Do you know that the angels make du’a for us?

Among the most incredible creations of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala are the angels. They are noble, extremely strong, and obedient to Allah. And so it is absolutely amazing that these noble creatures would make du’a, asking for Allah’s forgiveness as well as His Jannah - for us! One of their beautiful supplications are captured in the following ayah:

“Those (angels) who bear the Throne (of Allah), and those around it glorify the praises of their Rabb, and believe in Him, and ask forgiveness for those who believe (saying):

Our Rabb! You comprehend all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who repent and follow Your Way, and save them from the torment of the blazing Fire!” [Surah Ghafir 40: 7]

Mutarrif ibn 'Abdullah ibn Ash-Shikhkhir said: “The most sincere of the servants of Allah towards the believers are the angels.” Subhana Allah!

And what’s also astounding is that any du’a supplicated by the angels is mustajaab, meaning it’s easily granted by Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala. Consider this hadith by Umm Salama radhi Allahu ‘anha:

Rasulullah salla Allahu ‘alayhi wa sallam (ﷺ) came to Abu Salama radhi Allahu ‘anhu (as he passed away). His eyes were fixedly open. So Rasulullah ﷺ closed them, and then said: “When the soul is taken away, the sight follows it.” Some of his family members wept and wailed, so he ﷺ said: “Do not supplicate for yourselves anything but good, for the angels say ‘Ameen’ to what you say.” [Sahih Muslim 920a]

It is from this hadith that scholars derived how easy Allah accepts and answers the supplications of the angels.

Brothers and sisters in Islam, there are blessed people who the angels make du’a for, but then there are also people who the angels make du’a against! It makes us wonder what terrible deeds those people did to invite even the anger of the angels? In this article, we will look at 3 of those people so that we do not fall into any of those 3 categories.

🟣 1. Those who apostates after accepting and believing in the Truth (Islam).

Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala says in the Qur’an: “How shall Allah guide a people who disbelieved after their belief, and after they bore witness that the Messenger (ﷺ) is true, and after clear proofs had come unto them? And Allah guides not the people who are dzalimun. They are those whose recompense is that on them are the Curse of Allah, of the angels, and of all mankind.” [Surah Ali Imran 3: 86-87]

May Allah protect us and our loved ones from ever falling into this category.

We’re living in a time of great fitan (trials), in which many confusions and doubts are being thrown around and spread widely by those who hate this beautiful Deen of ours. There are countless websites out there that ‘sound’ Islamic - they have Islamic website titles and URLs, but their contents are deceitfully false and misleading, and these doubts could shake a person’s iman.

Some of us may be confident with our piety, thinking that our iman and knowledge are strong enough to face such trials. Brothers and sisters, know that throughout the years, there were many famous religious figures, who were praised and respected for their da’wah and literatures, yet at the end of their lives they left the fold of Islam.

The reality is, our iman fluctuates. We have days of high iman, and days of low iman, and so we should always be vigilant with our faith. Even Abu Bakr and Hanzalah Al-Usayyidi radhi Allahu ‘anhuma feared hypocrisy for themselves [Sahih Muslim 2750b].  The best of this ummah, the Companions of Rasulullah ﷺ, knew that they could never become complacent with their iman. Iblis was once at his highest point, but look where he fell to.

Hidayah only comes from Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala alone. So do not be self-reliant or feel self-conceit with our iman, rather always ask Allah that He makes us remain istiqamah in Islam. This was even one of Rasulullah’s ﷺ most frequent du’a. Umm Salamah radhi Allahu ‘anha said that Rasulullah ﷺ always supplicated the following du’a:

يَا مُقَلِّبَ الْقُلُوبِ ثَبِّتْ قَلْبِي عَلَى دِينِكَ

Ya Muqallibal-quloob, thabbit qalbi ‘alaa deenika.

“O Changer of the hearts, make my heart firm upon Your religion.”

[At-Tirmidhi 3522 | Graded Hasan by Darussalam]

If this was Rasulullah’s ﷺ most frequent du’a, then what does it say about us? May Allah keep us firm on this Deen until we meet husnul-khatimah (a good end). Aameen.

🟣 2. Those who revile the Companions of Rasulullah ﷺ. 

