Creation

Now we know that there are certain kinds of angels

that are different to others,

having their own names,

and having certain special kinds of jobs to do.

For instance we know of Jibril,

the angel with the special job of

carrying God's words to humankind.

But what about those other angels who have names,

such as Mika'il, Israfil and Izra'il?

Mika'il is mentioned alongside Jibril in the Qur'an,

and is the kind of angel that prompts humankind

to try to understand their creation,

and through that understanding draw closer to their Creator,

to look for God's signs

and ask "Who is like God?"

Israfil is the kind of angel

that with one blast of sound

shatters all the forms of Creation at the end of time.

And Izra'il is the kind of angel that on the last day,

and throughout time until then,

terminates the relationship between human souls and bodies

at their time of death.

But as well as the angels,

we also know of the Jinn,

made of smokeless fire,

and able to take shape

but usually remaining invisible.

And the Jinn are like humans

in that they can choose between good and bad,

and some will listen to the words of the Qur'an

in humility and awe and wonder,

whereas others may choose to follow Iblis,

the angel who challenged God and became Jinn.

And in the same way,

those Jinn who challenge God

become the whisperers of Shaitan,

doing their best to lead humans

and their fellow Jinn

astray.

And that battle between good and evil

has been taking place

ever since the first humans were placed on the earth,

those first humans we know as Adam and Eve.

Now Adam and Eve knew God directly

when they were first created in the Garden,

so when they disobeyed God

and were banished from the Garden

and set down on the earth,

they knew better than to disobey God again,

but their children after them

had to face their own temptations,

and from the very beginning

some chose good

and some chose bad.

Even their first two sons,

Cain and Able,

chose different paths,

with Cain choosing to kill his brother

out of jealousy and anger.

And so it has been for the children of Adam and Eve,

all the family of humanity that started with those two,

every human that ever existed,

all those humans that the Qur'an calls the children of Adam,

which of course also means the children of Eve.