Lesson video

Hi, my name is Miss Speakman, and we are on lesson five of 14 of the Islamic Beliefs and Teachings unit.

We'll be looking at angels today within Islam.

Angels are one of the six articles of faith for a Sunni Muslim, but we will also consider why angels are important for Shi'a Muslims too, and look at similarities and differences.

So, in our lesson today, specifically we're going to look at the role of angels in creation, so why they're important.

Learning the names and roles of particular angels, and I've named them there for you.

Jibril, Israfil, Azrael, Raqib, Atid, Mika'il, and Maalik.

And also, as I said, consider the differences in Sunni and Shi'a views on angels, 'cause they all share a lot in common about who these angels are and what they did, but then we'll also talk about where those slight differences are.

Let's make sure that we're set up and ready for our lesson then.

So, you're going to need a pen or a pencil, a piece of paper or an exercise book, and a different coloured pen for corrections.

You're also going to need to have a clear working space, so, a quiet space to work, desk clear, TV music off, phone to one side silent if you're not using it for the lesson, because then you means it'll think hard and really concentrate.

So, if you need to get any of those things, can you please pause the video now and get yourself set up? Unpause when you're ready to learn.

Okay, ready to talk about angels? I think so.

I want us to get started first although by trying to think about a key part of what angels are, and their purpose within Islam.

By sort of just getting you to compare two sentences for me.

So I want you to think about what is common between these two sentences on the slide.

Sentence one, so Sarah helped Jack and Bill restore their relationship by being involved in their conversation.

And sentence two, says Miss Speakman sent Edward to give a message to miss Kendrick.

What I would like you to do, is pause the video in a moment and then write down with me what is common between these two sentences.

What is similar between them.

Pause the video now, write down your ideas and we'll discuss in a moment.

Okay, have you got something down.

Well done for having a goal if you have.

The common thing between these two sentences is that there is someone in the middle.

In this case, in sentence one, Sarah is in the middle of Jack and Bill, who have fallen out.

And in sentence two, Edward is in the middle sending a message between Miss Kendrick and Miss Speakman.

So in both cases we have someone in the middle, acting as what we call an intermediary, so passing messages or relaying information for the person in the middle of that conversation.

And this is where essentially you get to grits with by looking at the definition of an angel in Islam.

In Islam, an angel is an intermediary between, so in the middle, between Allah and humans.

And Muslims would say that angels are needed for there to be prophets.

So for example, what we're essentially saying is that angels are the thing in the middle.

So Allah, humans and angels in the middle, to pass on a message from Allah to humans.

Now this is important, when we think about the nature of Allah.

So we look at how he talks about our living transcendent outside of a space in time.

Unable to be described, unable to be experienced in the same way we might experience things within the world.

And so Muslims believe that angels are that supernatural creature, so beyond the powers of natural law, that are able to go in between to pass on messages to prophets.

Muslims would also believe, majority of them, that when we talk about angels being an in between, it's because of the idea that humans are not worthy of being in Allah's presence.

And so the angels are there in between.

What it says that angels are needed for there to be prophets.

We'll talk about that a bit more in detail later, it's not necessarily always the case, but in the world we're living in today and in the way that things are a Muslim will probably believe that angels are needed for prophets to be receiving a revelation.

What I would like you to do is to pause the video, to write down this definition for me please and un-pause when you're ready.

Okay, brilliant, so really glad that you've written that down.

What we're going to do next is move on to, okay, what are angels then? But before we do that, before I ask you what exactly angels are, I want us to think, you actually know an angel already you should know an angel already, and if you're not quiet sure, hopefully this will jog your memory.

So to ask the following question spend about three minutes on this.

You already know one angel in Islam, can you remember what the name of the angel is and what that angel did.

If you can only remember one of those and not the other, that's absolutely fine.

I want you to write down what you can remember.

Perhaps you can remember a story, perhaps you can remember who it has to do with perhaps you can know the name of angel but not what they did or the other way around.

So pause the video and spend about three minutes on this and un-pause when you're ready to go through the answer.

Okay, brilliant, have you written down an idea? Good, well I'm expectation to see, you should already know that the name of the angel we've looked at in previous lessons.