Rasulullah ﷺ said: “The best people are those of my generation (i.e. the Companions)…” [Sahih Al-Bukhari 6429]

The Companions, radhi Allahu ‘anhum, were phenomenal people. They were the direct students of Rasulullah ﷺ, who learned the pristine and correct teachings of Islam. They were known for their amazing acts of worship, generosity and beautiful character towards the people, and their contributions as well as sacrifices for Islam and Muslims were massive. Yet there are Muslims who hate, revile, and curse the Companions. Rasulullah ﷺ warned us from doing so, saying:

“The curse of Allah, the angels, and the whole people is upon whoever reviles my Companions.” [Reported by Ibn Hajar Al-Haithami in Majma' Al-Zawa'id]

He ﷺ also said: “Do not insult my Companions. If one of you were to spend gold equal to Mount Uhud (for the sake of Allah), it would not be equal to a small portion of theirs, or even half of that.” [Sahih Al-Bukhari 3673]

Rasulullah ﷺ said that even if we were to contribute gold lillahi ta’ala equal to the colossal size of Mount Uhud, it would still not be equal to a small portion - or even half of that small portion - of the Companions’ contribution for this Deen.

Know that our iman and sacrifices for the sake of Allah may never reach their heights, so fear Allah, and let’s be humble and respectful when speaking about the Companions of Rasulullah ﷺ - may Allah be pleased with them all.

🟣 3. Those who are stingy in giving charity.

Rasulullah ﷺ said: “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.’” [Sahih Al-Bukhari 1442]

Imam Ibn Hajar rahimahullah said that the word ‘destroy’ in this hadith means two things:

(1) That the miser’s wealth will be destroyed, meaning there will be no barakah in his wealth, or that it will continually be used in disobedience to Allah, so it becomes a burden on that person in the Akhirah, or

(2) That the stingy person himself will be destroyed - he will become increasingly distant from Allah, and will continuously fall into various acts of disobedience until he meets Allah with those sins.

When I first came across this hadith, I got anxious and worried. Let’s be real - I don’t give charity every day. Not a lot of us are well-off enough to give charity on a daily basis. And Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala does not test us with something that is beyond our capacity. So how do we reconcile this matter? Check out this beautiful hadith where Rasulallah ﷺ said:

“There is no soul in the son of Adam, but that charity is due upon it on every day the sun rises.” The Companions asked: “O Rasulullah, from what can we give in charity?” Rasulullah ﷺ replied: “The doors of virtue are many:

to glorify Allah, 

to praise Allah, 

to exalt Allah, 

to declare Allah is One, 

to enjoin good, 

to forbid evil, 

to clear harmful things from the road, 

to help a deaf person hear, 

to guide a blind person, 

to direct a person to meet his needs, 

to lend great effort to one who is worried and seeking aid, 

and to carry a heavy load in your hands on behalf of the weak.

All of this is your charity, due upon your soul."

[Ibn Hibban 3459 | Graded Sahih by Al-Arna’ut]

We are all more than capable of doing charity on a daily basis, because charity is not just limited to money and wealth! Alhamdulillah for this beautiful Deen.

Brothers and sisters in Islam, strive to be amongst those who the angels supplicate for, and not against. Can you imagine just one noble angel making a heartfelt du'a for you, and that du’a is mustajaab? If you scroll back at the ayah in the beginning of this article, you will notice Allah did not say that it was only one angel who made the supplication, rather the angels who are close to Allah (i.e. the bearers of the Throne of Allah), as well as those around Him - *all* of them make supplications for you!

All of this shows how truly extensive the Rahmah of Allah subhanahu wa ta'ala upon us. Despite our sins, flaws, and shortcomings, we have a Merciful Rabb Who keeps giving us opportunities, after opportunities to be forgiven by Him, to be saved from the Fire, and to enter His Jannah. And Imam Ibn Al-Qayyim Al-Jawziyyah rahimahullah said:

“It is not strange that a servant lowers himself before Allah, worships Him, and does not become bored from serving Him because he needs Him. The strange matter is that Allah shows love to His servant by all means through granting blessings and rewards, while He does not need him.” [Al-Fawa'id, p. 61]

— Aida Msr 🌸

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References:

• Tafsir Ibn Kathir
• Sunnah.com
• Abuaminaelias.com
• Major Sins, by Imam Shams Ad-Deen Adh-Dhahabi rahimahullah