World of angels

The equivalent for evil and negative beings, according to religious tradition, are certainly angels or „meleci“. The theological idea of ​​good spiritual creatures indisputably existed long before Zarathustra, the originator of monotheism, but what we know today as angels is the final product of the mind of that great prophet. Amshaspandan or Amesha Spentas in the religion of Zarathustra represent the great angels, what is known in Christianity as archangels. There are seven of them, which is the sacred number of Zoroastrianism or Mazdaism, and they belong to the divine accompaniment of the Supreme God. Amesha Spentas, also called the Immortal Benefactors, are God’s helpers, in fact the connection of Ahura Mazda with the material world. Among them are 4 male and 3 female angels. Of these seven, Arashtat or Asha Vahishta stands out, which in translation means truth and justice, and is in charge of maintaining the physical and moral order on Earth and is the embodiment of the best truth and justice. The most prominent is the male Amesha Spentas and the main rival to the demon world. The second month in the Persian calendar is dedicated to him. His eternal opponents are the demons of lies, among whom the most dominant is the evil demon Indra.

When the Jews created Judaism, they incorporated into their faith many segments of the ancient Egyptian and Persian religions, including Amesha Spentas, whose monotheism deprived them of sexuality and real names, but retained the wings and human form and virtues that adorned them.

According to Zarathustra's preaching, every man has his guardian angel known as Faravashis or Arda Fravash, who follows and helps him. Zarathustra himself announced that he had received an express command from God to call on Faravashis for help whenever he needed it. That is why he told the people to follow his example.


Angels and children

Islam describes angels as human-like beings with two, four and sometimes more wings. It is claimed that each individual has with him four angels, who tirelessly record his good and bad deeds. They are called Kiramen kitabin or "hafeza meleci". From this group two angels record during the day, and the other two record during the night all man's movements and actions as well as words. Also, there are angels who dwell in paradise and their leader is called Ridvan, and there are also those who visit hell itself, whose fire cannot harm them. They are called Zebeniye as a group and there are 19 of them in total, their leader is named Malik.

Contrary to the above-mentioned Arab belief, Bosniaks, under the influence of former Arian Christianity, believe that each man has only two angels: one sits on his right shoulder and the other on his left shoulder. The one on the right shoulder writes his good deeds while the one on the left writes his evil deeds. Also, according to popular belief, angels protect man and defend him from all evil, especially injustice. The folk song tells how the father threw the innocent accused daughter down the tower three times to see if she was guilty or not:


He took Tidža by her white hand,
So he throws her down the tall tower,
Hatidža was guarded by angels,
She broke neither her legs nor her arms.


Bosnian:

Uze Tidžu za bijelu ruku,
Pa je baca niz visoku kulu,
Hatidžu su meleći čuvali,
Ne slomila ni noge, ni ruke.


In Islamic tradition, angels are believed to leave that house where there are dogs or cats. Although it is generally believed that the cause is impurity, the real reason is probably hidden in the pre-Islamic or primarily Egyptian worship of the goddess Bast, depicted with a cat's head, and Anubis, the dog-headed god. With this ban, Islam wanted to suppress pagan characteristics among the Arab peoples in every segment.

The Bosniak people claim that angels accompany people throughout their lives, literally from birth to death. Folklore says that no child wants to come out of the mother's womb, until the angels give him a "senet", or a written guarantee, that he will never die. However, as soon as the child leaves the mother, they snatch the "senet" from his hands and that is why he cries inconsolably at birth.

According to the saying, every little child is like an angel. However, he loses this lovely quality as soon as he speaks, because in addition to beautiful words, he is also able to say ugly ones. Also, while they are very small, and in their privileged position, small babies are supposed to be able to see angels so they know how to smile at them. The connection with the angels is not lost until the onset of puberty, during which time they faithfully protect and guard them, especially in the event of a fall or other accident.


Angel of death

While in the Christian tradition the most famous angels are Gabriel and Michael, in Islam the most mentioned are Jibril, which is the Arabic name for Gabriel, and the angel of death Azrail. It is also interesting to say that in the foundations of the Islamic belief, by which an individual confirms that he is a Muslim, immediately after believing in one God, comes another belief that says: I believe in the angels of God.

Traditionally, the Bosniak people are prone to fatalism, as evidenced by the following legend about how one night an angel Azrail came to a man to take his soul. The poor man was terrified of dying and death, so he cried and begged Azrail on his knees to let him escape and continue to live. The angel allowed him to do so and he rushed outside, rode his horse and hurried across the meadow towards the forest and further in the direction of the hill. The frightened man rode for almost an hour, constantly turning back, afraid that Azrail would follow him. At some point of joy and inattention, as he escaped death, at the bend of the old road his horse crashed down a sharp slope. As he was losing consciousness and dying, the angel Azrail appeared before him and said to him, "Behold, man, here God has ordained you to die, in this very place. Now you see that death cannot be escaped, it awaits you in a place that you are destined ".

Probably in some connection with this tradition, at least because of the horse, is the popular belief that the angel Azrail appears in a dream as a white horse and with his appearance hints at the death of a loved one.

Following the example of Zarathustra's seven archangels, who are in constant confrontation with demons, this eternal struggle between good and evil is also reflected in Bosnian traditions. Through it, our people in a poetic way evoked and approached their understanding of the natural phenomena with which they have been surrounded since the beginning.

Namely, folklore claims that there are two angels, the first of which is blind and the second deaf. Allah sends them every time to drive away clouds and storms where He wants to punish people for some sin. But if one who is not deaf hears the sound of the call to prayer (Azan), he will immediately direct the clouds to the opposite side of that place, and thus save him from the weather. It is also said that in this plan the devil (shaitan) wants to stop him, so a fight breaks out between the two of them. When an angel swings his sword at the devil, then, according to legend, lightning strikes the sky.

At the end of the first part of the text about angels, it would be worth mentioning another Bosnian belief that says the following: whoever sleeps on his back all night is guarded by an angel, and whoever sleeps on his stomach is surrounded by devils.