And if you haven't watched previous lessons of mine, that's fine, absolutely fine.

But you may already know this from your own background.

The name of the angel is Jibril and Jibril revealed the Quran to Mohammed.

So the story of Mohammed, the idea that he went to the cave in Mount Hira, received the revelation from angel Jibril.

Well done if you got that, don't worry if you didn't it's literally me just trying to get you to think, actually there are some things we can link together the story of Mohammed and angels, the two things we've already looked at.

So what are angels, what do they do? So Muslims on the whole believe that angels are the first creation of Allah and were made of out light.

So made of pureness and yeah light.

They carry out jobs for creation to run smoothly.

So Allah has given them specific roles to do with the makeup of creation, whether it is to do with their lives and death, judgement , et cetera.

Essentially, it is a way of continuing creation running smoothly.

There are lots of different beliefs within Islam about angels.

But all Muslims who believe that the belief in angels comes from the Quran.

The Quran mentions angels.

So you probably wouldn't find many Muslims that would say there are no angels at all.

Because they are mentioned in the Quran.

When we also talk about what angels do, we might make reference to free will or no free will.

And there are different views within Islam on that.

So for example, within sunni Islam, they would believe that angels do not have free will, they are literally created and do what they should be doing, because that is what Allah has created them to do.

They don't feel boredom, they don't feel pain, suffering, or any desires like we do, they don't get hungry, they don't get thirsty, they literally are made to just carry out those jobs.

Shi'a Muslims, on the other hand, believe that they do have some small amount of free will.

But they always choose to obey Allah fully.

Always do, what they should be doing, because out of complete obedience, and loyalty, and submission to Allah.

So some very small differences there.

Between what Sunni and Shi'a Muslims believe on the idea of angels and free will.

So really important to remember, the first creation of Allah, made of light, all their roles have to do with creation, different views on free will, and whether or not angels have free will.

But also, as I promised, would talk about if angels are actually needed for prophets.

I suppose we could say in this current situation, Muslims believe yes, you would need an angel for a prophet to receive revelation, because that is the method Allah has chosen in order to reveal things to humans.

However, this is a common thing that comes up as I am teaching about angels is that my students would say well if they weren't angels then no revelation.

We wouldn't have Quran if it wasn't for angels.

Muslims would say and the majority of Muslims would say this if angels didn't exist, then Allah would have found another way, another method of revealing things to humans.

This is just the method he has chosen, and this is the method therefore, they believe is important for receiving revelation.

So we wouldn't necessarily say that angels are necessary for prophets.

They are in this situation but because Allah is only able to do whatever and if angels didn't exist, that would be because he chose them not to exist and therefore, would of found another way to reveal things to humans.

So hopefully, that is making a lot of sense so far, but if it isn't what we're going to do now is what I call my recap quick-five questions.

And if you watched a video of mine before, hopefully you'll be used to them by now.

Essentially, I give a question, it has two possible answers.

I then give you count down of three seconds to answer that question.

You say it out loud or point to your screen, whatever you feel comfortable doing.

And it's just a really good way of getting more familiar of what we've looked at so far, it's a really good jog of your memory and if you don't get this right, every single time that's okay, because it is a way of practising and a way of getting things stuck in your head.

So, are you ready for some quick-five questions? Yes, all Muslims agree that angels have no free will.

Is it true or false? Three, two, one.

Good it is false because the Sunni and Shi'a Muslims have different views about angels, on whether or not they have free will.

Angels were created by Allah to help creation run smoothly.

Is that true or false? Three, two, one.

Good, that is true.

So the purpose of angels is to help with creation, they each have a role that would help with creation.

Muslims believe in angels because the Quran mentions them.

Is it true or false? Three, two, one.

Good, it is true.

The Quran does mention angels and this is one of the many reasons why Muslims would believe in angels.

Without angels, there could be no revelations.

Is that true or false? Three, two, one.

Good, that is false.

Because we know that yes this is the method in which Allah has used to convey revelation to humans, Allah would have found another way if angels didn't exist, because he is omnipotent.

Well done, if you got all four of those correct.

What we're now going to do is bring that together to answer some questions.

So what you're going to do is pause on the next slide to complete the questions.

