Surah Ghafir (40) — Ayah 7

(Ayah 7) ➊ { اَلَّذِيْنَ يَحْمِلُوْنَ الْعَرْشَ وَ مَنْ حَوْلَهٗ …:} In the previous verses, the end of the disbelievers was mentioned, those who argue uselessly and stubbornly to reject Allah’s signs. Now, in contrast to them, the condition of those people is described who, according to Allah’s command, believe in Him and avoid stubborn argumentation. In their favor, those high-ranking angels who bear the Throne and those who are around the Throne seek forgiveness and make supplications, all with {’’سُبْحَانَ اللّٰهِ وَ بِحَمْدِهِ‘‘} and similar words, praising their Lord and glorifying Him, meaning they praise that Pure Being who possesses all attributes of perfection and is free from every defect and shortcoming, and they believe in Him. In this, there is also comfort for the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) and the believers, that they should not be disheartened by the attitude of the stubborn and argumentative disbelievers. If these people are hostile to you, there are also many who are friendly to you, and they are of very high status. Then, in the presence of such pure and well-wishing friends, who at all times make supplications and requests for forgiveness for you in the court of Allah, what concern should you have for any enemy?

➋ { وَ يُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِهٖ:} Here is a question: it is known to everyone that the bearers of the Throne and all other angels believe in Allah, so why is their belief in Allah mentioned specifically? Zamakhshari has answered that this is to highlight the virtue and honor of faith and to encourage it, just as in Surah Al-Balad, after mentioning the details of the difficult path, the freeing of necks and other good deeds, faith is mentioned, so that the virtue of faith is established and it becomes clear that no good deed is valid unless accompanied by faith.

➌ The Throne is the greatest of all Allah’s creations, because it is above all the heavens and the earths, and above it is the Pure Being of Allah. Then, what must be the greatness of the angels who bear the Throne!? Jabir bin Abdullah (may Allah be pleased with them both) narrates that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [ أُذِنَ لِيْ أَنْ أُحَدِّثَ عَنْ مَّلَكٍ مِنْ مَّلاَئِكَةِ اللّٰهِ تَعَالٰی مِنْ حَمَلَةِ الْعَرْشِ، إِنَّ مَا بَيْنَ شَحْمَةِ أُذُنِهِ إِلٰی عَاتِقِهِ مَسِيْرَةُ سَبْعِمِائَةِ عَامٍ ] [ أبوداوٗد، السنۃ، باب في الجہمیۃ : ۴۷۲۷، و قال الألباني صحیح ] “I have been permitted to speak about one of the angels of Allah who bears the Throne: the distance from the lobe of his ear to his shoulder is a journey of seven hundred years.” Now, it is not known whether these are years of this world, or those years whose one day is equal to a thousand of our years, or even longer years are meant, because outside the orbit of our sun, the reckoning of time cannot be according to our reckoning, and there is no estimation of the vastness of the celestial spheres created by Allah, where even the sun is like a particle. In short, this is just an estimation of the greatness of those angels. Such mighty angels who bear the Throne, and the angels present around the Throne and circumambulating it, when they are seeking forgiveness and making supplications for the believers—and it is obvious that they do all this by Allah’s command, as it is said about all the angels: «بَلْ عِبَادٌ مُّكْرَمُوْنَ (26) لَا يَسْبِقُوْنَهٗ بِالْقَوْلِ وَ هُمْ بِاَمْرِهٖ يَعْمَلُوْنَ» [ الأنبیاء : ۲۶، ۲۷ ] “Rather, they are honored servants. They do not precede Him in speech, and they act only by His command”—from this, one can estimate Allah’s immense kindness and mercy upon the believers. See also Surah Al-Haqqah (17).

➍ In this verse, only the seeking of forgiveness and supplication by the bearers of the Throne and the angels around it is mentioned for those who repent. Elsewhere, Allah has said that all the angels seek forgiveness for them. He said: « تَكَادُ السَّمٰوٰتُ يَتَفَطَّرْنَ مِنْ فَوْقِهِنَّ وَ الْمَلٰٓىِٕكَةُ يُسَبِّحُوْنَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّهِمْ وَ يَسْتَغْفِرُوْنَ۠ لِمَنْ فِي الْاَرْضِ اَلَاۤ اِنَّ اللّٰهَ هُوَ الْغَفُوْرُ الرَّحِيْمُ » [الشورٰی : ۵ ] “The heavens are almost rent asunder from above them, and the angels glorify the praises of their Lord and ask forgiveness for those on earth. Behold! Surely Allah is the Most Forgiving, Most Merciful.”

➎ { رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَّحْمَةً وَّ عِلْمًا:} Here, {’’ يَقُوْلُوْنَ‘‘} (the angels say) is omitted. That is, just as glorification and praise are among their routines, so is supplicating for the believers. From this, the virtue of faith and the mutual relationship and love among the believers is evident, that the angels near the Throne make supplications for the believers living on earth. Similarly, from this, the etiquette of supplication is also learned, that they call upon Allah by saying {’’ رَبَّنَا ‘‘} (Our Lord! Our Sustainer!), then they ask by invoking His mercy and His knowledge, meaning Your mercy encompasses everything (see Al-A’raf: 156) and Your knowledge also encompasses everything. (See Al-An’am: 80; At-Talaq: 12)

➏ { فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِيْنَ تَابُوْا …:} Therefore, according to the demands of Your mercy and knowledge, forgive those sinners who repent from their sins, refrain from them, and follow Your path, act upon what You have commanded, and abstain from what You have forbidden, and O Allah! Save them from the punishment of the blazing Fire. See also the commentary of Surah Ash-Shura, verse (5).

7. 1. In this, there is mention of a special group of the closest angels and an explanation of what they do. This group consists of those angels who carry the Throne and those who are around the Throne. One of their tasks is that they glorify and praise Allah, meaning they declare Him free from deficiencies, affirm His perfections and virtues, and express humility and submission before Him, that is, they express faith. Their second task is that they pray for forgiveness for the believers. It is said that the angels who carry the Throne are four, but on the Day of Resurrection, their number will be eight. Ibn Kathir

7. Those (angels) who bear the Throne [6] and those around it glorify their Lord with praise and believe in Him [7] and ask forgiveness for the believers, (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 [8]."

[6]
﴿حاملين﴾ The Prayer of the Throne-Bearing Angels for the Believers:

On one side were the Muslims, against whom the grumbling disbelievers of Makkah had made life difficult, and for this reason, some Muslims had bid farewell to Makkah and migrated to Abyssinia. For their comfort and reassurance, Allah Almighty said: Why are you worried? In your favor, the angels who bear the Throne and all those around them stand with hands raised in supplication. Along with the praise and glorification of Allah, which is their duty and spiritual nourishment, they pray for you. And since the angels do only what they are commanded by Allah, it is understood that Allah has commanded them to pray and seek forgiveness for the believers.

[7] Their faith in Allah is strong in this sense that they remain close to Allah Almighty. All the sympathies of these Throne-bearers are with the believers on earth, from which it is concluded that the bond of faith is not only unrestricted by geographical boundaries but also connects both the heavenly and earthly beings in one relationship.

[8] That is, Your knowledge is so vast that You are aware of all the conditions of Your servants, even their sins and the thoughts that arise in their hearts, so Your mercy is even vaster than this. Therefore, those who have repented and are now following Your path, forgive their sins and save them from the punishment of Hell.