Praise be to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Islam affirms the existence of cosmic laws and natural patterns that Allah has placed in the universe. It also affirms that there are angels entrusted with certain tasks and functions in this universe by the command of Allah Almighty. There is no contradiction between the two.
The Qur’an and Sunnah indicate that Allah has assigned duties and functions to the angels. Allah says:
“By those who arrange matters.”
And He says:
“By those who distribute matters.”
Scholars have mentioned that among the angels are:
Those entrusted with rain and clouds.
Those entrusted with matters related to the womb.
Those entrusted with the mountains.
Those entrusted with guarding people.
And others assigned various duties by Allah.
The angels are soldiers of Allah. They carry out His commands and do not act independently or on their own initiative.
Allah says:
“They do not disobey Allah in what He commands them, but do what they are commanded.”
The existence of scientific causes and natural laws does not contradict the fact that angels carry out their duties by Allah’s command.
For example:
Rain has known causes, such as evaporation, condensation, and atmospheric conditions.
Earthquakes have geological causes.
Thunder and lightning have physical causes and explanations.
All of these causes are part of Allah’s creation, decree, and management. Affirming natural causes does not negate what revelation tells us about the role of angels in some of these matters.
For this reason, Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah mentioned that natural explanations for thunder and lightning do not contradict what is reported in the religious texts about their connection with the angels.
Death is a clear example of both types of causes existing together.
A person may die due to an apparent physical cause, such as illness or an accident, while at the same time revelation tells us that the Angel of Death takes the soul when the appointed term comes to an end.
So the presence of a physical cause does not negate the unseen cause that revelation has informed us about.
Likewise, cosmic phenomena may have causes and laws that science discovers, while also having unseen aspects connected to them that Allah and His Messenger ﷺ have informed us about.
No, because the field of empirical science is different from the field of unseen revelation.
Empirical science studies:
How phenomena occur.
What material causes are connected to them.
What laws can be observed and measured.
Revelation, on the other hand, informs us about unseen realities that cannot be reached through observation and experimentation alone, including the existence of angels and the duties Allah has assigned to them.
Therefore, knowing the material mechanism behind a phenomenon does not require denying the unseen realities connected to it that have been established through revelation.
Allah created the universe and placed laws and patterns within it.
Revelation informs us that angels are entrusted with various tasks by Allah’s command.
The existence of natural causes and laws does not negate the established roles of angels.
Empirical science investigates causes and mechanisms that can be observed and measured, while revelation informs us about matters of the unseen.
Angels do not govern the universe independently; rather, they carry out what Allah commands them to do.
All management and control ultimately belong to Allah Almighty, and the angels are honored servants who carry out whatever He commands them.
And Allah knows best.