I am going to give you some instructions so you make sure that you know what you're doing and this just brings together what we've learned so far.

Okay, so you've got six questions there.

Why were angels created by Allah? What does it mean to say that angels do not have free will in Sunni Islam? What do Shi'a Muslims believe about angels and free will? Why are angels needed? Why do Muslims believe there are angels? What would happen if angels didn't exist and why? I want you to answer these in full sentences please.

So you've got six questions, answer in full sentences.

If you need to, you could rewind the video and rewatch certain parts if you're not sure.

It's always best to have a go because if you have a goal then that's better than writing nothing.

We'll all go through the answers together as well, to make sure that we are correct.

So I want you to pause the video now please and answer these six questions.

Okay, if you can see the slides, I'm assuming you're ready for corrections.

If you are not then you can go back and rewind, and finish off your questions.

If you are ready for corrections, please make sure you've got your different coloured pen out, ready for those corrections.

Why were angels created by Allah? It is to obey Allah in specific jobs that help creation run smoothly.

What does it mean to say that angels do not have free will in Sunni Islam? It means they cannot disobey Allah and won't make mistakes.

And what do Shi'a Muslims believe about angels and free will? Well, they believe they have a limited amount of free will but obey Allah fully, they have no desire to sin.

If you need to make any corrections please pause the video now, doesn't have to be word for word like mine, but please make sure you've got those most important points.

And once you've made your corrections if you need to.

We're going to move on to the other three questions.

Okay, four, why are angels needed? This is to act as an intermediary between Allah and humans.

So we can talk about past revelations for example.

Why do Muslims believe there are angels? This is because the Quran says there are angels.

And what would happen if angels didn't exist, and why? We would say here, Allah would have found another way to communicate with humans.

Because he is omnipotent.

So he doesn't necessarily need angels, but if angels there would be another way to give revelation.

So well done if you've got all of those, if you need to make any corrections again, then please pause now.

And then what we're going to do in moment is start looking at specific names and roles of angels within Islam.

So really looking forward to doing that bit in a moment with you, once you've made your corrections.

Okay, so now what we're going to do is consider some of the names and jobs of particular angels.

Ones are mentioned in the Quran, or within other Islamic teachings like the Hadith.

So here you can see the names on the slide.

These are all arabic names, some of them you may recognise if I give you the English from other traditions, like Christianity and Judaism.

But we'll do is talk about all top three of them, I think it is really really important that we also then take some time off to practise names, jobs, et cetera.

Because it can be really easy to get them confused because of new names, new jobs and learning six different new names and new roles.

Can be quiet tricky.

So lets start off with Jibril, hopefully that one is bit more familiar to us.

Jibril, of course is the angel who is responsible for giving revelations to prophets most notably, when Jibril gives the message of the Quran to Mohammed.

He is also responsible though for telling Mary that she was going to give birth to Jesus, who Muslims believe is a very important prophet but not the son of God.

So they believe that Jibril conveyed that message to Mary, to say that she would be giving birth to a very important person of Jesus.

Then during someones life, the Muslims believe the two angels, Raqib and Atid record your good and bad deeds.

Everything you do during your life but not just what happens but the also the intentions behind it.

So for example they may record, so lets say Muslims believe in Raqib and Atid recording good and bad deeds and I threw this pen at my sisters head, they wouldn't just record whether this is good or bad by me throwing it at her head but then also, the intention behind it.

Is it that I threw it at her because she wanted to borrow one and it accidentally hit her head or is it that I was trying to hurt her, obviously those two actions are the same action of throwing a pen but with diffinte intention and motivations behind it.

So Raqib and Atib's job is essentially to note down, to record every good or bad deed that someone does in their life and their intention behind it.

Muslims believe that Raqib sits on your right shoulder and Atib sits on your left shoulder.

Raqib records the good, Atib records the bad, and Muslims would also during prayer, acknowledge those two angels and we'll say, essentially thank you for watching over them, guarding them, looking after them and recording those good and bad deeds.

Many people sometimes ask me when I am teaching this, but why are Raqib an Atib needed, if Allah knows everything, because that is part of Tahweed isn't it, that He is omniscient that He has full knowledge.

