1- O God, as for the Bearers of Thy Throne,1 who never flag in glorifying Thee, never become weary of calling Thee holy, never tire of worshipping Thee, never prefer curtailment over diligence in Thy command, and are never heedless of passionate love for Thee;
2- Seraphiel, the Owner of the Trumpet, fixed in his gaze, awaiting Thy permission and the descent of the Command, that he may arouse through the Blast the hostages thrown down in the graves;
3- Michael, possessor of standing with Thee and a raised up place in Thy obedience;
4- Gabriel, entrusted with Thy revelation, obeyed by the inhabitants of Thy heavens, distinguished in Thy Presence,2 brought nigh to Thee;
5- the spirit who is over the angels of the veils;3
6- and the spirit who is of Thy command4 - bless them and the angels below them: the residents in Thy heavens, those entrusted with Thy messages,
O God, as for the Bearers of Thy Throne,1 who never flag in glorifying Thee, never become weary of calling Thee holy, never tire of worshipping Thee, never prefer curtailment over diligence in Thy command, and are never heedless of passionate love for Thee;
7- those who become not wearied by perseverance, or exhausted and flagged by toil, whom passions distract not from glorifying Thee, and whose magnification of Thee is never cut off by the inattention of heedless moments;
8- their eyes lowered, they do not attempt to look at Thee; their chins bowed, they have long desired what is with Thee; unrestrained in mentioning Thy boons, they remain humble before Thy mightiness and the majesty of Thy magnificence;
9- those who say when they look upon Gehenna roaring over the people who disobeyed Thee: 'Glory be to Thee, we have not worshipped Thee with the worship Thou deservest!'
10- Bless them, and Thy angels who are the Reposeful, those of proximity to Thee, those who carry the unseen to Thy messengers, those entrusted with Thy revelation,
11- the tribes of angels whom Thou hast singled out for Thyself, freed from need for food and drink by their calling Thee holy, and made to dwell inside Thy heavens' layers,
12- those who will stand upon the heavens' borders5 when the Command descends to complete Thy promise,
13- the keepers of the rain, the drivers of the clouds,
14- him at whose driving's sound is heard the rolling of thunder, and when the reverberating clouds swim before his driving, bolts of lightning flash;
The escorts of snow and hail, the descenders with the drops of rain when they fall, the watchers over the treasuries of the winds, those charged with the mountains lest they disappear,...the angels who are Thy messengers to the people of the earth with the disliked affliction that comes down and the beloved ease;
15- the escorts of snow and hail, the descenders with the drops of rain when they fall, the watchers over the treasuries of the winds, those charged with the mountains lest they disappear,
16- those whom Thou hast taught the weights of the waters and the measures contained by torrents and masses of rain;
17- the angels who are Thy messengers to the people of the earth with the disliked affliction that comes down and the beloved ease;
18- the devoted, noble scribes,6 the watchers, noble writers,7 the angel of death and his helpers, Munkar and Nakir,8 Rumaan, the tester in the graves,9 the circlers of the Inhabited House,10 Malik11 and the guardians, Ridwan12 and the gatekeepers of the gardens,
19- those who disobey not God in What He commands them and do What they are commanded;13
20- those who say, Peace be upon you, for that you were patient - and fair is the Ultimate Abode;14
21- the Zabaniya, who, when it is said to them, take him, and fetter him, then roast him in hell,15 hasten to accomplish it, nor do they give him any respite;16
22- him whom we have failed to mention, not knowing his place with Thee, nor with which command Thou hast charged him;
23- and the residents in the air, the earth, and the water, and those of them charged over the creatures;
bless them on the day when every soul will come, with it a driver and a witness, and bless them with a blessing that will add honour to their honour and purity to their purity. O God, and when Thou blessest Thy angels and Thy messengers and Thou extendest our blessings to them, bless us through the good words about them which Thou hast opened up for us! Thou art Munificent, Generous.
24- bless them on the day when every soul will come, with it a driver and a witness,17
25- and bless them with a blessing that will add honour to their honour and purity to their purity.
26- O God, and when Thou blessest Thy angels and Thy messengers and Thou extendest our blessings to them, bless us through the good words about them which Thou hast opened up for us! Thou art Munificent, Generous.
1. The bearers of the Throne are said to be four angels, one on each corner of the Throne, who will be aided by four more on the Day of Resurrection. Hence the Qur'an says: Upon that day eight shall bear above them the Throne of thy Lord (69: I7). On the various kinds of angels, see S. Murata, 'The Angels,' in S.H. Nasr (ed.), Islamic Spirituality: Foundations New York, 1987, pp. 324-44.
2. Cf. 81:20
3. The veils meant here are those referred to in the hadith often quoted in Sunni sources: 'God has seventy' - or 'seventy thousand' - 'veils of light and darkness; were they to be removed, the glories of His face would incinerate everything perceived by the creatures' eyes.' Shi'ite sources add several parallel hadith from the Prophet and the Imams (see Bihar al-Anwar v, 39-47, Bab al-hujub wa l-astar wa l-suradiqat). Cf. Supplication 50.5, where mention is made of God's 'splendour masked by the veils'.
4. Cf. 17:85.
5. Cf. 69:17.
6. Cf. 80:16.
7. i.e., the scribes and writers who record peoples' deeds in this world, cf. 82:1l.
8. The two angels, mentioned in many hadith who question the dead on the first night in the grave.
9. An angel who, according to some hadith is the first to enter the grave with the dead person, telling him to write out his deeds on his shroud with his saliva as ink and his finger as pen.
10. A house in the celestial spheres mentioned in 52:4 and located directly above the Ka'ba.
11. The angel in charge of the Fire.
12. The angel in charge of paradise.
13. 66:6.
14. 13:24.
15. 69:30.
16. Cf. 16:85.
17. 50:21; the driver and witness are also angels.
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