Belief in the Angels

Ibn Mas‘ūd reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) related to us, and he is the truthful one in his speech, and the trusted one, as Allah Almighty endorsed him. He said: The creation of each one of you is brought together. When a man copulates with his wife, his scattered semen is brought together in the woman's womb as a sperm-drop for forty days. Then, he becomes a clinging clot for another forty days. Then, he becomes a lump, which is a piece of chewable flesh, for a third period of forty days. Then, Allah sends to him the angel, who breathes life into him after the end of the third period. The angel is commanded to write four things: his sustenance, which is the amount of bliss he will gain during his lifetime; his lifespan, which is the duration of his stay in this world; and his deeds, as to what they will be; and whether he will be miserable or happy. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) swore that a person might perform the righteous deeds of the people of Paradise, as they outwardly seem, and he continues in this state until there is only an arm's length (a cubit) between him and Paradise; that is, only a cubit separates him from reaching Paradise. But then destiny overtakes him, and thereupon he performs the deeds of the people of Hellfire, and they become his last deeds, and so he enters Hellfire. This is because it is required for a person's virtuous deeds to be accepted and that he continues to do them and not change course. There is another type of people, who perform the deeds of the people of Hellfire until they are close to entering it, as if only a cubit is separating between them. But then destiny overtakes them, and they begin to perform the deeds of Paradise, and they enter it.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) says, "Allah has appointed an angel in charge of the womb", i.e. Allah, the Almighty, has assigned an angel to be in charge of the womb, which is the place where a child is created inside his mother. "And the angel says: 'O Lord, (it is) a sperm drop!", i.e. O Lord, this is a sperm drop, which is the man's semen. The same applies to the next statement: "O Lord, (it is now ) a clot!", i.e. O Lord, this is a clot; which is thick blood stuck together. Then he says, "O Lord, (it is now) a piece of flesh", i.e. O Lord, this is a piece of flesh. It was explained in another narration that each of these development stages in the womb takes forty days. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Then, when Allah wills to complete its creation", i.e. the small piece of flesh because it is the last stage of development, and completing its creation is by blowing the soul into it after 120 days, as mentioned in another narration. Then the angel says: "O Lord, (will it be) a male or female?", i.e. so I can write it down. "Wretched or blessed?", i.e. is it a wretched one from the inhabitants of Hellfire, then I will write it down, or a happy one from the inhabitants of Paradise then I will write it down. "How much will his provisions be?", i.e. will it be little or abundant? "How long will he live?", i.e. will he have a long or short life? "All that is written while the fetus is still in his mother's womb", i.e. the angel will write down everything mentioned just as Allah orders him, while the fetus is still in its mother's womb.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed us about the beginning of creation. He first mentioned that the angels were created from light, and for this reason they do not disobey Allah nor are they prevented by arrogance from worshiping Him. As for the jinn, they were created from fire, and for this reason many of them are characterized by recklessness, vanity, and hostility. As to Adam, he was created from "what was described to you", i.e. he was created from dust and clay. Dust became sticky clay then dry clay, like pottery, and Adam was created therefrom.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that angels do not accompany a group of people on a journey if they have with them a dog or a bell hung on animals and makes a sound when moving.

A man came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, one of us may experience such thoughts that confuse him, but talking about them is grave, to the extent that he would prefer to turn into charcoal rather than speak about them. Thereupon, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) proclaimed Allah's greatness twice and praised Allah for reducing Satan's plotting to mere whispering.

