study of angels

490 Pages·2009·6.29 MB·English

ANGELS IN ISLAM

A Commentary with Selected Translations of
Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī’s Al-Ḥabā’ik fī akhbār al-
malā’ik (The Arrangement of the Traditions
about Angels)

S. R. Burge

Doctor of Philosophy
The University of Edinburgh

2009

A loose-leaf from a MS of al-Qazwīnī’s, cAjā’ib fī makhlūqāt (British Library)
Source: Du Ry, Carel J., Art of Islam (New York: Abrams, 1971), p. 188

0.1 Abstract

This thesis presents a commentary with selected translations of Jalāl al-Dīn cAbd al-
Raḥmān al-Suyūṭī’s Al-Ḥabā’ik fī akhbār al-malā’ik (The Arrangement of the
Traditions about Angels). The work is a collection of around 750 ḥadīth about
angels, followed by a postscript (khātima) that discusses theological questions
regarding their status in Islam.
The first section of this thesis looks at the state of the study of angels in
Islam, which has tended to focus on specific issues or narratives. However, there has
been little study of the angels in Islamic tradition outside studies of angels in the
Qur’an and eschatological literature. This thesis hopes to present some of this more
general material about angels.
The following two sections of the thesis present an analysis of the whole
work. The first of these two sections looks at the origin of Muslim beliefs about
angels, focusing on angelic nomenclature and angelic iconography. The second
attempts to understand the message of al-Suyūṭī’s collection and the work’s purpose,
through a consideration of the roles of angels in everyday life and ritual. The
translation and annotated commentary that follow focus on angels mentioned in the
Qur’ān itself: Gabriel, Michael, Isrāfīl, the Angel of Death, the Bearers of the
Throne, the Spirit, Riḍwān, Mālik, the Guardians of Heaven and Hell, al-Sijill, Hārūt,
Mārūt and the Sakīna.
The aim of the thesis is to open up the study of the angelic world of the
ḥadīth, beyond the eschatological material and to show the vitality of Muslim beliefs
about angels in Islamic tradition.
0.2 Declaration

I declare that I, Stephen Russell Burge, have written this thesis and that the work is
my own. The thesis has been submitted to the University of Edinburgh for the degree
of Doctor of Philosophy and it has not been submitted for any other degree or
professional qualification.

S. R. Burge
0.3 Acknowledgements

There are a number of people who have helped me enormously during my doctoral
studies and whom I wish to thank.
I am very grateful for the financial support of the Arts and Humanities
Research Council (AHRC), who have provided me with a Doctoral Studentship
throughout my studies, which covered my fees, maintenance and a grant for a
research trip. I would not have been able to complete this work without their
generous financial support.
Firstly, I would like to thank Prof. Julia Bray, now of the Université de Paris
VIII, for introducing me to al-Suyūṭī’s Al-Ḥabā’ik fī akhbār al-malā’ik. She also
encouraged me greatly in my undergraduate studies at the University of St. Andrews.
A number of colleagues and staff in the Department of Islamic and Middle
Eastern Studies have provided me with helpful comments on my work, but I would
like to mention especially Dr. Ayman Shihadeh, Jokha Al-Ḥarthī and Samy Ayoub
for their comments on my Arabic; Songul Mecit for helping me with my German;
Margaret Graves for introducing me to Islamic Art and especially Saeko Yazaki and
Alex Mallett who have both been a joy to work with and to know.
Special thanks go to my parents who have been extremely encouraging and
supportive throughout my studies. My interest in Arabic and Islam began when we
lived in Khartoum in the mid 1980s, but I doubt that they ever anticipated one of
their children would be writing a thesis as a result.
I would like, especially, to thank my supervisor, Prof. Carole Hillenbrand
OBE, for all her encouragement since we first met in 2003. I hope that she has been
as fascinated as I have been by Al-Suyūṭī's Al-Ḥabā’ik and the weird and wonderful
world of Islamic angelology. She has not only supervised my work, but encouraged
me to publish and to develop as an academic, a researcher, a tutor and an individual;
for that I am eternally grateful.
Above all, I would like to thank my wife, Laurelin. Our family has doubled
since I began my studies and she has been happy to look after two young children on
her own, whilst I worked long hours. She has also been willing to listen to me talking
about angels in Islam for more than most could stand and has commented on all of
my ideas and random thoughts. I could not have completed this thesis without her
constant and steadfast support. I also thank, although they do not yet understand, my
two children, Christian and Peter, who show me constantly that play is just as
important as work.
0.4 Transliteration System

Arabic

The transliteration used in this thesis is a modified version of the Encyclopaedia of
Islam:

Consonants ’, b, t, th, j, ḥ, kh, d, dh, r, z, s, sh, ṣ, ḍ, ṭ, z,̣ c, gh, f, q, k, l, m,
n, h, w, y
Vowels ā, a, ī, i, ū, u,
Diphthongs ay, aw
Feminine Endings -a / at (in iḍaāfa)
Nisba adjectives iyy
Definite article al- / ‘l- [‘sun’ letters have not been assimilated]
Enclitics: bi-‘l-

Case endings are only marked when necessary.

Common English names (such as Michael, Gabriel and Adam) have not been
transliterated.
ﻢﻠﻌﻟا ﺐﻟﺎﻄﻟ ﺎﻬﺘﺤﻨﺟأ ﻂﺴﺒﺗ ﺔﻜﺋﻼﻤﻟا نا

ﻲﻃﻮﻴﺴﻟا
ﻚﺋﻼﻤﻟا رﺎﺒﺧا ﻲﻓ ﻚﺋﺎﺑﺎﺤﻟا

.