Bukhari

Hadith Commentary:
From this hadith, Imam Bukhari has deduced that Allah Ta'ala speaks to the angels.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
According to this hadith, the angels ascend with the deeds of people performed during the day and night. In this manner, their coming and going continues uninterrupted. From this hadith, Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established that Allah Ta’ala speaks to angels other than Jibril alayhis salam as well, and that His speech is not limited to the Noble Qur’an. The speech of Allah Ta’ala consists of letters and sounds and is real in nature, because in this hadith there is mention of Allah Ta’ala questioning His angels, and a question is a form of speech that is heard by others and is composed of letters and sound. And Allah knows best.

➋
In this hadith, the angels who spend the night are mentioned specifically because those people who are engaged in righteous deeds during the night—despite the fact that Allah Ta’ala has made the night for rest—are, all the more so, likely to be engaged in obedience to Allah Ta’ala during the daytime.

Hadith Commentary:
By bringing together all these ahadith, the aim of the absolute mujtahid, Imam al-Bukhari rahimahullah, is to establish the existence of angels.
Belief in them is among the pillars of faith.
Among the angels, Jibril, Mika'il, and Israfil alayhim as-salam are the most well-known.
As for the rest, their number is such that none knows it except Allah; they are all servants of Allah, obedient to Him.
Without His permission, they cannot even breathe, nor do they possess any power to benefit or harm.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
The angels come and go for their duty one after another.
When one group arrives, the other departs.
➋
From all these ahadith, the purpose of Imam Bukhari rahimahullah is to establish the existence of angels, belief in whom is among the pillars of faith.
Among the angels, Jibril (Gabriel) alayhis salam, Mika'il (Michael) alayhis salam, and Israfil alayhis salam are the most well-known.
As for the rest, they are so numerous that none knows their number except Allah.
They are all humble servants of Allah and obedient to Him.
Without Allah’s permission, they cannot even breathe, nor do they possess the power to benefit or harm anyone.
They are engaged day and night in obedience and worship of Allah.
This is their task and their constant occupation.

Hadith Commentary:
➊
Imam Bukhari rahimahullah has established from this hadith the attribute of elevation (uluww) and the aspect of “above-ness” (jiha al-fawq) for the Essence of Allah, because it is mentioned therein that the angels ascend upwards, and then Allah ta‘ala questions them and addresses them directly. The apparent wording of the hadith necessitates that Allah ta‘ala inquires from them without any intermediary of revelation (wahy). The word “ascension” (‘uruj) is used for the angels. According to the Arabic language, its meaning is to ascend from below to above. Allah ta‘ala says:
(وَلَوْ فَتَحْنَا عَلَيْهِمْ بَابًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ فَظَلُّوا فِيهِ يَعْرُجُونَ)
“If We were to open for them a gate from the heaven and they were to continue ascending through it.” (al-Hijr: 15, 14)

➋
There are two types of elevation (uluww) for the Essence of Allah ta‘ala:
(a) Elevation of Essence (‘uluww al-dhat)
(b) Elevation of Attributes (‘uluww al-sifat)
The meaning of elevation of Essence is that Allah ta‘ala is above everything; nothing can be above Him, nor even equal to Him. The meaning of elevation of Attributes is that all His attributes are of the highest and most exalted degree. Allah ta‘ala says:
(وَلِلَّهِ الْمَثَلُ الْأَعْلَىٰ)
“And for Allah is the highest and most exalted example.” (an-Nahl: 16, 60)
In this regard, the position of Ahl al-Sunnah is that Allah ta‘ala, in His Essence, is above all creation, and His elevation is due to His eternal and everlasting attributes. Two groups have opposed Ahl al-Sunnah in this matter. One group says that the Essence of Allah ta‘ala is present everywhere. This belief entails disrespect towards Allah ta‘ala, because in the universe there are places where even a human being would not tolerate to stay, let alone holding the belief that Allah ta‘ala is present in such places. The second group, in contrast, says that Allah ta‘ala is neither above the universe nor below, neither inside the world nor outside, neither to the right nor to the left, neither connected (muttasil) to the universe nor separate (munfasil) from it. It should be clear that, apart from non-existence (‘adam), we do not know of anything that is neither above the universe nor below, neither to the right nor connected nor separate. What could be a greater disrespect to Allah ta‘ala than this?