Ibn Mas‘ūd reported: The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) related to us, and he is the truthful one in his speech, and the trusted one, as Allah Almighty endorsed him. He said: The creation of each one of you is brought together. When a man copulates with his wife, his scattered semen is brought together in the woman's womb as a sperm-drop for forty days. Then, he becomes a clinging clot for another forty days. Then, he becomes a lump, which is a piece of chewable flesh, for a third period of forty days. Then, Allah sends to him the angel, who breathes life into him after the end of the third period. The angel is commanded to write four things: his sustenance, which is the amount of bliss he will gain during his lifetime; his lifespan, which is the duration of his stay in this world; and his deeds, as to what they will be; and whether he will be miserable or happy. Then, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) swore that a person might perform the righteous deeds of the people of Paradise, as they outwardly seem, and he continues in this state until there is only an arm's length (a cubit) between him and Paradise; that is, only a cubit separates him from reaching Paradise. But then destiny overtakes him, and thereupon he performs the deeds of the people of Hellfire, and they become his last deeds, and so he enters Hellfire. This is because it is required for a person's virtuous deeds to be accepted and that he continues to do them and not change course. There is another type of people, who perform the deeds of the people of Hellfire until they are close to entering it, as if only a cubit is separating between them. But then destiny overtakes them, and they begin to perform the deeds of Paradise, and they enter it.

‘Uthmān ibn Abi al-‘Ās (may Allah be pleased with him) came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said: O Messenger of Allah, Satan intervenes between me and my prayer and prevents me from offering it with Khushū‘ (humility and focus) and makes me confused and doubtful about my recitation in it. Thereupon, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said to him: That is Satan, who is known as Khinzab. If you perceive that and feel it, seek refuge with Allah from him and blow three times to your left with a bit of saliva. 'Uthmān said: I did what the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) commanded me to do, and Allah caused him to depart from me.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that a Muslim's supplication for his fellow Muslim in his absence is answered because it demonstrates greater sincerity. At the head of the supplicator is an appointed angel who says whenever he invokes good for his brother: Amen, and may you receive the same.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: I know and see things that you do not know and see. There was a groaning sound in the heaven like the sound of a camel when the load is placed on its back, and the heaven had every right to groan. The reason for the groaning is that there is not a space of four fingers except that there is an angel prostrating his forehead before Allah, the Exalted. By Allah! If you knew what I know about Allah's magnificent majesty and the severity of His vengeance, you would laugh little and weep much from fear of Allah's absolute power and domination. You would not enjoy women in beds out of terror (of His anger and punishments), and you would go out to the open spaces and roads, crying out loud and imploring Allah, the Exalted, for help and mercy.

‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) informs us that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told her: “O ‘Ā’ishah, here is Jibrīl giving you greetings of peace.” i.e. he is greeting you with the greeting of Islam. So she said: “and on him be peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah.” Hence, she returned the greeting with a greeting better than it, in compliance with the divine command: {And when you are greeted with a greeting, greet in return with one better than it or [at least] return it [in a like manner]} [Sūrat An-Nisā’: 86]. It is Sunnah that if someone conveyed greetings of peace from one person to another that the latter answers saying: “and on him be peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah.” This is the apparent indication of the above Hadīth by ‘Ā’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her). If the person says: “On you and on him be peace” or “On him and on you be peace, mercy, and blessings of Allah,” then that is also good because the one who relays greetings of peace is doing a righteous deed, therefore you should reward him by supplicating Allah to give him peace, mercy, and blessings. Are you obliged to relay the greetings if someone says: “Send my greetings of peace to so and so”? Scholars elaborated on this matter saying if you verbally commit yourself to do that, then it becomes an obligation on you, because Allah says: {Indeed, Allah commands you to render trusts to whom they are due} [Sūrat An-Nisā’: 58]. However, if someone says: “Send my greetings of peace to so and so” and you remain silent or you said: for instance, “I will if I remember” or something similar, then in this case you are not obliged to relay the greetings except if you remember to do so. Nevertheless, it is better that a person does not burden another with this task as it might be difficult for him. He should, rather, say: “Send my greetings of peace to whoever asks about me.” This is a good thing to do, whereas burdening him with this task is not appropriate because he might feel embarrassed and say: “Yes, I will send your greetings,” but then he might forget, or a long time might elapse before he fulfills this task.

The great Companion Rifā‘ah informs us that Jibrīl (peace be upon him) came to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and said to him: What is the status of those who fought in the cause of Allah in the battle of Badr? In this battle, Allah granted His Prophet and the believers who joined him a complete victory. He said: They are the best of the Muslims among us. So Jibrīl (peace be upon him) said: The same can be said about the angels who joined the battle and fought in it.