What we could talk about actually this idea of accountability, now we all know we shouldn't be stealing but if we were to into a shop and see a CCTV camera we are more likely to be reminded, actually you can't get away with this, it's the same idea here.

Raqib and Atid are there to constantly remind humans they are being watched every single day of their lives, every single thing matters, every part of their life should be about submitting to Allah.

Then we have Azrael, Azrael is the angel of death, Azrael's job is to collect the soul from a person at the moment of death and take their soul onward.

Which is something which we covered in the afterlife lesson.

So Azrael's job is to collect those souls.

Obviously, Sunni Muslims would believe this is something that Allah tells him to do and he does it, and doesn't get to chose.

Even Shi'a Muslims would say, Azrael does not get to chose who's breath he takes but essentially, it is Allah saying please take the soul of this person and Azrael goes, okay I will do it.

Then we have Israfil, Israfil's main job is to be the overseer of the day of judgement.

So Israfil's job is to blow the trumpet once to signal the end of the world and a second time he will blow the trumpet to signal the day of resurrection, the day of judgement.

So essentially, Israfil oversees the day of judgement.

So Muslims believe Israfil is waiting for this role to happen and as we know this idea complete loyalty within Shi'a Islam is an element of free will and essentially no free will within Sunni Islam.

Israfil is not bored waiting he is just waiting until, to be told to signal the day of judgement to signal the end of the world.

Israfil's other job as well, at the beginning of creation was to collect dust from the four corners of the earth to create Adam, according to Islamic teaching.

That's what I think is quiet nice about that, is that Islamic teaching that Israfil is involved in the beginning of humans creation and also involved at the end.

Then we have Maalik, Maalik's job is to oversee to protect those living in hell.

To guard hell, so he is in charge of lots of other lesser angels, and spirits, jins et cetera.

To essentially guard people in hell to make sure that they don't escape.

Then we have Mika'l, who's job is to control the forces of nature, so weather, seasons, and nourishment of things on earth.

Now I know that's a lot of information at once, there are obviously new names and new roles to consider there.

So I think it is really important that we then to some recap of that, some quick five questions but then also some longer questions too, just to get really, really used to it.

I also want to introduce you to something called, look, cover, write, check, repeat.

Which is a really good over way to get to know the names of angels and their jobs.

So we're going to be doing quiet a lot of recap and practise of this 'cause I think it's really important for then actually getting it stuck in our head.

It took me a long time to learn all the names and the roles.

And getting the names and roles in the correct place when I am explaining them.

So it is so important that we do things like that and I think what you will hopefully see at the end of those tasks is that you have a lot better understanding of who is who and what do they do.

And then we'll be more comfortable to talk about Islamic beliefs on angels.

Okay ready to move on.

Okay so now that we've looked at the names and roles of the angels we're going to make sure that we do some tasks now to make sure that we know these really really well.

Get them into our long term memory, it can be really easy to get the names and jobs confused because there's so many new names you've been told today and then also so many new roles we have to think about.

I need to make sure that we are attaching the right name to the right role.

What we're going to do is something called look, cover, write, check, repeat the names of the angels and their jobs and spend about 10 minutes on this.

When done properly this is a really effective way of committing information to your long term memory.

Essentially the same sort of way that you might learn lyrics, to a song, when you listen to them over and over again, that repetition is really really helpful for getting things stuck in your head.

We need to make sure that we're doing it properly though so you look at the words, the names and the roles, you cover them over, you then try to write them out for memory, you then check them against the original and make corrections and the repeat that until you have spent about 10 minutes on it.

The best way to do it, is doing it in the list of six there so Jibril, gives revelations, Raqib and Atid write down good and bad deeds et cetera.

In a block then covering them over, then checking them so making sure you are spending time on all of those names and all of those roles.

So what I would like you to do is to pause the video now please and do look, cover, write, check, with those names and roles of angels for me and then un-pause when you have finished.

Okay great so if you have un-pause I am assuming you're ready now, essentially I am going to do test how well that worked for you by doing some multiple choice questions.

Like we've done before, so it is really really quick fives ones.

Who revealed the Quran to Muhammad? Three, two, one.

Good, it is Jibril.

