The four supporters (angels) of the celestial throne
The four supporters (angels) of the celestial throne

Bearers of the Throne or ḥamlat al-arsh (حملة العرش) are a group of angels in Islam. The Quran mentions them in Quran 40:7 and Quran 69:17.

Description

In Islamic traditions, they are often portrayed in zoomorphic forms. They are described as resembling different creatures: An eagle, a bull, a lion and a human.[citation needed] Other hadiths describes them with six wings and four faces.[1] While according to a hadith transmitted from At-Targhib wat-Tarhib authored by ʻAbd al-ʻAẓīm ibn ʻAbd al-Qawī al-Mundhirī, the bearers of the throne were angels who shaped like a rooster, with their feet on the earth and their nape supporting the Throne of God in the highest sky.[Notes 1] a number modern Islamic scholars from Imam Mohammad Ibn Saud Islamic University, and other institutes Yemen and Mauritania also agreed the soundness of this hadith by quoting the commentary from Ibn Abi al-Izz who supported this narrative.[2]

These four angels are also held to be created from four different elements: light, fire, water, and mercy.[citation needed] It is also said they are so large that a journey from their earlobes to their shoulders would take seven hundred years.[3] According to various Islamic tafsir scholars which compiled by Islamic University of Madinah and Indonesian religious ministry, the number of these angels will be added from four into eight angels during the Day of Resurrection.[4] This interpretation were based on Qur'an chapter Al-Haqqa Quran 69:17.[4]

According to Al-Suyuti who quoted a Hadith which transmitted by Ibn al-Mubarak, archangel Israfil is one of the bearer of the throne.[5]

Similar beings in other religions

The portrayal of these angels is comparable to the seraphim in the Book of Revelation.[6] They might be identified with cherubim or seraphim of Jewish traditions.[7]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The hadith were: "...Allah, the most exalted, has permitted me to speak of a rooster whose legs have separated the earth, and its neck is bent under the throne..." through the narration of Abu Hurairah by Abd al-Qawi al-Mundhiri through Al-Qadi Abu Ya'la. The Hadith were judged as authentic and sound by numerous hadith scholars such as by Nur al-Din al-Haythami in his work, Majma al-Zawa'id, Al-Tabarani in his work, Al-Mu'jam al-Awsat, Mustafa al-Adawi in Sahih Al-Ahadith Al-Qudsi and also by Muhammad Nasiruddin al-Albani in his work Silsalat al-Hadith as-Sahihah[2] It also commented as safe as it is also supported by other Hadith from another chain from Jabir ibn Abd Allah in the Sunan Abu Dawood.[2]

References

  1. ^ Stephen Burge (2015). Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-malik. Routledge. p. 265. ISBN 978-1-136-50473-0.
  2. ^ a b c Abdullaah Al-Faqeeh; Fatwa centers & Islamic educational institutes in Yemen and Mauritania (2013). "رتبة حديث: أذن لي أن أحدث عن ملك من ملائكة الله من حملة العرش..." [The rank of hadith: Permit me to narrate on the authority of one of the angels of God from among the bearers of the Throne... Fatwa Number: 205000]. Islamweb (in Arabic). Saudi Arabia: Al-Imaam Muhammad Bin Saud Islamic University. Retrieved 3 March 2022.
  3. ^ Syrinx von Hees (2002). Enzyklopädie als Spiegel des Weltbildes: Qazwīnīs Wunder der Schöpfung: eine Naturkunde des 13. Jahrhunderts (in German). Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 283. ISBN 978-3-447-04511-7.
  4. ^ a b Wahbah al-Zuhayli; Abdul-Rahman al-Sa'di; Muhammad Sulaiman Al Asyqar. "Surat An-Nazi'at ayat 5; Tafsir Juz Amma". Tafsirweb (in Indonesian and Arabic). Islamic University of Madinah; Ministry of Religious Affairs (Indonesia); Ministry of Islamic Affairs, Dawah and Guidance. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
  5. ^ Al-Suyuti (2021). Muhammad as Said Basyuni, Abu Hajir; Yasir, Muhammad (eds.). Misteri Alam Malaikat (Religion / Islam / General) (in Indonesian). Translated by Mishabul Munir. Pustaka al-Kautsar. pp. 29–33, 172. ISBN 9789795929512. Retrieved 6 February 2022. Quoting Ibnul Mubarak from a book of az-Zuhd; ad Durr al-Manshur, chain narration from Ibnul Mubarak to Ibn SHihab (1/92)
  6. ^ Bruno Becchio; Johannes P. Schadé (2016). "Hierarchy of angels". Encyclopedia of World Religions. Foreign Media Group. ISBN 9781601360007.
  7. ^ Schöck, Cornelia (1996). "Die Träger des Gottesthrones in Koranauslegung und islamischer Überlieferung" [The bearers of the throne of God in the interpretation of the Koran and Islamic tradition]. Die Welt des Orients (in German). 27: 104–132. JSTOR 25683589. OCLC 6015512997. INIST:2883962.


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