In the Hadīth there is a warning against the devil, and an alerting note about his permanent accompaniment of man in all of his affairs. Hence, one must guard himself against the devil, and not be fooled by that which he beautifies for him. There is a blessing in the food that man prepares, and he knows not whether this blessing is in the food he has already eaten, or in that left on his fingers, or in what is left in his dish, or in the morsel that fell. So one must preserve all of that in order to attain the blessing. "Blessing" originally refers to increase, continuity of goodness and benefiting therefrom. What is meant by “blessing” in this context is the achievement of nourishment, safety from harm, and strength in obeying Allah, the Exalted. A point of benefit that doctors mentioned in this regard is that while eating, the fingers tips release what aids in the digestion of food.

Angel Gabriel (peace be upon him) was sitting with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) when he heard a sound from the sky, like the sound of a door being opened. Gabriel raised his head and looked toward heaven, then he informed the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) that it was a gate from heaven that was opened that day, and it had never been opened before this day. An angel descended from it to the earth, who had never descended except on that day. The angel greeted the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) with peace, and said to him: Rejoice in the good news of two lights that have been given to you, which no prophet before you was given: Surat al-Fātihah and the last two verses of Surat al-Baqarah. Then the angel said: No one will recite a single letter from either of them except that Allah Almighty will grant him the good, supplications, and requests contained within them.

In this Hadīth reported by Jābir (may Allah be pleased with him) the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) explained that Allah, the Almighty, allowed him to inform his Ummah (community) of the description of one of the great angels of the angels of Allah, the Exalted; one of those who carry the greatest creation, the Throne of the Most Merciful. It would take a fast horse seven hundred years to cover the distance from the angel's earlobe to the bottom of his neck.

In this Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) tells that Allah, the Almighty, has angels who often tour the earth and inform the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) when any one of this Ummah greets him, saying: Verily, so-and-so sent greetings to you.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) praised in this Hadīth the venerated Companion Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh (may Allah be pleased with him). The Throne of the Most Merciful was shaken out of pleasure for Sa‘d's advent to heaven. The gates of heaven were opened for him in order for Allah's mercy to descend and the angels to go down. They were opened to adorn themselves in reception of his soul, because the destination of the believers' souls is Paradise above the seventh heaven. Another virtue of this Companion is that his funeral was attended by seventy thousand angels as a way of showing great veneration to him. Yet, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) mentioned that in spite of those great virtues and prestigious status of Sa‘d ibn Mu‘ādh, the grave squeezed him, but then Allah released him. Thus, no one will ever escape the squeeze of the grave. If anyone were to escape it, Mu‘ādh would have been that one, as mentioned by the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him).

Zayd ibn Thābit (may Allah be pleased with him) reports that some Companions were with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) collecting the Qur'an from parchments on which they used to write it. In the meantime, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said: "Blessed is the Levant", meaning: a good and comfortable life is for the people of the Levant. As the Companions asked why, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) said because the angels of the Most Merciful spread their wings over it, thus protecting it, blessing it, warding off evil from it, and guarding it from disbelief and temptations. The question is: does this description apply to our time or does it refer only to the time that followed the prophet-hood? The answer is: the Hadīth is general, but it does not necessarily indicate permanence, and Allah knows best.

In this Hadīth, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) commands us to not offer prayer when the edge of the sun that appears first at sunrise shows until the entire sun rises and becomes high in the sky. We should also avoid prayer when the edge of the sun disappears until the sun has completely set. The Prophet has forbidden us from praying at times of sunrise and sunset because the sun rises and sets between the two horns of the devil, i.e. the two sides of his head. This is because the devil faces the sun when it rises so that it rises between his two horns, so that he becomes a Qiblah for those who prostrate themselves before the sun. The same happens during sunset. Therefore, we are prohibited from praying at these times to avoid resembling those people in their false worship.

