The Prophet 
arrived at the Seventh Paradise whose roof touches the Heavenly Throne and whose name is Jannat al-Firdaws, after a travel of five hundred thousand light-years. He knocked at the door which was made of pure emerald, topaz, beryl, and gold. After he entered he saw another gate of light. From it came the praise of nations of hidden angels at whose sight one would die of awe because of their intense beauty. Their laud was simply: “Praise be to the Creator of Light!” Beyond this it is not permitted to speak about them. The Prophet greeted them with the greeting of peace and proceeded past the gate of gold to a dome of light which encompassed all the previous heavens, although the distance he had traveled between the sixth and the seventh heaven was the same as that between each two of the other layers of Paradise.
Inside the dome the Prophet saw an angelic being which resembled him in every fashion and who was leaning against a wall of white silk which seemed to move like a waterfall and yet stand firm. The Prophet asked who that was and Gabriel said: “This is your grandfather Abraham, the leader of the pure of heart and a great one among prophets.” Abraham said: “Welcome to the pious son and the perfected Prophet!”
Around Abraham stood crowned angels. Each of their crowns contained four hundred diamonds, each worth more than what the entire earth contains. At their service stood throngs of angels crowned with the light of the previous angels and all were reading the Verse of the Throne. Gabriel said: “This is the verse that keeps the universe firm in the balance. This is the secret of the order of Creation.” And the angels recited:
God! There is no God save Him,
the Alive, the Eternal,
Neither slumber nor sleep overtaketh him.
Unto him belongeth whatsoever is in the heavens
and whatsoever is in earth.
Who is he that intercedeth with him save by His leave?
He knoweth that which is in front of them
And that which is behind them,
While they encompass nothing of His knowledge
Save what He will.
His Throne includeth the heavens and the earth,
And He is never weary of preserving them.
He is the Sublime, the Tremendous.
Circumambulating the building against which Abraham leaned, the entire universes, the throngs of angels of the seven heavens, the angels of mercy and the angels of wrath, the angels of beauty, the angels brought near, the great and the small angels, the visible and the invisible angels, and all the human beings whose angelic souls had been purified and elevated to the divine presence, the prophets, the truthful saints, the martyrs, the righteous, all of creation whirled and turned in the same direction as every heavenly body, counterclockwise, around the Kaaba of the heavens. The Prophet said: “O Gabriel, How wondrous are the incredible marvels of my Lord!” And Gabriel replied: “O Muhammad! you have seen only a glimpse of the wonders of God.”
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Angels Unveiled by Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani |
copyright 2017 Shaykh Muhammad Hisham Kabbani
