Azra'il

(African mythology)

According to the Hausa-speaking people in Tunisia, it was the angel of death, Azra'il, who brought early mortality into the world. The first people lived for centuries. One virgin had lived for 500 years before she died. When Moses found her anklets, he prayed to Allah that he might be allowed to see the owner. Allah brought the woman from the grave, but she complained to Moses about this resurrection, since world weariness plagued her spirit. Moses then asked that Allah might let people die earlier, and so Azra'il was instructed to make sure that all should pass away after sixty or seventy years.