Who writes down bad deeds? Is it Raqib or Atid? Three, two, one.

Good, it is Atid.

Who takes the souls from bodies at death? Is it Azrael or Israfil? Three, two, one.

Good, it is Azrael.

Who is responsible for the forces of nature? Is it Mika'il or Maalik? three, two, one.

Good, it's Mika'il.

And then who blows the trumpet to signal the day of judgement ? Is it Azrael or Israfil? Three, two, one.

Brilliant, Israfil.

Well done, If you got all six of those correct.

If you didn't that is absolutely fine.

There still will be times where we need to review things and go back over them and if you're not quiet there yet.

I say yet because you will get there.

We're now going to make sure that we are embedding that even further.

I am going to give some questions to complete so you're going to.

Oh, I've missed one, sorry.

Who guards Jahannam/hell? Is it Maalik or Mika'il? Three, two, one.

Good it is Maalik.

Silly me, right.

So let's now go on to some questions.

This is where we are going to pause the video in the next slide to complete your task.

You're going to answer the questions and then we'll go through corrections as we did earlier.

So essentially this is just bringing those two tasks together.

The look, cover, write, check, and the multiple choice questions is, I want you to complete the sentences to check your understanding.

So you've got the sentence start, I want you to write down the sentence and then finish that sentence, off for me please.

So I want you to pause the video now please and get started on that for me.

Okay, if you can see the slide I'm assuming you're ready for corrections, if you're not ready for corrections then rewind and then pause again.

If you are ready for corrections please make sure you've got your different coloured pen out ready for those corrections.

So one, two and three.

The angel Jibril's job is to give revelations to prophets.

Or you could have put to give the Quran to Muhammad.

The angels who write down the good, bad deeds of humans are Raqib and Atid.

The angel Azrael's job is to take souls from their bodies at death.

If you need to make any corrections with this please, can you pause the video now and make those corrections.

Okay four, the angel Israfil's job is to blow trumpet to signal the day of judgement.

The guardian of Jahannam hell is Maalik.

And the angel Mika'il's job is to be responsible for the forces of nature.

Again if you need to make any corrections, please do so now.

Otherwise, we are ready to move on.

Okay lastly, I just want us to really think about our own personal opinions now.

When we start to look later on at exam questions, there will be a question evaluate or discuss the questions that do bring in your own personal opinions and your own thoughts about the strength and weakness of certain things within Islam.

So I want us to pause and spend about five minutes writing a response to this question.

The believe in angels is the most important belief in Islam.

So I want you to use these sentence starters.

I think the belief in angels is or isn't the most important belief in Islam because, I want you to give two reasons.

Then we're going to put, however, someone might disagree with me and say something because and then give two reasons.

It's just to get us to really think about what we already think about we've already learned in Islam.

So in terms of the beliefs and what's most important, why certain beliefs are important but also getting to think about someone else's point of view, what about if someone disagrees with us, what might other people say.

So what I would like you to do is pause the video, to have a goal at writing a response to this.

If it's your personal opinion you can't get it wrong but as long you spend a really good time justifying your reasons that is what is important.

So pause the video and have a go at that now for me please.

Okay so as always, really really big thank you for taking part in our lesson today.

I feel like we've covered quiet a lot of stuff in terms of, we've looked at angels, what they are, their names, their roles et cetera.

And I think probably that, the very least you found it tricky to get to who is who and what do they do.

I hope that you feel much more confident on that now.

It is something that, again, the belief of angels is so important, you will cover in quiet a lot of lessons and it will come up, so for example, when you look at lessons on afterlife, the angels are so intertwined with the idea of the afterlife that a recap of that is found within that lesson anyway, so I know that you've worked really super hard, I've given you perhaps some new techniques you're not used to using.

Like look, cover, write, check, repeat, which is so helpful for learning new materials.

And I really hope that you enjoyed the lesson today.

'Cause I think angels are such an important but also really interesting part of belief within Islam.

So I hope you've enjoyed it just as much as I've enjoyed teaching you.

I hope to see you again for another lesson, but if not, I hope you've enjoyed this lesson and of course I am always looking forward to teaching more of you and more of you Islam.

So I hope to see you again soon, bye.