Q35 :I have read in my school book that Allah has
assigned two angels to each one of us who are called “writing angels”.
They record everything we do. My question is: Since Allah can see
everything and knows everything, what need is there for angels to be on
our shoulders to write down what we do? May I add that I am a ten
-year-old student.
A35 : I will start my answer by giving you this
example. Suppose you are playing a game with your friends who are all
the same age group as you. Some indeed may be a little older than you.
Suppose again that the game itself is not suitable for those who are
under 9 years of age, because they cannot get to learn it well. Now
suppose that your 6-year-old brother netes over and sees you playing.
He asks you imploringly to allow him to take part in the game. You will
certainly try to persuade him that he cannot join you because the game
is unsuitable for his young age. Nevertheless, he insists and asserts
that he can play as perfectly as anyone in the group. Your friends are
bothered and want to get on with the game, but your brother persists
and starts to behave improperly. Because you love your brother, you do
not want to upset him. Since you are kind to your brother, you do not
think of beating him up for interrupting you in this irritating
fashion. What do you do? It is very likely that you may invite him to
try the game. You may even tell him what he needs to do in order to
play it. You may request your friends to be patient with him a little
so that he can have a full try. Soon afterward, he realizes that the
game which seemed so appealing to him when he saw you and your friends
enjoying it is not so enjoyable after all. He leaves you to get on with
the game and goes to find a different sort of entertainment. May I ask
why did you allow your brother to have a go at a game when you were
absolutely certain that he would not know how to play it? You may say
that although you were absolutely certain of that fact, your brother
would not accept it, therefore, you wanted to demonstrate to him that
he cannot play it. So, when he had a go at it, his attempt did not give
you any information which you did not know beforehand. It was useful,
however, for your brother’s sake. He was soon convinced that you were
not denying him any share of your fun. That share was not there for him
to take. But he could not have been convinced of that unless he tried
it himself. This example is similar in some ways to what you are
asking about. Your question is that since Allah sees and knows
everything, why He sends angels to write things down. Let me tell you
that Allah knows everything before it happens. You were certain, in
your example, that your brother will not be able to play the game
before you offered him a try. Your certainty was based on your
knowledge of the game and your knowledge of the ability of your
brother. Allah has created us and the universe around us. He knows
everything fully well. He knows us and our abilities even before He
creates us. He does not need to see our action in order to know them.
He actually knows them before we start doing them. Yet, He sends to
each one of us these two angels to record what we do. Since He does not
need that record, there must be a different use for it. You know that
on the day of judgment, everyone of us will be asked about his deeds.
We will be rewarded for our good ones and punished for bad ones, unless
Allah forgives us. When we stand in front of Allah on the day of
judgment, He will tell us that we have done so and so. Some of us may
think that they could escape punishment by a simple denial that they
did any bad deeds. They will begin to swear in front of Allah that they
did not do those bad things. Allah will then netmand the angels to
produce those records. When we will see them, none of us will be able
to deny anything. This means that the record is kept for us, not for
Allah’s sake. Allah does not need them, but we would be shown that
everything is documented as it took place. May I tell you that we do
not know the nature of these records. They are certainly more than a
simple description of the actions we do. The record may be in the form
of a book supported by a panorama which shows every action of ours and
how it was done. This is the reason why Allah tells us that when the
record is opened, sinners will find a sense of fear, because they
realize that it shows everything in full details. They cry out: “Doomed
we are. What sort of record is this. It leaves out no major thing or
minor detail. It takes down everything.” You seem to be a little
worried about the angels being on our shoulders. Remember that we do
not know exactly the nature of the angels, except that they are made of
light. We certainly do not feel their presence. But they are certainly
with us, although we may not be carrying them physically on our
shoulders. We know that angels have wings and it may be that they hover
close to us so that they fulfill their task Allah has assigned to them.
As you are well aware, angels do not disobey Allah. They do everything
that He requires them to do. These matters should not trouble you,
because Allah has arranged the world in this way. You should be sure,
however, that it is enough for every one of us to try his best to do
what is good in this life. When we try that, concentrating our efforts
on doing what Allah has ordered us to do and avoiding what He has
forbidden us, then we shall have nothing to worry about on the day of
judgment. We are certainly liable to netmit mistakes, but if we also do
good deeds, then Allah will erase our mistakes and reward us for our
good deeds. He will then give us the utmost blessings of all: Admission
into heaven. Let us pray that we are included among those on whom Allah
bestows that blessing.
Our Dialogue ( Source : Arab News – Jeddah )