ANGELS 
When someone is kind or nice to us, we say he is an angel. When someone comes to our help in need, we say he is an angel.
But did you know that human beings are the best of God’s creations including the angels?
Angels are God’s special creation who have been created from light (noor). They have intellect but no desire. They have been created for any specific purpose and they do just that and nothing else. There are angels whose job is simply to bow down to Allah, there are some whose job is simply to prostrate and yet there are others whose job is to send blessings on the holy Prophet (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his immaculate progeny). There are also angels whose job is to seek forgiveness for the true believers, etc.
There are also four archangels and they too have special tasks to perform. These four angels are Mikaeel, Israfeel, Israeel and Jibraeel.
With every human being there are two angels one sitting on their each shoulder. Their task is simply to record each and every deed of the person. Their names are ‘Munkir’ and ‘Nakir’. The angel sitting on the right shoulder writes every good action performed by the person on whose shoulder he’s sitting. Whereas the other notes down every bad action he performs. These two angels will also act as Allah’s witnesses for the actions of those on whose shoulders they sit.
Sometimes these angels act as God’s messengers.
After Cain (Kabil) killed his brother Abel (Habeel), he carried his corpse on his shoulder not knowing what to do with it. God Almighty sent two of his angels in the form of two crows. They fought and one was killed. The surviving crow dug a hole in the ground and buried his mate. Cain who was watching all this learnt from these crows to bury the dead.
Every human has two angels with him all the time. One angel sits on the right shoulder and the other on the left shoulder. The job of the angel sitting on the right shoulder is to write down everything good this person does, no matter how small it may be. The job of the angel sitting on the left shoulder is to write down everything wrong the person does, no matter how small. These two angels are going to be the witness on the Day of Judgement for whatever good or evil we do.
Animals have desires but no intellect. For example when they are hungry, they would eat anything they desire. They are not going to think if the food is legitimate or not, is it fit for consumption or not. They eat because they desire to eat. Likewise, when they have an urge to relieve themselves, they are not going to think twice about it. They’ll just do it.
Human beings have intellect as well as desires. If they control their desires then they are better than the angels. The angels have no power of desire and therefore the question of committing sin does not arise with them. If humans follow their desires and become their slaves, then they can be worse than animals.
Human beings are the best amongst God’s creations and that is why the prophets were sent for their guidance.
It is important to note that Satan was not an angel. He is from a different creation called Jinn. They are invisible creatures made from smokeless fire. As already explained, angels are pure beings who have no desire and thus no question of disobeying God.
God Almighty has created everything for us human beings and He has created us to serve and worship Him. God has created the sun, moon, stars, animals, etc. to serve us mankind.
We humans, being the best of creations are not meant to bow down and worship sun, moon, stars, animals, etc. We are supposed to worship One and only God (Allah), the Creator of the entire universe.
How strange! Humans make idols and worship them! The idols, who can neither see, hear or speak. They cannot even help themselves to get rid of a fly sitting on their nose. If anything, these idols should worship their makers.
The best gift that God Almighty has given us human beings is the mind. If the mind is used constructively, it can lead to eternal salvation. If not, then it may lead to eternal damnation.
On the Day of Judgement, people will be rewarded according to their knowledge and intellect.
Once upon a time there was a man who used to live in a jungle. During the day time, he used to fast and at night time, he used to pray his namaz (ritual prayers) and perform other acts of worship. He did this for a very very long time.
One day, one of angels asked Allah if what reward would this worshipper get for all the virtuous deeds he is performing. Allah showed him his reward. On seeing the reward, the angel noticed that the reward was somewhat less than what he deserved. So he asked Allah for the reason. Allah Almighty said to him to go and spend little bit of time and he would know the reason.
The angel came to this man in the form of an ordinary human being and said, “I was passing by and saw you here. I thought of greeting you. Would you mind if I stay with you and take rest for a short while?”
“No. Not at all.”
After a short while, the man says to his guest, “See how much grass is being wasted! I wonder why doesn’t Allah come here with His donkey to feed it with this beautiful hay.”
The angel realised the knowledge and understanding of this man and also why he was being rewarded so little for all his worship.
This is why Islam has put a lot of emphasis on acquiring knowledge and pondering over Allah’s creations. When a person ponders over God’s creation, his understanding improves and his devotion will become stronger. This in return will call for more and better reward.
It is said that an hour’s sleep of a scholar is better than seventy years worship of an a’beed.
A’beed is someone who simply performs acts of worship but lacks sufficient religious knowledge.
WHY REVERT AND NOT CONVERT?
The holy Prophet of Islam (peace and blessings of Allah be upon him and his family) said, “Every child born is a born Muslim; it is their parents who make them Christians, Jews or fire worshippers.”
This hadith of the holy Prophet (pbuhf) can best be understood with the help of the following example.
It is a Sunday afternoon and I have had a very delicious lunch. I am feeling sleepy and cannot keep my eyes open. I just want to have a good sleep.
The door bell rings and my little son who is about three years old answers the door. There’s my old friend, Zaid.
Zaid: Is daddy at home?
My son: Let me go and check.
My son comes running into my room and says, “Daddy, daddy, uncle Zaid has come to see you.”
I: Shush. Tell him daddy is not at home.
My little son goes back and tells Zaid, “My daddy says that he is not at home”
This last statement proves in itself that the little boy does not know how to lie and that is why he instinctively spoke the truth. Born Muslim does not mean that a child is born saying his shahada. It means that he/she is born with natural instinct.
Islam is a natural religion and every human is born with natural instinct.
This is why when a non-Muslim embraces Islam, we say he s/he has reverted to Islam and not converted. They were already Muslims when born, but wandered off and went astray. When they come back to Islam, they return to their origin.
Islam does not teach belief in God. It straightaway teaches about belief in One God. It is human instinct to believe in a Creator. Why else would people worship countless things? Human mind can’t help but to believe in some Super Being and that is why they worship one thing or the other. Islam guides them towards One and the True Creator (Allah) Who alone is worth to be worshipped.
There is also another important point worth noting. Christianity tells us that every human born, is a born sinner. They inherit the sin of our first parents, Adam and Eve. This is a blind and dogmatic belief which contradicts commonsense and also goes against the justice of God.
If the children of Adam had inherited the tendency of committing sin, then how come the little boy didn’t lie, but spoke the truth when he said “My daddy says that he is not at home?”
