سورة الإسراء

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The angels are our servants and the servants of those who love us. O Ali (peace be upon him)! The angels who bear the Throne and those around it glorify and praise their Lord, and believe in Him, and seek forgiveness for the believers (Ghafir/7) — for those who have believed in our wilayah. O Ali (peace be upon him)! If we had not been, Allah would not have created Adam and Hawwa (peace be upon her), nor Paradise, nor Hell, nor the heaven, nor the earth. So how should we not be more excellent than the angels, when we preceded them in knowing Allah and in tawhid, and in recognizing the Lord the Mighty and Majestic and in glorifying Him and sanctifying Him and declaring His oneness? Then, when Allah created Adam (peace be upon him), He placed us as a trust in his loins and commanded the angels to prostrate to him out of exaltation and honour for us. Their prostration was worship for Allah, and honour and obedience for Adam (peace be upon him), because we were in his loins. So how should we not be more excellent than the angels, when all of them prostrated to Adam (peace be upon him)? It has been narrated from Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) that he said: "Among the angels there are those than whom a bunch of herbs is more valuable, and the prophets and the Hujjahs have been aware of matters concerning the angels of which we are not aware."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah has not created any servant more honoured before Him than the believer, for the angels are the servants of the believers, and being Allah's neighbour is for the believers, and Paradise is for the believers, and the wide-eyed houris have been created for the believers.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): The sanctity and worth of the believer is greater even than the Ka'bah.

Imam Rida (peace be upon him): The believer before Allah is like a close angel, and indeed the believer before Allah the Mighty and Majestic is greater than an angel.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): O Ali (peace be upon him)! Among Allah's favors toward the believer is that He has not set a fixed time for his death, [waiting] until he intends to do wrong and an ugly deed; as soon as the believer decides to commit a wrongful act, Allah takes him to Himself.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): Allah does not honor the soul of a disbeliever, but He has honored the souls of the believers, and the honoring of the self and the blood is by [granting] rest [eternal, in Paradise].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): When on the night of Mi'raj I was taken up to the fourth heaven, Jibra'il gave the adhan and Mika'il gave the iqamah. Then I was told: "O Muhammad (peace be upon him and his family)! Come forward and lead the prayer." I said: "O Jibra'il! With you present, how am I to stand forward and lead the prayer?" He said: "Yes! Indeed Allah the Mighty has given His messenger-prophets excellence over His close angels, and beyond that He has also granted you a special excellence over them." So I went forward and prayed with the dwellers of the fourth heaven.

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): I am better than Jibra'il, Mika'il and Israfil and all the close angels, and I am the best of people and the most excellent of the children of Adam.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Among the questions the zindiq asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) was this: "Is the Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) superior, or the angel who is sent to him?" He said: "Rather, the Messenger (peace be upon him and his family) is superior."

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): It is narrated from Imam Askari (peace be upon him): The hypocrites said: "O Messenger of Allah (peace be upon him and his family)! Tell us, is Ali (peace be upon him) superior, or the angels brought near to Allah?" He said: "Is there any honor for the angels except through the love of Muhammad and Ali (peace be upon them) and accepting their wilayah? Truly, there is no one among the lovers of Ali (peace be upon him) who purifies his heart from the filth of deceit, treachery, rancor, and the impurity of sins, but that he is purer and superior to the angels."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Among the angels there are some over whom a bunch of greens is more valuable, and the prophets and the Hujjahs know about them what we do not know.

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): [Man has] perfection of creation, complete senses, firmness of intellect and discernment, and an eloquent tongue, and this is the meaning of the saying of Allah: وَ لَقَدْ کَرَّمْنا بَنی آدَمَ وَ حَمَلْناهُمْ فِی الْبَرِّ وَ الْبَحْرِ وَ رَزَقْناهُمْ مِنَ الطَّیِّباتِ وَ فَضَّلْناهُمْ عَلی کَثیرٍ مِمَّنْ خَلَقْنا تَفْضیلاً [And surely We have honored the children of Adam, and We carry them in the land and the sea, and We have given them of the good things, and We have made them to excel by an appropriate excellence over most of those whom We have created].

The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family): The Prophet (peace be upon him and his family) said in the course of a long speech: "You are superior to the angels."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ لَقَدْ کَرَّمْنا بَنی آدَمَ [And surely We have honored the children of Adam]; that is, We gave the children of Adam excellence.

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Asbagh ibn Nubata said: Ali (peace be upon him) was asked about the word of Allah the Exalted: His throne [of authority] encompasses the heavens and the earth (Baqarah/255). He said: "The heavens and the earth and everything He has created in them are within the Kursi, and by the command of Allah four angels bear it — an angel in the form of humans, which is the most honored form before Allah."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Abdullah ibn Sinan said: I asked Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): "Are the angels superior, or the children of Adam (peace be upon him)?" He said: "Amir al-Mu'minin Ali (peace be upon him) said: 'Allah the Mighty and Majestic placed in the angels intellect without desire, and placed in the beasts desire without intellect, and placed in the human being both. So whoever's intellect overcomes his desire is better than the angels, and whoever's desire overcomes his intellect is worse than the beasts.'"

