Cat waiting to break Ramadan fast in The Grand Mosque, Mecca

 

In the image above (click to enlarge) one can notice that amongst other pilgrims there's a cat waiting to break Ramadan fast in The Grand Mosque, Mecca. If that surprises you then here's a little bit of context.

Allah (The Lord of the Worlds) created the humans, with an objective. Humans were created from clay. Apart from humans there are two other creations of God. They are the Angels and the Jinns (or Djinn).

The Angels

Most of us are familiar about the term Angel, also called as Malaaikah in Arabic. Believing in them is one of the six articles of faith (Aqidah) in Islam.

1. Angels were created from light, many years before Prophet Adam (a.s.) was created. 
2. Angels are noble, were created to worship Allah and fulfill His commandments as and when the need be. 
3. They do not go against the will of Allah, unlike humans and jinns do. 
4. Angels don't have desires. As they do not have desires they also do not eat and drink.
5. The greatest of all the angel is Jibreel (a.s) who is also known as Archangel Gabriel (Biblical). He has six hundred wings, each of which covers the horizon. 
6. Among the greatest angels are those who carry the Throne (of Allah). The distance between his ear-lobes and his shoulders is equivalent to a seven-hundred-year journey.
7. Two angels have been deputed by Allah to be constantly with us on our shoulders. These are the "honourable scribes" called Kiraman Katibeen, in the Quran. 
8. The angels have great powers given to them by Allah. Angels can take any form, including those of humans.
9. Hell will be brought forth on the day of Qiyamah by means of seventy thousand ropes, each of which will be pulled by seventy thousand angels.

The Jinns

Jinns (or genie, as they are commonly known) are another creation of Allah. The Arabic word Jinn is from the verb ‘Janna’ which means to hide or conceal.  Thus, they are physically invisible from man as their description suggests.  This invisibility is one of the reasons why some people have denied their existence.

1. They were created from smokeless flame of fire. 
2. They are mostly like humans - have desires, eat and drink, procreate. Since they have desires they also go against the will of Allah and what has been commanded to them. 
3. They too (like Angels) were created many years before Prophet Adam (a.s.) was fashioned in Heavens. 
4. They are given extraordinary powers and can take any shape, including of humans. 
5. They can see us but humans can't see them. Jinns make mischief like we do.
6. There are good jinns and bad jinns. Some believe in Allah thus worship Him and some don't. 
7. It is believed that they live much longer than humans do, and die as well. 
8. They live among us. Their life cycle is more or less like us.

The biggest of all the Jinns is Iblees or commonly called Satan, or Shaitan as we know. Once upon a time he was most pious amongst angels and jinn, who worshiped Allah for many years. As a result of that Allah made him the leader of all the angels in the heavens. It is said that he is the father of the jinns just like Prophet Adam (a.s) is father of humans/mankind. However he was proud because of his stature.

When Allah created Adam (a.s) and commanded all the angels and Iblees to prostrate to Adam, everyone followed the command except Iblees. He was proud because he felt superior, as Allah created him from smokeless fire and Adam from mud. This pride made him a disbeliever as he disobeyed Allah and he was cursed and shunned from heaven. He is reprieved though till the Day of Resurrection.


Given this background, one would think if the cat in the picture is an animal or a jinn or an angel. If you guessed Jinn, you are probably right. Allah knows best.

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