Answer
Short Answer:
- Allah doesn’t need the angels, but He has the Power to create incredibly mighty creations; His creations are a manifestation and reflection of His Power, Brilliance, and incomparable Greatness.
- Angels devoutly obey Allah Almighty and never disobey Him, and each angel is assigned a special task.
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Peace be upon you, Reader,
Thank you for sending us your question.
Yes, it is definitely true that our Creator Allah Almighty does not need anything or anyone.
As a matter of fact, among His Names is Al-Ghany: The One who is Self-sufficient, and As-Samad: the One who is free of all needs, who is needed by all His creations.
He is sought by all, while He is above all.
So, why are there angels?
If we are going to follow the rationale in your question, we might also ask: Why did Allah create the sun, isn’t He the Source of Light and He can directly give us light?
Can’t He do it by Himself?
Or why did Allah create mothers, can’t He directly bring us to life, nurture us and show us love without the presence of mothers?
In reality, Allah doesn’t need any of His creations; they are only a manifestation of His Brilliant, Awe-Inspiring ability to plan and create.
If you consider a famous artist and ask why is this artist producing these outstanding paintings, can’t he express himself or explain what he wants without creating these amazing paintings?
The answer is, he can, but his creations reflect his great and unique abilities.
To Allah belongs the Highest Most Supreme Example, He doesn’t need the angels, but He has the Power to create incredibly mighty creations; His creations are a manifestation and reflection of His Power, Brilliance, and incomparable Greatness.
Divine Wisdom
The fact that you and I don’t see the complete wisdom in something doesn’t mean there isn’t one.
This only reflects our limitation, and this is part of knowing our own selves, and knowing our Creator.
We are limited while He is the All-Wise, if we know every single detail of His wisdom, then it doesn’t make sense because this will make us equal to Him while “[…] He knows what is [presently] before them and what will be after them, and they encompass not a thing of His knowledge except for what He wills.” (2:255)
Allah teaches us. It is one thing that He tells us He is the Creator, and another to teach us about His majestic creations.
It is one thing to tell us He is The King, and another to show us the might of His Kingdom and His slaves…
Besides, have you ever seen a King who doesn’t have slaves serving him?
When we learn about/ reflect on the creation of Allah, we get to know Him better.
This is part of our learning journey. When you know about the creation, you admire the Creator.
Angels’ Descriptions
Now, reflect on the majesty of Allah’s creation of the angels.
Jabir b. ‘Abd Allah reported the Prophet (May peace be upon him) as saying:
I have been permitted to tell about one of Allah’s angels who bears the throne that the distance between the lobe of his ear and his shoulder is a journey of seven hundred years. [Sunan Abi Dawud]
Also, the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) saw Gabriel and he had six hundred wings that filled the entire horizon [Sahih Muslim].
One would think: If these are the creations and the slaves… How is their Creator and Master!
Few of the Angels’ Roles
The roles of angels include delivering the revelation of Allah, blowing the trumpet for The Day of Resurrection, taking away the souls of slaves, recording people’s deeds, witnessing the circles of remembering Allah, protecting slaves when they’re awake and asleep, questioning slaves in the graves as well as guarding the Hellfire and Paradise.
Angels devoutly obey Allah Almighty and never disobey Him.
Abu Dharr narrated that the Messenger of Allah (may peace be upon him) said:
“Indeed I see what you do not see, and I hear what you do not hear. The Heavens moan and they have the right to moan. There is no spot, the size of four fingers in them, except that there is an angel placing his forehead in it, prostrating to Allah…” [Jami` at-Tirmidhi]
And Allah Almighty said in the Qur’an about the angels:
“To Him belongs whoever is in the heavens and the earth. And those near Him are not prevented by arrogance from His worship, nor do they tire. They exalt [Him] night and day [and] do not slacken.” (Qur’an 21: 19-20)
“Those [angels] who carry the Throne and those around it exalt [Allah] with praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who have believed, [saying], “Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way and protect them from the punishment of Hellfire.” (Qur’an 40:7)
When we learn about the angels’ sincere, non-stop worship of Allah, it reminds us that Allah also doesn’t need us or our worship.
This helps us reflect on understanding and actualizing our own purpose of life.
Knowledge That Doesn’t Benefit
An important point to remember in this discussion is that Allah Almighty already gave us the information necessary to believe in Him and succeed in this life and the next.
There are other details that even if we know them, they won’t benefit us. So, one ought to focus on what benefits.
On the authority of Abu Tha’labah al-Kushanee — Jurthoom bin Nashir (may Allah be pleased with him) — that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him) said:
Verily Allah ta’ala has laid down religious obligations (fara’id), so do not neglect them, and He has set limits, so do not overstep them; and He has forbidden some things, so do not violate them; and He has remained silent about some things, out of compassion for you, not forgetfulness — so do not seek after them. [40 Hadith Nawawi]
The advice here is to not be concerned with that which shall not increase or decrease us in faith and to focus on our own salvation.
Please keep in touch.
Salam.
(From Ask About Islam Archives)
Please continue feeding your curiosity, and find more info in the following links:
http://aboutislam.net/reading-islam/angels-creatures-light/