Sunday, May 9, 2010
Just a name
Raphael
(Standard Hebrew רָפָאֵל, Rāp̄āʾēl, "It is God who heals", "God Heals", "God, Please Heal", Arabic: رافائيل, Rāfāʾīl) is the name of an archangel of Judaism and Christianity who performs all manner of healing and another one of Islam.
Raphael in Christianity
The name of the angel Raphael appears only in the Deuterocanonical Book of Tobit. The Book of Tobit is considered canonical by Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christians. Raphael first appears disguised in human form as the travelling companion of the younger Tobias, calling himself "Azarias the son of the great Ananias". During the adventurous course of the journey the archangel's protective influence is shown in many ways including the binding of the demon in the desert of upper Egypt. After the return and the healing of the blindness of the elder Tobit, Azarias makes himself known as "the angel Raphael, one of the seven, who stand before the Lord" Tobit 12:15. Compare the unnamed angels in John's Revelation 8:2. Christian churches following Catholic teachings (Roman, Oriental, Orthodox, Anglican, etc) venerate and patronize him as Saint Raphael the Archangel.Regarding the healing powers attributed to Raphael,[1] we have little more than his declaration to Tobit (Tobit, 12) that he was sent by the Lord to heal him of his blindness and to deliver Sarah, his daughter-in-law, from the demon prince(Asmodeus) that was the serial killer of her husbands.[2] Among Catholics, he is considered the patron saint of medical workers and matchmakers, travellers and may be petitioned by them or those needing their services.[3]
Raphael has made only a light impression on Catholic geography: Saint Raphaël, France and Saint Raphaël, Quebec, Canada; San Rafaels in Argentina, Bolivia, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Trinidad and Tobago, Peru, the Philippines and in Venezuela as San Rafael de Mohán and San Rafael de Orituco. In the United States, San Rafaels inherited from Mexico survive in California (where besides the city there are San Rafael Mountains), in New Mexico, and in Utah, where the San Rafael River flows seasonally in the San Rafael Desert. The Archangel lends his name to St. Raphael's Cathedral, the seat of the Diocese of Madison, Wisconsin, of which he is the patron saint.
In the New Testament, only the archangels Gabriel and Michael are mentioned by name Luke 1:9-26, Jude 1:9. John 5:1-4 refers to the pool at Bethesda, where the multitude of the infirm lay awaiting the moving of the water, for "an angel of the Lord descended at certain times into the pond; and the water was moved. And he that went down first into the pond after the motion of the water was made whole of whatsoever infirmity he lay under". Because of the healing role assigned to Raphael, this particular angel is generally associated with the archangel.
Raphael is sometimes shown (usually on medallions) as standing atop a large fish or holding a caught fish at the end of a line. This is a reference to Book of Tobit (Tobias), where he told Tobias to catch a fish, and then uses the gallbladder to heal Tobit's eyes, and to drive away Asmodeus by burning the heart and liver.[6]
Raphael in Islam
Main article: IsrafelSeen in this 16th century Islamic miniature is Raphael, along with Michael, and Gabriel, accompanying Muhammad to Mecca. According to the Hadith, Raphael (Israfil in Arabic) is the Angel responsible for signaling the coming of Judgment Day by blowing the horn (namely Sûr) and sending out a "Blast of Truth". Unlike Gabriel (Jibrail) and Michael (Mikail), this archangel was not mentioned by name in the Quran.
The horn (sûr) will be blown two times. The first blow of the Sûr signals the beginning of the Judgment Day and with the second blow, all the souls are gathered somewhere between heaven and hell, and interrogated for their good deeds and sins.
According to Sufi narrations as reported by As-Suyuti and others, from the pious predecessors or early Muslim generations, the Ghawth or Qutb, who is regarded amongst the mankind as the highest person in the rank of siddiqun ( the saints ), is someone who has the heart that resembles that of Archangel Israfil, signifying the loftiness of this angel. The next that comes in rank are those of the saints who are known as the Umdah or Awtad , where amongst them the highest ones have their hearts resemble to that of Angel Mikael or Michael, and the rest of the lower ranking saints having the heart of Jibreel or Gabriel, and that of the previous prophets before the Prophet Muhammad. The earth is believed to always have on its surface one from the Qutb, 4 from the Awtad, 40 from the Abdal, and 300 from the Nukhaba, and because of whom Allah blesses the entire earth, and when one of them passes away from a higher rank, he/she is succeeded by a saint from a lower one, who is in turn elevated to his/her rank to fill his/her place. It is believed that the Day of Judgement does not take place until Allah casts death all together upon all of these saintly categories, and only in that state of their absence will the day of Judgement be commenced with Angel Israfil blowing his trumpet.
Raphael in Paradise Lost
Main article: Paradise Lost
The angel Raphael, as well as many other prominent angels appear in John Milton's Paradise Lost, in which he is assigned by God to re-warn Adam concerning the sin of eating of the Tree of the knowledge of good and evil. He also expounds to Adam the war in heaven in which the Archangel Lucifer fell and became Satan, and the creation of the Earth.
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