➌
Al-Islam, Imam Ibn Taymiyyah rahimahullah says: There is no text or clear statement from Allah ta‘ala, His Messenger sallallahu alayhi wa sallam, the Companions, or the Tabi‘in that establishes otherwise. Rather, from all their statements, it is established that Allah ta‘ala is above everything. In any case, the attribute of elevation (uluww) for the Essence of Allah ta‘ala is established by the Noble Qur’an, hadith, consensus (ijma‘), reason, and innate disposition (fitrah). To hold a contrary belief is sheer misguidance and deviation. May Allah protect us from it, ameen.

Explanation:
This response from the angels will be for those righteous servants who used to perform the prayer (salah) regularly. As for those people who did not perform the prayer regularly, what could the angels possibly say about them in the court of Allah? It is said that the angels referred to here are the “Kiraman Katibin” (the noble recording angels) who protect a person, and their shifts change morning and evening. Qurtubi has said that these are two angels, and as for the Lord, who is All-Knowing of everything, His questioning them is to convince those who had said at the time of Adam’s creation that the children of Adam would cause bloodshed and corruption on the earth.

Hadith Commentary:
(1)
This narration points to the special virtue of the Asr prayer, because it is understood from the narration that the gathering of angels takes place at the Fajr and Asr prayers. However, the difference is that the angels who come at the Fajr prayer are the angels of the day, and their arrival occurs at their appointed times, because the day begins at true dawn (subh sadiq). The angels who come at the time of Asr are assigned to the night, and they are to participate in the Maghrib prayer, because the night begins after sunset. However, instead of arriving at their appointed times, these angels arrive before time. It is thus understood that the virtue of the Asr prayer is the reason for their early arrival.
This is the intended point. Then, it is Allah’s grace and favor upon His believing servants that the time set for the gathering and changing of the angels is when the people of faith are engaged in prayers, so that the angels may bear witness to their goodness, blessings, and virtue.
(Sharh al-Kirmani: 200/2)

(2)
Allah, the Exalted, has knowledge of everything, yet He asks the angels: “In what state did you find My servants?” The reason for this is that it is intended for the angels to acknowledge that their objection at the time of Adam’s creation was not correct, when they said that You wish to create a creature on earth who will cause corruption and shed blood. Allah wants to show the angels that their stance was not correct. Furthermore, the servants about whom Allah asks the angels are those regarding whom it is stated:
﴿ إِنَّ عِبَادِي لَيْسَ لَكَ عَلَيْهِمْ سُلْطَانٌ﴾ “O Shaytan! You will have no authority over My servants.”
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In addition, the angels also have great goodwill towards the believers, because when they are asked: “In what state did you leave them?” they reply: “When we reached them, they were praying, and when we left, they were still engaged in prayer.” That is, at every moment, they wish to express the greatness and virtue of the believers, and they mention those things which will lead to their forgiveness.
It should be noted that these are the very angels whose duty is to seek forgiveness (istighfar) for the believers. Allah, the Exalted, says:
﴿ يَسْتَغْفِرُونَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا﴾ “They (the angels) seek forgiveness for those who believe.”
()
In any case, Allah’s honored angels love the believers and have feelings of goodwill towards them.
(Sharh al-Kirmani: 200/2)