‘Āmir Ash-Sha‘bi (may Allah have mercy upon him) asked ‘Alqamah (may Allah have mercy upon him) — both were venerable Tābi‘īn — whether ‘Abdullāh ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) witnessed the night when the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) met the Jinn. ‘Alqamah said that he asked Ibn Mas‘ūd about that, and he told him that none of the Companions witnessed that. However, one night, they were with the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) but they suddenly could not find him. Therefore, they searched for him in the valleys, roads, and among mountains, but they could not find him. So they feared that the Prophet was assassinated or kidnapped by the Jinn. This prospect was so upsetting to them that they spent the night in grief. In the morning, they saw the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) coming from the direction of the mount of Hirā'. They told him that they missed him and had looked for him but could not find him, which made them spend the night in great sorrow and grief. However, the Prophet told them that an emissary from he Jinn had come to him, so the Prophet went along with him and read the Qur’an to the Jinn. The Prophet went with the Companions and showed them the traces of the Jinn and the traces of their embers. He told the Companions that the Jinn had asked him for food, so he told them that their food would be every bone on which the name of Allah was mentioned. If such bones fell in their hands, they would find them covered with meat. Likewise, the dung of animals would be fodder for their beasts. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) forbade the Muslims to cleanse themselves after defecation with bones and animal dung, for these belong to the food of their brethren from among the Jinn.

Satan places his throne over the water, then dispatches his soldiers from the Jinn to tempt people and mislead them. The closest one to Satan is the one who causes the most mischievous deviation among people. One of those devils will come and say to Satan: I did this and that (i.e. I enticed someone to steal, drink wine, for example). Satan tells him: You did nothing worth the attention. The line continues until one comes up and says: I did not leave so-and-so until I caused dissension between him and his wife to the extent that he divorced her. Satan shall bring him closer, hug him, and say: It is you (i.e. you are the one who fulfilled my wish of misleading and corrupting people).

This Hadīth indicates the Prophet’s longing for meeting Jibrīl (peace be upon him), who used to bring him the divine revelation. Jibrīl did not come to the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) for forty days. So, he said to him: ''What makes you not visit us?'' i.e. it has been a long time since you last came, and I miss you. So, Allah revealed to Jibrīl to say to the Prophet: {And we [angels] descend not except by the order of your Lord. To Him belongs that before us and that behind us and what is in between. And never is your Lord forgetful.} According to this verse, revelation is sent down only with Allah's command and in accordance with His wisdom, for to Allah belong the affairs of the world and the Hereafter, and He never forgets anything. In other words, delaying the revelation does not mean that Allah has forgotten or left you. To conclude, this Hadīth suggests that one should accompany the righteous and visit them, for this is a good thing to do.

The Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) gave a sermon to his Companions wherein he informed them that Allah ordered him to impart to them the knowledge that Allah had imparted to Him that day. Allah said that all the wealth that He gives to His servants is lawful for them. This is a response to those who made unlawful for themselves certain types of cattle, clarifying that it did not become unlawful for them by their making it unlawful. Therefore, every property that a person possesses in this world is lawful for him, unless some external right is attached to it or there is evidence that excludes it from the general permissibility. Allah then said that He has created His slaves predisposed to be Muslims, submitting to Allah alone, or pure from all sin, or on the straight path with a readiness to receive guidance – these are three interpretations for this segment of the Hadīth. One further interpretation is that it refers to the oath that Allah took from people in the world of Dharr (particles), before they were born into this world, when he asked them: "Am I not your Lord?" They said: "Indeed you are." He then said: Then the devils came to them, bluffed them, caused them to deviate from the path that they were on, and directed them toward falsehood. They also deluded them by making what was lawful for them unlawful, and ordered them to associate with Allah in worship that which Allah did not order to be worshiped and sent no evidence that would suggest that they deserve to be worshiped. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then said that Allah looked at the people of the earth before the Messenger was sent and he saw them all united upon polytheism and disbelief. He hated them for this, except for some remnants of the People of the Book, those who were still holding on to their religion and had not altered it. Most of the People of the Book, however, had distorted the religion revealed to them by Allah. Allah said: "I sent you to the people to test you," meaning to see how you would carry out the tasks I assigned to you of delivering the message, fighting in the cause of Allah, and being patient for His sake. I also tested others through you by observing how they react to your message and whether or not they will believe in you. Some will reveal their faith and obey you, others will turn away from you and show enmity to you, and others will be hypocrites and will pretend to have believed while they have not. Allah already knows how everyone will react before they actually do, but He tests them so that their actions would become a clear reality. Indeed, Allah punishes His slaves based on the actions they commit, not on His prior knowledge of their actions before they actually commit them. Then Allah said that He sent down the Qur'an, and that it is preserved within the chests and not liable to elimination; rather, it will survive throughout the ages. Allah said that it could be recited during wakefulness and sleep, meaning that it is preserved for you in both wakefulness and sleep, or that it could be easily recited, according to another interpretation. The Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) then said: Allah ordered me to burn down the (tribe of) Quraysh; i.e. to kill the disbelievers of Quraysh, so I said: 'O my Lord, they would break my head just as they would break bread.' Allah said to this: Expel the Quraysh from their lands just as they did to you, though there is a big difference between the two, as the Quraysh expelled him based on falsehood while he would expel them based on truth. Allah said: Fight them and we will assist you, spend in the path of Allah and we will compensate you for it in this life and in the afterlife, and if you send an army to fight the non-Muslims, we will send angels five times its number to assist the Muslims, just as He did in Badr. He then ordered him to fight those who disobey him of the disbelievers with the help of those who do obey him of the Muslims. He then said: The people of Paradise are three: the man who possesses authority and power, yet he is fair to people, non-oppressive, and charitable towards them. He is guided to doing good and the doors of benevolence are opened before him. The second is the man who is merciful to the young and old, who has a tender heart towards his kin in particular and all Muslims in general. The third is the man who has dependents and he avoids unlawful gains and refrains from asking people for assistance because he relies upon Allah regarding his sustenance and that of his dependents. His love for his dependents and his fear concerning lack of sustenance for them do not drive him to beg people and stop relying on Allah, or to seek unlawful gains, or to become too preoccupied with them to do what is required of him of seeking (religious) knowledge and fulfilling (religious) obligations. The people of Hellfire are five: the weak who lacks the intelligence that deters him from doing what is inappropriate, who is subordinate to you and does not seek to have a wife or wealth through lawful means. Such people refrain from what is lawful and commit what is unlawful. The second is the betrayer who covets every covetable thing, even if it is almost unnoticeable; he traces it and examines it until he finds it and betrays you trust regarding it. This is a hyperbolic description of betrayal. The third is the deceiver, and the fourth is the liar or the miser, and the fifth is he who uses obscene language and is ill-mannered.

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) saw Jibrīl in the highest part of Paradise, and he had six hundred wings. The narrator asked ‘Āsim ibn Abu Bahdalah about the appearance of these wings, but he did not inform him, so some of his companions informed him that owing to their huge size, each wing filled the distance between the east and west. This is also mentioned in other authentic Hadīths: "Due to the enormity of his creation, he filled what is between the east and the west.”

In the context of interpreting the verse: {And he certainly saw him in another descent} [Sūrat An-Najm:13], Ibn Mas‘ūd (may Allah be pleased with him) mentioned that the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) explained that he saw Jibrīl (peace be upon him) in the upper part of Paradise at the Lote Tree in his original shape in which Allah, the Almighty, created him. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) saw Jibrīl (peace be upon him) having six hundred wings, with multi-colored pearls and rubies falling from the feathers of his wings.

This Hadīth mentions that when the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) was taken up by night to heaven, he passed by Jibrīl when he was with the favored angels. He found Jibrīl like a worn-out garment due to his fear of Allah, Glorified and Exalted. This proves Jibrīl's excellent knowledge of Allah, the Almighty, for the more one knows Allah, the more he fears Him.

The Muslims initially emerged victorious from the battle of Uhud, but the archers disobeyed the Prophet's command and eventually the Muslims were defeated. Some of the Muslims fled the battlefield, until they reached some villages close to a mountain near Madīnah. They then returned to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him). During the battle, Hanzhalah ibn ‘Āmir fought against Abu Sufyān ibn Harb, the leader of the polytheists. When Hanzhalah was about to kill him, a polytheist called Shaddād ibn al-Aswad saw Hanzhalah and killed him with his sword. When the battle was over, the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told the Muslims that the angels were washing Hanzhalah. He asked them to ask his wife about his condition before he set out for the battle. They asked her, and she told them that when Hanzhalah heard the call for Jihad he set out in a state of ritual impurity. So the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told them that the angels had washed Hanzhalah because he was martyred in a state of ritual impurity.

