عَنْ اَبِيْ بَصِيْرٍ قَالَ قَالَ لِيْ اَبُوْ عَبْدِ اللهِؑ يَا بَا مُحَمَّدٍ اِنَّ لِلهِ مَلَائِكَةً تُسْقِطُ الذُّنُوبَ عَنْ ظَهْرِ شِيْعَتِنَا كَمَا تُسْقِطُ الرِّيحُ الْوَرَقَ مِنَ الشَّجَرِ اَوَانَ سُقُوطِهِ وَ ذٰلِكَ قَوْلُهٗ عَزَّ وَ جَلَّ وَ يَسْتَغْفِرُوْنَ لِلَّذِيْنَ آمَنُوْا وَ اسْتِغْفَارُهُمْ وَ اللهِ لَكُمْ دُونَ هٰذَا الْخَلْقِ يَا بَا مُحَمَّدٍ فَهَلْ سَرَرْتُكَ قَالَ فَقُلْتُ نَعَمْ
Abu Baseer (r.a.) reports that Imam Sadeq (peace be upon him) told me,
‘O Aba Muhammad! Verily, for Allah there are angels who cause the sins to fall from the backs of our Shiites like the wind cause the leaves to fall from the trees during the season of its falling (i.e. autumn) and this is His word – Mighty and Majestic be He – ‘And they seek forgiveness for those who believed’. By Allah! Their seeking forgiveness is for you and not for the other creatures, O Aba Muhammad. Now, are you happy?’
He says, ‘I replied in the affirmative’.”
Note:
Usually winds make the leaves to fall from trees but during its season, the speed of causing to fall increases manifold.
If you pay attention to the entire verse and not only the part cited in the hadis and the verse after it, you will realize its importance.
اَلَّذِيْنَ يَحْمِلُوْنَ الْعَرْشَ وَمَنْ حَوْلَہٗ يُسَبِّحُوْنَ بِحَمْدِ رَبِّہِمْ وَيُؤْمِنُوْنَ بِہٖ وَيَسْتَغْفِرُوْنَ لِلَّذِيْنَ اٰمَنُوْا۰ۚ رَبَّنَا وَسِعْتَ كُلَّ شَيْءٍ رَّحْمَۃً وَّعِلْمًا فَاغْفِرْ لِلَّذِيْنَ تَابُوْا وَاتَّبَعُوْا سَبِيْلَكَ وَقِہِمْ عَذَابَ الْجَــحِيْمِ۷
“Those who carry the Divine Throne and around it, glorify Allah with His Praise, believe in Him and seek forgiveness for those who believed, Our Lord! You encompass all things in mercy and knowledge, therefore grant protection to those who turn (to Thee) and follow Thy way, and save them from the punishment of the hell.”
رَبَّنَا وَاَدْخِلْہُمْ جَنّٰتِ عَدْنِۨ الَّتِيْ وَعَدْتَّہُمْ وَمَنْ صَلَحَ مِنْ اٰبَاۗىِٕـہِمْ وَاَزْوَاجِہِمْ وَذُرِّيّٰــتِہِمْ۰ۭ اِنَّكَ اَنْتَ الْعَزِيْزُ الْحَكِيْمُ۸ۙ
“Our Lord! And make them enter the gardens of perpetuity which Thou hast promised to them and those who do good of their fathers and their wives and their offspring, surely Thou are the Mighty, the Wise”. (Surah Ghaafir (40): Verses 7 & 8).
The verses show that these are not ordinary angels. The supplications of ordinary angels are accepted because they are infallible. So, what can one say about the carriers of the Divine Throne?
Those who believe means those whose principles of religion are correct. Otherwise, they will be Muslims in its first meaning and not believers.
References:
1. Behaar al-Anwaar, vol. 24, p. 209, H. 5
2. Taveel al-Ayaat al-Zaaherah under the aforementioned verse