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Kiraaman Kaatibeen - Recording Angels

The Messenger of Allah (sal Allahu alaihi wa sallam) said: “A person may say something that is pleasing to Allah but he does not realize it, and Allah raises his status by many degrees because of it, and a person may say something that angers Allah, but he does not realize it, and for that he may be thrown deep into Hell.” [Bukhari]

We must always be wary of the words that slip out of our mouths. Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) has appointed angels to record the deeds, both good and bad, of the children of Adam (alaihis salam). These are the angels referred to in the Ayaat: “But verily, over you (are appointed angels) to watch you, Kiraaman Kaatibeen – writing down. They know all that you do.” [Quran 82:10-12]

“Kiraaman Kaatibeen” means “honourable scribes” and refers to the two angels that Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) has appointed for each person who are always present and who never leave him; they record in detail all that he does.

Allah (subhana wa ta’ala) says: “(Remember) that the two receivers (recording angels) receive, one sitting on the right and one on the left. Not a word does he (or she) utter but there is a watcher by him ready (to record it).” [Quran 50:17-18]

Ibn Abbas (radi Allahu anhu), the honourable Sahabah and Mufassir of the Quran, said: “Everything that you say, good or bad, is written down. Even when a person says, ‘I ate’, ‘I drank’, ‘I went,’ ‘I came,’ ‘I saw’.

Ibn Katheer mentioned that Imaam Ahmad used to moan when he was sick. Then he heard that Taawoos (one of the Tabi’een narrators of hadith) said, “Everything is written down, even (a person’s) moans.” After that, Imam Ahmad never moaned until he died, may Allah have mercy on him.