The Second Part, Which Is the Second Matter
This was written to put a stop to and solve a significant argument about the Hadith which describes how Moses (Upon whom be peace) struck Azra’il (Upon whom be peace) in the eye, and the rest of the story.
I heard a scholarly argument in Eğridir. It was wrong to hold such an argument especially at this time, but I did not know it was an argument. I was asked a question and shown a Hadith in a reliable book marked with a qāf, which signifies the agreement of the two Shaikhs [Bukhari and Muslim]. They asked me: “Is it a Hadith or isn’t it?”
I replied that one should have confidence in someone who, in a reliable book such as that, cites the agreement of the two Shaikhs concerning a Hadith; it means it is a Hadith. However, Hadiths may contain allegorical obscurities like the Qur’an, and only experts can ascertain their meanings. Even the literal meaning of this Hadith suggests that it may belong to the allegorical category of those obscure ones. If I had known that it was a point of argument, I would not have given such a short answer, and would have replied as follows:
Firstly: The primary condition for discussing matters of this sort is to argue fairly, intending to discover the truth. It is permissible for those who know about the subject to discuss it, so long as they do not do so stubbornly nor give rise to misunderstanding.
Evidence that such an argument is for the sake of the truth is that if the truth emerges through the opposite party, a person is not upset but pleased. For he will have learned something he did not know. If it had emerged through him, he would not have learned much and might well have become arrogant.
Secondly: If the argument is about a Hadith, the categories of Hadiths have to be known, as well as the types of implicit revelation, and the varieties of prophetic speech. It is not permissible to discuss ambiguous Hadiths among the ordinary people, and to show off and justify oneself like a lawyer, and to rely on egotism to support one’s arguments rather than on truth and right.
The question being broached and argued about is having an adverse effect on the minds of the poor ordinary people. They cannot comprehend obscure allegorical Hadiths like these, and if they deny them, it opens the terrifying door to their also denying definite, unambiguous Hadiths that they cannot understand with their limited intelligences. If they take the Hadith on face value and accept the literal meaning and they spread it around, it paves the way for the people of misguidance to object to it and call it superstition.
Since attention has been attracted to this allegorical Hadith unnecessarily and harmfully, and there are many Hadiths of this sort, it is essential to offer an explanation that will remove their doubts. Whether or not the Hadith is certain, the following fact should be mentioned.
We may deem sufficient the detailed explanations in the treatises we have written; that is, the twelve principles in the Third Branch of the Twenty‑Fourth Word, and in the Fourth Branch; and in one of the principles in the Introduction in the Nineteenth Letter about the sorts of revelation; and here indicate only briefly that truth. It is as follows:
The angels are not restricted to a having single form like human beings; although they are individual beings, they are also universals. Azra’il (Upon whom be peace) is the supervisor of the angels who are charged with taking possession of the spirits of the dying.
Question: “Does Azra’il (UWP) himself take possession of them, or do his helpers do this?” There are three “ways” in this matter:
The First Way
Azra’il (Upon whom be peace) takes possession of every dying person’s spirit. Nothing is an obstacle to another, for he is luminous. Something luminous can be present in innumerable places by means innumerable mirrors and appear in them. The similitudes of luminous beings possess their characteristics; they may be deemed the same as them and not other than them. The sun’s image in mirrors displays it’s light and heat. Similarly, the images of such spirit beings as the angels in the various mirrors of the World of Similitudes are the same as them; they display their characteristics. But they are represented in accordance with the capacities of the mirrors.
The same instant Gabriel (Upon whom be peace) appeared before the Companions in the form of Dihya, he appeared in different forms in thousands of places and was prostrating with his magnificent wings, which stretch from east to west, before the divine throne. His similitude was everywhere in accordance with the place’s capacity; at the same instant he was present in thousands of places.
According to this way, for the human and particular image of the Angel of Death represented in a human being’s mirror when he is taking possession of his spirit to receive the blow of a resolute, angry, awe‑inspiring person like Moses (Upon whom be peace), and for that image-form, which resembled the Angel of Death’s clothes, to have his eye put out, would be neither impossible, nor extraordinary, nor irrational.
The Second Way
The archangels Gabriel, Michael, and Azra’il are like general supervisors. They have helpers that are similar to them in kind and resemble them, but are lesser than them. The assistants differ according to the sorts of creatures; those who take possession of the spirits of the righteous are of one sort, while those who take possession of the spirits of the wicked are of another, as the following verses point out: By the [angels] who tear out [the souls of the wicked] with violence; ❋ By those who gently draw out [the souls of the blessed]. In view of this way, it is perfectly reasonable that, because he was naturally awe‑inspiring and brave, and was an acceptable suppliant of Allah the Most High, Moses (Upon whom be peace) should have dealt a blow not at Azra’il (Upon whom be peace), but at the wraith-like body of one of his helpers.
The Third Way
As is explained in the Fourth Principle in the Twenty‑Ninth Word and is indicated by some Hadiths, there are some angels who have forty thousand heads, and in each of their heads are forty thousand tongues, (which means that they also have eighty thousand eyes), and with each of those tongues they utter forty thousand divine glorifications. Yes, since the duties the angels are charged with are in accordance with the sorts of beings of the Manifest World, they represent those species’ glorifications in the Spirit World. It is certain to be thus.
For the globe of the earth is a creature; it glorifies Allah the Most High. It has not forty thousand, but perhaps a hundred thousand sorts of beings, which are like heads. Each sort has hundreds of thousands of individual members which are like tongues; and so on. That means the angel appointed to the earth must have not forty thousand heads but hundreds of thousands; and in every head must be hundreds of thousands of tongues; and so on.
Thus, according to this way, Azra’il (Upon whom be peace) has a face and an eye that looks to each person. When Moses (Upon whom be peace) struck Azra’il (Upon whom be peace), it was not directed at his essential self and his true form, and it was not an insult, or non‑acceptance; he struck, and strikes, in the eye the being who drew attention to his death and wanted to prevent his work, because he wanted his duties of prophethood to continue for ever.
Allah knows best what is right. ❋ None knows the Unseen save Allah. Say: The knowledge is with Allah alone.
He it is Who has sent down to you the Book: in it are verses basic or fundamental [of established meaning]; they are the foundation of the Book; others are allegorical. But those in whose hearts is perversity follow the part thereof that is allegorical, seeking discord, and searching for its hidden meanings, but no one knows its hidden meanings except Allah. And those who are firmly grounded in knowledge say: “We believe in the Book; the whole of it is from our Sustainer;” and none will grasp the Message except men of understanding.