—namely, patience. As for the other two, it appears that Allah returned them to the poverty and deformity they had formerly endured—may Allah protect us.
This story proves that showing gratitude for Allah’s favor is one of the surest means for a blessing to remain and even grow, as Allah the Exalted says: “And when your Lord proclaimed: ‘If you are grateful, I will surely increase you; but if you are ungrateful, indeed My punishment is severe.’” (Ibrāhīm 14:7).
Their account contains several signs of Allah’s power:
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The affirmation of the angels’ existence. The angels belong to the unseen realm; Allah, Mighty and Majestic, created them from light, endowed them with strength to carry out His commands, and granted them the will to obey Him. They never disobey Allah in what He commands them; rather, they do exactly as they are ordered.
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Angels can appear in human form, for the angel came to these three men in the likeness of a man.
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They are even able to assume the precise likeness of a particular individual, as the angel returned a second time to the leper, the bald man, and the blind man in each one’s own shape and appearance.
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It is permissible to test people by having someone appear in a given guise. Thus the angel came in the form of a needy, disabled person to soften the hearts of the three men. Although, it seems—and Allah knows best—that an angel in reality is never afflicted with such defects, Allah, glorified be He, allowed the angel to take on that form for the purpose of the test.
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With a single touch the angel wiped over the bald man, the leper, and the blind man, and Allah removed their faults through that single touch, for when Allah, exalted is He, wills something He says