Is the report from Abdullah ibn Amr, "The angels were created from the light of the forearms and the chest," to be taken?
This narration was reported by Abdullah ibn Imam Ahmad in "Kitab As-" from Abdullah ibn Amr (may Allah be pleased with him) with the wording: "Allah Almighty created the angels from the light of the two arms and the chest."
Scholars have differed regarding its acceptance and interpretation: - Some, like Ibn al-Jawzi, rejected it due to its lack of being مرفوع (traced back to the Prophet) and because it is not permissible for a created being to be created from the essence of the Ancient (Allah). - Others, like Ibn Qutaybah, viewed it as موقوف (وقف) (attributed only to a companion, Abdullah ibn Amr), and that it might have been taken from the books of the People of the Book, or that the intention behind "the two arms and the chest" here are names for created beings, and that the angels were created from a light created by Allah, not from His ذاتي (essential) light. - Some, like Sulaiman ibn Harb and Abu Ya'la, held that the narration could be interpreted as affirming the two arms and the chest as attributes of Allah, not as physical limbs, and that the creation of angels from His light means their creation by His light as an honor for them, not from the essence of His light; because the light of the ذات (essence) is ancient and indivisible.
In summary, no scholar is known to have taken this narration at its apparent meaning, either due to questioning its authenticity, or because it is موقوف (وقف) and taken from the People of the Book, or by interpreting it assuming its authenticity.
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