for some greatness. But he warned Abu Talib:

فَارْجِعْ بِابْنِ أَخِيكَ إلَى بَلَدِهِ وَاحْذَرْ عَلَيْهِ يهودَ فَوَاَللَّهِ لَئِنْ رأوْه وَعَرَفُوا مِنْهُ مَا عَرَفْتُ لَيَبْغُنه شَرًّا فَإِنَّهُ كَائِنٌ لَابْنِ أَخِيكَ هَذَا شَأْنٌ عَظِيمٌ فأسرعْ بِهِ إلى بلاده

Return with your nephew to his country, and beware of the Jews concerning him. For, by Allah, if they see him and recognize from him what I have recognized they will do evil to him. Greatness is destined for your nephew, so hasten with him to his country! (Sirat Ibn Hisham)

So at the Battle of Badr the Angels descended on horseback and participated in that monumental holy war in which the idolaters were routed. Ibn Abbas رضى الله عنهما narrates that the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم pointed out during the Battle of Badr:

هَذَا جِبْرِيلُ آخِذٌ بِرَأْسِ فَرَسِهِ عَلَيْهِ أَدَاةُ الْحَرْبِ

This is Gabriel, holding the head of his horse, equipped with armaments (Sahih al-Bukhari)

The Archangel Gabriel is the general of the Angelic forces. The Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم said that Satan was never more abased and burning with rage than when he saw Gabriel arranging the ranks of the Angels on the Day of Badr:

أَمَا إِنَّهُ قَدْ رَأَى جِبْرِيلَ يَزَعُ الْمَلاَئِكَةَ

(Muwatta Malik)

And the Archangel Gabriel led the Angelic forces in subsequent holy wars of the Prophet صلى الله عليه وسلم such as in the Battle of the Trench. In this battle the Muslims successfully repelled the attack of the pagan Arab coalition of tribes. So it is narrated:

أَنَّ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم لَمَّا رَجَعَ يَوْمَ الْخَنْدَقِ وَوَضَعَ السِّلاَحَ وَاغْتَسَلَ فَأَتَاهُ جِبْرِيلُ وَقَدْ عَصَبَ رَأْسَهُ الْغُبَارُ فَقَالَ وَضَعْتَ السِّلاَحَ فَوَاللَّهِ مَا وَضَعْتُهُ‏ فَقَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم‏ فَأَيْنَ‏ قَالَ هَا هُنَا‏ وَأَوْمَأَ إِلَى بَنِي قُرَيْظَةَ‏ قَالَتْ فَخَرَجَ إِلَيْهِمْ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم

When the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, returned on the Day of the Trench, he put down his weapon and took a bath. So Gabriel came to him with his head covered by dust and said: “You have put down your weapon, but by Allah, I haven’t put it down.” So the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, said: “Where to?” Gabriel said: “This way” toward Bani Qurayzah, so the Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, went out toward them (Sahih al-Bukhari)

These narrations make clear that the Angels physically engaged in warfare in those glorious days, and some of them like Gabriel were even manifest in human form, appearing on horseback with actual armaments.