When Adam (peace be upon him) died, the angels washed his body with water an odd number of times, which could be one, three, or five times, and dug a hole in the side of the grave and buried him therein. Then they said: "This is the tradition for Adam's children." In other words, the children of Adam should go through the same procedure of washing and burial that their father went through. Indeed, only the guided among Adam's children will abide by this tradition.

One night, Usayd ibn Hudayr (may Allah be pleased with him) was reciting the Qur’an in the place where he stores dates, with his horse tied next to him and his son, Yahya, sleeping near him. He noticed that when he started reciting, the horse got startled and moved, and when he stopped the recitation, the horse also stopped moving. He recited for a second time, and the horse leaped as before. He recited once more, and the horse again did the same. Usayd feared that the horse might trample his son Yahya. So he stopped the recitation and stood near the horse to find out the cause of its erratic movement. Over his head, he saw something like a canopy with what looked like lamps in it, and it was rising up in the sky until it went so far that he could no longer see it. In the morning, Usayd (may Allah be pleased with him) went to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and told him about the incident. Upon hearing that, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) reassured him, informed him of his great status, and appeased him by repeating the following statement thrice: "Recite, O Ibn Hudayr." This statement means: repeat the recitation that caused this amazing event; and it was repeated thrice by the Prophet in order to emphasize its meaning. Actually, the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) urged Usayd (may Allah be pleased with him) to never stop his recitation of the Qur’an in the future, even if this happened again, as it had a great virtue. Then the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) told him that those were actually angels who had been listening to his recitation; and had he continued, the people would have seen them in the morning, and the angels would not have concealed themselves from them.

This Hadīth is about the participation of angels, headed by Jibrīl (peace be upon him) in the battle of Badr. The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informed that he saw Jibrīl mounting his horse in the battle of Badr, while equipped with tools of war to fight alongside the believers, to support and consolidate the Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) and to back his Companions.

Anas ibn Mālik (may Allah be pleased with him) informs in this Hadīth that he saw the dust rising in the alleyway of Banu Ghanm, which was a local area of Al-Khazraj, due to the marching of the angel soldiers led by Jibrīl (peace be upon all of them), as they proceeded along with the Messenger of Allah (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him) to fight against Banu Qurayzhah. The fact that Anas saw the traces of the angels does not necessarily mean that he saw the angels themselves. He might have seen them and might not. He, undoubtedly, knew this piece of information – that this was a regiment led by Jibrīl – from the Prophet (may Allah’s peace and blessings be upon him).

The Prophet (may Allah's peace and blessings be upon him) informs that the reward of the prayer that a man offers in congregation exceeds the reward of the prayer he offers in his home or market, i.e. the prayer which he offers alone, as inferred by comparing it to the congregational prayer, and because the prayers offered at home or in the market are performed individually in most cases. Congregational prayer exceeds the prayer one offers alone by the amount of twenty five times. His statement: "That is because," if "that" here refers to the virtue of prayer in congregation over praying alone, then this necessitates that this virtue is restricted to offering the prayer in congregation in the mosque. His statement: "Because if he," i.e. the person, if he performs ablution thoroughly, i.e. properly by doing the Sunnah acts and observes its etiquettes, then sets out in the direction of the mosque, with nothing causing him to go out but the prayer (if something else causes him to go out, or he goes out because of something else along with the prayer, then he will miss the following merits: He will not take a step except that he is raised one degree by it, and one sin is removed from his account, i.e. the minor sins involving rights of Allah, the Exalted. When he finishes his prayer, the angels continue to supplicate Allah for him, seeking mercy and forgiveness for him, as long as he is in his place of prayer, i.e. sitting therein. It is also probable that it means: as long as he remains in it (the place) even lying down, and does not invalidate his ablution. The praying person remains in prayer as long as he is waiting for the prayer," i.e. the period of time during which he is waiting for it.