Imam Ali (peace be upon him): Ali ibn Asbat narrates from his uncle Ya'qub in a marfu' hadith: Amir al-Mu'minin (peace be upon him) used to say: "O Allah! This is from Your bounty to us, so bless it for us and make it wholesome for us, and give us a replacement for what we have eaten and what we have drunk! Without any power or strength of ours, You provided sustenance, and You did so beautifully; praise belongs to You. O Lord! Make us among the grateful." And when he had finished, he would say: "Praise be to Allah, who sufficed us and honored us, and carried us on land and sea, and provided us with good things, and gave us excellence by an appropriate excellence over many of those whom He created. Praise be to Allah, who has taken on our expenses and given us in abundance."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) said: When the food was placed before Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him), he would say: "O Allah, this is from Your favor and grace and bounty; bless it for us and make it wholesome for us, and when we have eaten it, give us its replacement. How many are in need of what You have provided us with and made pleasant. O Allah, make us among the grateful to You." And when the tablecloth was lifted, he would say: "Praise be to Allah, who carried us on land and sea, and provided us with good things, and gave us excellence by an appropriate excellence over many of His creation."

Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him): Whenever any of you looks into the mirror, let him say: "Praise be to Allah who created me and made my creation good, and gave me a form and shaped it beautifully, and adorned in me what He left unsightly in others, and honored me with Islam."

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ حَمَلْناهُمْ فِی الْبَرِّ وَ الْبَحْرِ [And We carry them in the land and the sea]; that is, on land upon the backs of horses, mules, donkeys and camels, and at sea upon ships.

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him): What is meant by pure sustenance is knowledge and learning.

Imam Sajjad (peace be upon him): Zayd ibn Ali narrates from his father: وَ لَقَدْ کَرَّمْنَا بَنِی آدَمَ [And surely We have honored the children of Adam]; that is, We have given the children of Adam excellence and superiority over all creatures. وَ حَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِی الْبَرِّ وَ الْبَحْرِ [and We carry them in the land and the sea]; that is, in the wet and the dry. وَ رَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّیِّبَاتِ [and We have given them of the good things]; meaning all the pure and wholesome fruits. وَ فَضَّلْنَاهُمْ [and We have made them to excel]; no animal or bird brings its hand to its mouth to eat and drink, except man, who places his food into his mouth with his own hand, and this is a sign of his being favored.

Ibn Abbas (may Allah have mercy on him): وَ لَقَدْ کَرَّمْنَا بَنِی آدَمَ وَ حَمَلْنَاهُمْ فِی الْبَرِّ وَ الْبَحْرِ وَ رَزَقْنَاهُم مِّنَ الطَّیِّبَاتِ [And surely We have honored the children of Adam, and We carry them in the land and the sea, and We have given them of the good things]; all creatures and animals eat with their mouths, except the human being, who eats using his fingers. Abu Mu'awiyah said: "It reached me that he set down a silver spoon [that was in his hand] on the ground and ate the food with his fingers."

Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) — Jabir said: Imam Baqir (peace be upon him) said regarding the verse وَ فَضَّلْنَاهُمْ عَلَی کَثِیرٍ مِّمَّنْ خَلَقْنَا تَفْضِیلًا [And We have made them to excel by an appropriate excellence over most of those whom We have created]: "All creatures have been created bent over, except for the human being, who has been created standing upright and erect."

Imam Hadi (peace be upon him) — It is narrated from Imam Askari (peace be upon him): In the letter of Imam Hadi (peace be upon him) in the denial and refutation of the doctrine of jabr (predestination) and tafwid (absolute delegation), and in establishing justice and the meaning of the station and rank between jabr and tafwid, it is stated: ... The statement of the middle position between jabr and tafwid is the trial, testing and examination through the capability and ability that has been given to the servant, and the explanation of this ability lies in those very five characteristics that Imam Sadiq (peace be upon him) mentioned: "It comprises the totality of [Allah's] excellences and bounties, and I will, Allah willing, explain them to you with sufficient Quranic evidence and clarification. The explanation of soundness of health: the meaning of soundness of health is that the constitution of the human being and his senses are complete, his intellect and discernment are firm, and his tongue is free for speech. Allah has said concerning this: وَ لَقَدْ کَرَّمْنا بَنِی آدَمَ وَ حَمَلْناهُمْ فِی الْبَرِّ وَ الْبَحْرِ وَ رَزَقْناهُمْ مِنَ الطَّیِّباتِ وَ فَضَّلْناهُمْ عَلی کَثِیرٍ مِمَّنْ خَلَقْنا تَفْضِیلًا [And surely We have honored the children of Adam, and We carry them in the land and the sea, and We have given them of the good things, and We have made them to excel by an appropriate excellence over most of those whom We have created]. Allah, the Mighty and Majestic, has informed that He has distinguished and granted excellence to the progeny of Adam (peace be upon him) over the rest of the creatures — the cattle, the beasts of prey, the sea creatures, the birds, and in short every moving thing perceptible — by the power of the intellect's discernment and the power of speech, just as He has said in another verse: لَقَدْ خَلَقْنَا الْإِنْسانَ فِی أَحْسَنِ تَقْوِیمٍ [Certainly We created the human being in the best of forms]."