(3)
It is understood from this hadith that Allah only questions those angels whose duty was only for the night. From another narration, it is understood that those who are on duty during the day are also questioned. Thus, it is mentioned in the hadith:
“At the Fajr and Asr prayers, the angels of the day and night gather together. When they gather at the Fajr prayer, the angels of the night depart and the angels of the day take up their duty. When they gather at the Asr prayer, the angels of the day ascend and those assigned to the night remain. Allah asks all of them: ‘In what state did you leave My servants?’” (Sahih Ibn Khuzaymah: 165/1, Hadith: 322)
From this detailed narration, it is understood that both the angels of the day and night are questioned, and they bear witness that the believers are engaged in prayer.
(Fath al-Bari: 49/2)
‘Allamah Kirmani states that the night is a time for sleep and rest, and most sins also occur at this time. So those who not only refrain from sin at night but also keep themselves engaged in worship, will, all the more so, avoid sins and remain engaged in worship during the day.
(Sharh al-Kirmani: 200/2)

(4)
It is understood from this hadith that prayer (salah) is the highest form of worship, because it is specifically mentioned in the context of questioning and answering. Especially the Fajr and Asr prayers hold immense importance and virtue, because at these two times, two groups of angels gather, whereas at other prayers, only one group is present.
The times of these two prayers also possess extreme virtue: in the morning, sustenance (rizq) is distributed, and in the evening, deeds are raised and presented before Allah.
Whoever worships Allah at these times, Allah will bless his sustenance and deeds.
(Fath al-Bari: 50/2)

Hadith Commentary:
Vocabulary of the Hadith:
يَتَعَاقَبُونَ:
They come one after another or in turns.
When the duty of one group ends, the responsibility of the other begins.
After the arrival of the second group, the first group departs.
In this way, the duty of the angels changes at the times of morning (fajr) and afternoon (‘asr), so that in the morning they may witness Allah’s servants leaving their soft and warm beds and their beloved, sweet sleep for the sake of Allah’s pleasure, and in the afternoon they may witness them leaving their worldly concerns and occupations. Due to the importance of the morning and afternoon prayers, these instill in the servant the capacity and readiness for the vision of Allah.

Benefits and Issues:
The majority of the Arabs and most grammarians, whose leader is the Imam of grammar, Sibawayh, hold the view that if the subject (fa‘il) is explicit, whether dual or plural, the verb should be singular; it is not permissible to use the dual or plural pronoun with it. However, according to the tribe of Banu Harith bin Ka‘b, it is permissible to use the dual and plural markers.

(yata‘āqabūna fīkum malā’ikah)
is according to their statement. Therefore, Akhfash and his followers interpret the verse of the Noble Qur’an:

“And those who did wrong concealed their private conversation” ()
in this way:
“Those who did wrong” is an explicit subject, and “concealed” is a plural verb with a plural pronoun attached. Similarly, “angels” is an explicit subject and (yata‘āqabūna) is a plural verb. But Sibawayh and his followers consider “those who did wrong” and “angels” as substitutes for the plural pronoun attached to the verb; they do not accept them as the subject.

However, in the next narration:
(al-malā’ikatu yata‘āqabūna)
is mentioned.
(al-malā’ikatu)
is the subject, and (yata‘āqabūna) is the verb with its subject.
In accordance with “malā’ikah,” the plural pronoun for the subject is used.

Takhrij al-Hadith:
[وأخرجه البخاري 555، ومسلم 632، من حديث مالك به]
Jurisprudential Explanation:
➊ Allah Ta’ala is established above His Throne (Arsh) over the seven heavens, as is proven by the Qur’an, Hadith, the consensus of the Companions (ijma‘ al-sahaba), and the consensus of the Followers (ijma‘ al-tabi‘in).
➋ The angels’ ascent to and descent from the heavens is not dependent on the speed of light; rather, they travel at a speed far greater than that of light. We are unaware of its exact nature (kayfiyyah).
➌ The hearts and minds of the believers are always mindful of prayer (salah).
➍ Angels are also present in congregational prayer (salah bi’l-jama‘ah).
➎ It is necessary to have faith in the unseen (ghayb), provided it is established by the Qur’an and Hadith.
➏ The Fajr and Asr prayers possess great virtue and significance.