ANGELS AND OTHER INVISIBLE BEINGS

Angels are purely spirit beings that represent 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 reflect this good aspect while Satan reflects 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.

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 Wisdom has such powerful invisible beings as winds or gales, and others much more powerful than natural forces or laws. These beings are angels.

In addition to religious scholars, almost all Muslim philosophers and even all Oriental philosophers agree on the existence of angels and all kinds of spirit beings, despite differences in naming them. 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, Prophethood’s mission, 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 that angels are a community whose “working class” carries 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 denying them amounts to denying the species. Thus, accepting the individual requires accepting the species.

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. 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 had with them. Such accounts have been narrated by reliable sources.

 

Ünal, Ali. Living in the Shade of Islam. Somerset, NJ: Tughra, 2009.