Surah Al-Muddaththir (74) — Ayah 30

(Ayah 31,30) ➊ {عَلَيْهَا تِسْعَةَ عَشَرَ … :} When Allah Almighty mentioned the number of those appointed over Hell as nineteen (19), He also mentioned the answer to the mockery and ridicule that the disbelievers could make, and indeed they did, saying, “How can nineteen (19) individuals harm us, who are thousands and millions?” Allah said, “Those whom We have appointed over Hell are angels, and even if there is only one angel, he is sufficient for all of you.”

➋ The wisdom behind mentioning the number of angels over Hell is stated as being a test for the disbelievers, so that they may express the malice within themselves, mock as much as they wish, and the People of the Book will become certain of its truth, because this number matches their book, or because they know, due to their scriptures, the extraordinary powers of angels. The faith of the believers will increase, and the People of the Book and the believers will have no doubt about its truth. However, the disbelievers and those in whose hearts is the disease of envy and malice will say, “What is the purpose of Allah in giving this example?” Allah said, “Look, it is the same statement, but some have denied it, and some have been granted the wealth of faith and certainty.” All this is by the will of Allah, as Allah has said that when Allah gives the example of a mosquito or something greater, the believers confirm its truth, but the disbelievers say, “What is the purpose of Allah in giving such an example?” (See Baqarah: 26) And the believers will believe, without question, in all the decisive and {متشابه} verses of the Qur’an, but those whose hearts are crooked will follow the {متشابهات} in pursuit of discord. See Surah Al-Imran (7).

It is clear that Allah’s demand from us is that whatever comes from Allah and His Messenger, we should believe in it and have faith, whether we know its wisdom or not. When it is futile to object as to why man was created from clay, why jinn were created from fire, why a child remains in the mother’s womb for nine months, why a chick hatches from an egg in twenty-one days, why a turtle has a long life, and so on, then why object as to why nineteen (19) angels have been appointed over Hell? The believers have only one answer to all such matters: it is the will of the Master; He does as He wishes. At this point, some commentators have tried to explain the wisdom of the number nineteen for the angels appointed over Hell with their own intellectual conjectures, which is pure affectation. This verse is also evidence that the faith of the believers increases upon hearing the verses of Allah. It is astonishing that some people, despite the clear verses of the Qur’an, say that faith neither increases nor decreases. After such clear verses of the Qur’an, what else can be presented to convince them?

➌ { وَمَا يَعْلَمُ جُنُوْدَ رَبِّكَ اِلَّا هُوَ:} This is stated so that no one thinks that Allah Almighty lacks workers, meaning that angels are just one of His armies; Allah has so many armies that no one knows them except Him, and He alone knows the number of each of these armies. In the hadith of Mi’raj, while mentioning the seventh heaven, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said: [فَرُفِعَ لِيَ الْبَيْتُ الْمَعْمُوْرُ، فَسَأَلْتُ جِبْرِيْلَ فَقَالَ هٰذَا الْبَيْتُ الْمَعْمُوْرُ يُصَلِّيْ فِيْهِ كُلَّ يَوْمٍ سَبْعُوْنَ أَلْفَ مَلَكٍ، إِذَا خَرَجُوْا لَمْ يَعُوْدُوْا إِلَيْهِ آخِرَ مَا عَلَيْهِمْ ] [ بخاري، بدء الخلق، باب ذکر الملائکۃ… : ۳۲۰۷ ] “Then the Frequented House (Bayt al-Ma’mur) was shown to me. I asked Jibril about it, and he told me that this is Bayt al-Ma’mur. Every day seventy thousand angels pray in it, and when they leave, they never return to it until the end of their time.” {’’ وَ مَا هِيَ ‘‘} refers to those verses in which the explanation of {’’ سَقَرَ ‘‘} has been mentioned.

30. 1. That is, there are 19 angels appointed as keepers over Hell.

30. Over it are nineteen [13] (angels appointed).

[13]
The Method of the Angels:

Some scholars say that in Hell there are nineteen types of duties for punishing the criminals, and each duty will be carried out under the leadership of a separate angel. It is very difficult for us to estimate the strength of the angels. One angel can do what millions of people together cannot accomplish. However, it should be kept in mind that an angel can only work within the limited sphere in which he has been appointed. For example, the Angel of Death can take the souls of millions of people in an instant, but he cannot put a soul into a child in a woman's womb. Similarly, our master Jibreel ؑ can bring revelation from the heavens in the blink of an eye, but causing rain to fall is not his task. Just as the ear cannot see and the eye cannot hear, rather, these organs can only perform the functions for which they were created, in the same way, the angel whom Allah has appointed for a particular type of punishment will only be able to inflict that specific type of punishment.