Faith and logic: Angels uphold Natural Laws

While angels are an other-worldly creation, their appearance as a bird (Matthew 3:16), human (Sahih), etc. is enlightening. Man cannot truly see angel’s because that which does not reflect light is invisible. Instead, angels appear in forms man can comprehend.

Ahmadiyya Times | News Staff |
Source & Credit: Finger Lakes Times | April 9, 2010
By Sardar Anees Ahmad | Waterloo, NY


All major world religions state that angels exist but, as skeptics rightly note, these beliefs are often irrational. Douglas Adams alluded to many believers rejection of reason when asking, “Isn’t it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?”

Can angels, therefore, exist without the mystique?

To understand angels’ nature and purpose, Islam first notes that the universe has been created for man’s physical and spiritual development. The physical universe is a small portion of a network of matter made up of largely invisible smaller particles.
According to Einstein’s equation E=mc², a stage exists where matter can convert into energy. This stage is largely incomprehensible, “behind” which angels operate. Angels, under God’s command, are the primary cause in a chain of cause and effect to ensure that every natural law operates in balance (86:5).

For example, Prophet Muhammad emphasized speaking carefully, “for angels say ‘Amen’ to what you say” (Sahih). If one repeatedly speaks abusively to their child, serious psychological damage occurs. This requires the activation of a series of laws – a parent’s immoral nature, the air carrying the words to the child’s ear, the mind being affected, etc. The opposite occurs when speaking with respect and love. The angels “Amen” is the diligent maintenance of every law. The Qur’an (13:12) further states that angels surround humans, serving as guardians. This means that without angels upholding various laws which ward off innumerable dangers, death occurs. Life is the exception, death is the norm.

As such, while a hierarchy of laws exists – gravity is a fact, but thermodynamics can overcome it – angels do not break any law of nature. Legitimate miracles, therefore, are not the breaking of laws but the unveiling, through angels, of previously unknown laws.

Similar to our physical development, angels maintain laws which develop man’s spiritual faculties. For example, the Qur’an (50:18-19; 82:10-13) states that every human has two angels recording their deeds. Unlike fairytales depicting angels literally taking notes, these angels maintain a profound system of registering the effect of man's deeds on his soul. With each action, angels permit laws of virtue and vice to shape a person’s character. We observe this phenomenon when criminals acquire a different character from the righteous.

“Wings” are a similar, and seriously misunderstood, angelic attribute. “Wings” are a metaphor indicating attributes of tenderness and assistance. The Qur’an (35:2) states angels have varying numbers of “wings”, indicating that certain angels have more capabilities and responsibilities than others. Also, the Qur’an (17:25) reminds children to lower their “wing” of mercy over their aging parents. These points help explain the Hindu Prophet Krishna possessing four “arms” (Gita 11:50).

While angels are an other-worldly creation, their appearance as a bird (Matthew 3:16), human (Sahih), etc. is enlightening. Man cannot truly see angel’s because that which does not reflect light is invisible. Instead, angels appear in forms man can comprehend. Remember, angels’ existing in different dimensions is not unscientific – string theory, for example, currently posits the existence of at least 11 dimensions. Such accounts also demonstrate the truth of prophets, as a liar would concoct other-worldly images of other-worldly beings.

But why create angels as an intermediary when God can directly contact man? Islam argues that God alone is infinite and perfect. So, anything which is created, including angels, will always have an infinitely incomplete understanding of God. Therefore, creation, however advanced, remains in need of intermediaries. Man requires light to see, but light requires space through which to travel, that space requiring various laws to exist, and angels rely on each other to ensure this system operates. Any objection to angels’ existence could also be levied against the existence of the universe itself. The only fair question would be, “To be or not to be?”

In general, angels carry everything to its desired goal. While a proof of angels remains, one can entertain a scientific concept of angels – one that suggests that the garden cannot exist without the fairy.

Read article here: Angels Uphold Natural Laws


Sardar Anees Ahmad is the Chairman of the Muslim Writer´s Guild of America. He is a graduate of Binghamton University with a B.A in economics, and has completed studies at Cornell University. He is a monthly religion columnist for the Finger Lakes Times and has been a contributing member of Majlis Sultanul Qalam, USA (MSQ-USA).  He is a member of The Muslim Sunrise's masthead, the oldest American Islamic periodical.