Angels Are the Cause of Every Change — Essence of Islam Vol. 2

14 Sep, 2026 Essence of Islam 0

Essence of Islam Book Cover by Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS)

Introduction

In this discourse from Essence of Islam (Volume 2), Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad (AS), the Promised Messiah and Mahdi, expounds upon Angels Are the Cause of Every Change, presenting profound spiritual insights and scriptural verities.

Book Series: Essence of Islam (Volume 2)
Author: Hazrat Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian (AS)
Section: Part 4: Angels
Navigation: Book Table of Contents | « Previous: Ascent and Descent of Angels | Next: Two Systems for the Proper Functioning of the Universe »

40

“None knows the hosts of thy Lord but He.” Then mind your duty to Allah, O men of wisdom.
[A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 5, pp. 384-387]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 2, p. 155]

Now that it is clearly established that by the Divine law of nature for the spiritual system there are, like the physical system, external influences which are called angels, it remains to show that whatever is happening in the physical system also does not take place without the mediation of angels. God Almighty has called angels regulators and distributors and they are the cause of every change and development. They bear aloft the

Throne of God Almighty. The verse:

إِن كُلُّ نَفۡسٖ لَّمَّا عَلَيۡهَا حَافِظٞ

“There is no soul but has a guardian over it.” (Surah ‘There is no soul but has a guardian over it.’—Al-Tariq, 86:5)

proves the appointment of angels over everything. The following verse of the Holy Qur’an also indicates this:

وَٱنشَقَّتِ ٱلسَّمَآءُ فَهِيَ يَوۡمَئِذٖ وَاهِيَةٞ وَٱلۡمَلَكُ عَلَىٰٓ أَرۡجَآئِهَا ۚ وَيَحۡمِلُ عَرۡشَ رَبِّكَ فَوۡقَهُمۡ يَوۡمَئِذٖ ثَمَٰنِيَةٞ

“And the heaven will cleave asunder, and it will become frail that day. And the angels will be standing on the sides thereof, and above them on that day eight angels will bear the throne of thy Lord.” (Surah Al-Haqqah, 69:17-18)

This means that on the Day of Judgement heaven will be rent asunder, and appear loose and listless, and will lose its faculties, because the angels who were like the soul of the heavens and heavenly bodies will give up all the connections and will retire to the edges and on that day eight angels will bear aloft the Throne of God Almighty. In his commentary on this verse Shah ‘Abd-ul-‘Aziz writes that the continuation of heaven is through the spirits, that is to say, the angels who are like spirits of the heaven and heavenly bodies, and as the soul safeguards the body and controls it, in the same way some angels control heaven and heavenly bodies and all heavenly bodies exist through them and the action of the planets takes place through their means. When the angels will depart from that body as the soul departs from the physical body the whole system of heaven will be upset as the physical system is upset by the departure of the soul. Another verse of the Holy Qur’an also indicates this:

وَلَقَدۡ زَيَّنَّا ٱلسَّمَآءَ ٱلدُّنۡيَا بِمَصَٰبِيحَ وَجَعَلۡنَٰهَا رُجُومٗا لِّلشَّيَٰطِينِ ۖ وَأَعۡتَدۡنَا لَهُمۡ عَذَابَ ٱلسَّعِيرِ

“And verily, We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps, and We have made them for driving away satans, and We have prepared for them the punishment of the blazing Fire.” (Surah Al-Mulk, 67:6)

(Surah Al-Mulk, Part Number 29) 41 ‘There is no soul but has a guardian over it.’—Al-Tariq, 86:5 [Publisher]

We have adorned the lowest heaven with lamps and we have made them the means of driving away satans. It has been established by the Qur’anic text that the regulators and distributors of all matters from the heaven to the earth are angels, and in this verse it is said that the shooting stars are the stars which are in the lower heaven. This might appear to contradict the verses relating to the angels, but if we consider carefully there is no contradiction. The Holy Qur’an teaches that the angels are like the souls of heaven and heavenly bodies and it is obvious that the soul of anything is not apart from it. That is why God Almighty has in some places in the Holy Qur’an mentioned the angels as the cause of shooting stars and at other places has mentioned the stars as their cause, inasmuch as angels influence the stars as the soul influences the body. That influence proceeds from the stars and affects the earthly vapours that have the capacity to become shooting stars and they are set aflame by the power of Almighty God. In another way, the angels establish a connection with the shooting stars and direct them to the right and left with their light. No philosopher will deny that whatever happens on the earth or in the atmosphere its originative cause are the stars and heavenly influences. Not everyone can penetrate the mystery that the faculties of the stars derive grace from the angels. This mystery was disclosed by the Holy Qur’an and those possessing insight paid attention to it.
[A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 5, pp. 137-143, footnote]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 2, p. 155]

Everything that has a spirit is safeguarded by angels. Thus, according to this verse, we have to believe with regard to the spirit of the planets that all stars, the sun, the moon, mercury and mars, etc., are under the protection of angels, that is to say, everyone of them has an angel appointed who safeguards it and enables it to perform its functions properly.
[A’ina-e-Kamalat-e-Islam, Ruhani Khaza’in, vol. 5, p. 77 footnote]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 2, p. 157]

Two Systems for the Proper Functioning of the Universe Angels safeguard against physical calamities also, but this safeguarding is in a spiritual manner. For instance, if a person is standing at a place where a wall is about to fall down, no angel will lift him up with his hands and take him away from the place. If that person is destined to be saved, an angel would convey to him the warning that he should move away. But the protection of stars and elements, etc., is physical.
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 2]
[Essence of Islam, Vol. 2, p. 158]

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Introduction