Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The Islamic texts indicate that the angels do not eat or drink.
Allah says regarding the guests of Ibrahim (peace be upon him):
“But when he saw that their hands were not reaching toward it, he became suspicious of them and felt apprehensive of them.” [Hud 11:70]
The commentators explained that the angels did not eat the food Ibrahim offered them because they are not beings who eat food.
Ibn Jarir al-Tabari, may Allah have mercy on him, stated in his interpretation of the verse that they refrained from eating because they were not among those who eat it.
Ibn Kathir, may Allah have mercy on him, said: “The angels have no inclination toward food, do not desire it, and do not eat it.”
Al-Fakhr al-Razi, may Allah have mercy on him, reported scholarly agreement that the angels do not eat, drink, or marry, and that they glorify Allah night and day.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah, may Allah have mercy on him, stated that the angels do not eat or drink. Nevertheless, their attributes and actions are not identical to those of human beings, just as the attributes of the Creator, Glorified be He, are even more distinct from those of His creation.
It is incorrect to claim that affirming that the angels do not eat or drink constitutes comparing them to Allah, for several reasons:
First: The nature of their freedom from food and drink is different.
The angels’ lack of need for food and drink is not absolute independence in every sense. Rather, it relates to the nature of their creation as Allah created them.
They are created beings dependent upon Allah, and their lack of need for food and drink is not an absolute perfection or an independently necessary attribute.
As for Allah, Glorified and Exalted, He is absolutely Self-Sufficient and independent of all His creation.
Therefore, the angels’ lack of need for food and drink cannot be equated with Allah’s absolute self-sufficiency.
Second: There are other created things that do not eat or drink.
Many things do not eat or drink, such as inanimate objects, yet no one says that merely sharing this characteristic makes them similar to Allah.
Thus, not needing food and drink is not an absolute attribute of perfection. It may result from the nature and level of a created being.
This demonstrates that merely sharing a particular description does not necessarily constitute the prohibited type of resemblance between the Creator and the creation.
Third: The meaning of denying resemblance.
Allah says:
“There is nothing like unto Him, and He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.” [Al-Shura 42:11]
Denying resemblance does not mean that every meaning which can be understood as common between the Creator and creation must be denied.
Rather, it means denying likeness in matters that belong specifically to the Creator or to creation, and denying that Allah’s attributes are like those of His creation in their reality, manner, and perfection.
This includes:
Merely having some common conceptual meaning does not entail likeness.
Allah describes Himself as All-Hearing, All-Seeing:
“And He is the All-Hearing, the All-Seeing.”
Human beings are also described as hearing and seeing:
“Indeed, We created man from a drop of mixed fluid to test him, and We made him hearing and seeing.” [Al-Insan 76:2]
The fact that both the Creator and the created being are described as hearing and seeing does not mean that Allah’s hearing and sight are identical to those of human beings.
We understand the basic meaning of hearing and sight, but the reality and manner of Allah’s attributes are unlike those of created beings.
Therefore, sharing the basic meaning does not entail resemblance.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah explained that sharing some names and attributes does not necessarily mean identical nature or equivalence.
Something may resemble another thing in one respect while differing from it in many other respects. This is well known in human language and reasoning.
The error lies in one of two approaches:
The correct approach is to affirm Allah’s attributes of perfection while denying any likeness between Him and His creation.
The statement that the angels do not eat or drink is established in the Islamic texts and does not constitute comparing them to Allah.
The angels are created beings, and their lack of eating and drinking is part of the nature of their creation as Allah created them. It does not mean that they are absolutely independent of Allah.
Allah, Glorified and Exalted, is absolutely Self-Sufficient, independent of His creation, and nothing resembles Him.
Likewise, merely sharing a basic meaning of certain attributes or descriptions between the Creator and creation does not entail identical nature. Allah is All-Hearing and All-Seeing, and human beings are also hearing and seeing, while the reality, manner, and perfection of these attributes differ in a way befitting the Creator and the created being.
Therefore, what is required is to affirm what Allah has affirmed for Himself of attributes of perfection while believing:
“There is nothing like unto Him.”
And Allah knows best.