The Mirror of the Excellences of Islam — Page 205
204 Ā'ĪNA-E-KAMĀLĀT-E-ISLĀM―DĀFI‘UL-WASĀWIS of this heavenly and celestial universe, which would have been the case had this entire system been predicated upon lifeless and unintel- ligent objects? Therefore, the clarity of this argument grants us such insight to believe in the existence and need of angels as if we are actu- ally seeing angels with our own eyes. AUTHOR'S MARGIN NOTE The answer to the question as to why it is not permissi- ble for the tasks assigned to angels in the physical world to be carried out automati- cally by each created thing through its natural faculties. Should someone, at this juncture, raise the doubt as to why this option would not be viable that there are no intervening angels and everything carries out-through the command, permission, and standing judg- ment of God Almighty-that particular duty which is the will of Allah, glorified be His eminence, then such a doubt would actually arise on account of a misconception; for, as I have already written just before this, it is a proven fact that the spheres of the heavens, the elements, and the celes- tial universe which support our survival, life, and social order-do not possess knowledge, intelligence, or intent. It is, therefore, clearly impossible that they should be able to carry out for us such actions which can be done only through wise discrimination, moderation, planning, and a sense of expediency. When God Almighty wills something to serve a particular object, He first empowers it with appropriate properties. Rain, for example, is an act of God that we require for various types of needs. And in accord- ance with the actions of His creatures, God sometimes sends rain at the opportune time, thereby safeguarding our crops and our well-being from the dangers posed by excess or shortfall; and, sometimes, when He wills to issue a warning to the world, He stops the rain to enter a country He wills, or sends more rain than usual, or less. Sometimes, in order to punish some people, a country, a city, a village or a tract of land is totally deprived of the benefits of rain. God spreads the clouds in the sky only to the extent to which He wills such clouds to spread, so that one field gets rain while another field that is adjacent to it, does not