Introduction of prayer:
This prayer refers to the Angles who are the bearers of the Throne of Allah Almighty. Allah Kareem states in this verse that these angels praise Him and they pray for all the believers on earth. They supplicate Allah Kareem for His mercy and forgiveness, especially for those sinners who repent of their deeds. They request Allah to save the believers from the torment of the blazing Fire.
Meanings and virtues of prayer:
The Angles, the bearers of the Throne of Allah Kareem make three prayers for the believers.
1- Prayer for mercy: رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَىْءٍۢ رَّحْمَةًۭ وَعِلْمًۭا
Our Lord! You encompass everything in ˹Your˺ mercy and knowledge.
The mention of the angels who bear the divine Throne and of those who stand around it, has been made, instead of the common angels, to impress the fact that not to speak of the common angels of divine kingdom, even the angels who are the pillars of this kingdom, being nearest in rank and station to Allah, bear deep sympathy and regard for the true believers.
These angles call upon Allah Kareem saying that His mercy is infinite and encompasses everything and His knowledge encompasses the sins and deeds of the believers.
The Holy Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) has described the vastness of the mercy of Allah Kareem in the following Divine Hadith;
عَنْ أَبِي هُرَيْرَةَ، أَنَّ النَّبِيَّ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ “ لَمَّا خَلَقَ اللَّهُ الْخَلْقَ كَتَبَ فِي كِتَابِهِ فَهُوَ عِنْدَهُ فَوْقَ الْعَرْشِ إِنَّ رَحْمَتِي تَغْلِبُ غَضَبِي ” .
Abu Huraira reported that Allah’s Messenger (ﷺ) said:
When Allah created the creation as He was upon the Throne, He put down in His Book: Verily, My mercy predominates My wrath.
When the Lord is so Compassionate and Merciful, we should call for His mercy abundantly.
2- Prayer for forgiveness: (فَٱغْفِرْ لِلَّذِينَ تَابُوا۟ وَٱتَّبَعُوا۟ سَبِيلَكَ)
So forgive those who repent and follow Your Way
The second request of the Angles is to forgive those who repent and follow the way of Allah. That is, `forgive the sinners when they repent to You and turn to You and give up their former ways, following Your commands to do good and abstain from evil.’
This prayer shows the importance of repentance. In truth, repentance is Islam and the levels of Emaan. And man cannot be independent of its stages in his life. Thus, fortunate is he who had made it mandatory to travel toward Allah Kareem and the Hereafter. And unlucky is he who has left it and pushed it behind his back. Indeed repentance is a means to get the love of Allah Kareem.
إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ يُحِبُّ ٱلتَّوَّٰبِينَ وَيُحِبُّ ٱلْمُتَطَهِّرِينَ
Surely Allah loves those who always turn to Him in repentance and those who purify themselves. (2: 222)
Repentance is also a means to success, as Allah Kareem commanded the believers for repentance in Surah An-Nur, verse: 31;
وَتُوبُوٓا۟ إِلَى ٱللَّهِ جَمِيعًا أَيُّهَ ٱلْمُؤْمِنُونَ لَعَلَّكُمْ تُفْلِحُونَ
Turn to Allah in repentance all together, O believers, so that you may be successful.
Repentance is not a one-time act, a believer should repent again and again and develop it like a habit. The Prophet (pbuh) urged the believers for repentance.
قَالَ رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم “ يَا أَيُّهَا النَّاسُ تُوبُوا إِلَى اللَّهِ فَإِنِّي أَتُوبُ فِي الْيَوْمِ إِلَيْهِ مِائَةَ مَرَّةٍ ” .
Allah’s Messenger (may peace ‘be upon him) said:
O people, seek repentance from Allah. Verily, I seek repentance from Him a hundred times a day. (Sahih Muslim: 2702b)
3- Prayer to save the believers from Hellfire (وَقِهِمْ عَذَابَ ٱلْجَحِيمِ):
And protect them from the torment of the Hellfire.
Jaḥīm (Arabic: جَحِيم) is one of the names of the Hell, which means intense fire. In the Qur’an, “jahim” has been used to refer to the Hell, and in one case, it is used to mean intense fire. In some Ahadith, Jahim is said to be a level of the Hell. The word Jahim has been mentioned 26 times in the Qur’an.
The Fire of Hell has many names, which reflect its characteristics. It is called Jahim, Jahannam, Laza, Al-Sa’ir, al-Hawiyah, Al-Hutamah and Saqar. It is called Jahim for its blazing fire.
The bearers of the Throne of Allah Kareem request Him to save the believers from the blazing and intense fire of Hell. Allah Kareem mentioned the prayer of the righteous people in Surah Ali ‘Imran, verse: 16;
رَبَّنَآ إِنَّنَآ ءَامَنَّا فَٱغْفِرْ لَنَا ذُنُوبَنَا وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
Our Lord! We have believed, so forgive our sins and protect us from the torment of the Fire.
رَبَّنَآ ءَاتِنَا فِى ٱلدُّنْيَا حَسَنَةًۭ وَفِى ٱلْـَٔاخِرَةِ حَسَنَةًۭ وَقِنَا عَذَابَ ٱلنَّارِ
Our Lord! Grant us the good of this world and the Hereafter, and protect us from the torment of the Fire. (2: 201)
