Islamic view of angels

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Part of a series on the Islamic creed: Aqidah

Five Pillars (Sunni)

Shahādah - Profession of faith Ṣalāt - Prayers Zakāh - Paying of alms (giving to the poor) Ṣawm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca

Six articles of belief (Sunni)

Tawhīd - Oneness Prophets and Messengers in Islam Islamic holy books Angels The Last Judgment Predestination

Principles of the Religion (Twelver)

Tawhīd - Oneness ‘Adalah - Justice Nubuwwah - Prophethood Imāmah - Leadership Qiyamah - Day of Judgement

Practices of the Religion (Twelver)

Ṣalāt - Prayers Ṣawm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca Zakāh - Tithes Khums - One-fifth tax Jihad - Struggle Commanding what is just Forbidding what is evil Tawallā' - Loving the Ahl al-Bayt Tabarrá - Disassociating Ahl al-Bayt's enemies

Seven Pillars (Ismaili)

Walāyah - Guardianship Ṭawhid - Oneness of God Ṣalāt - Prayers Zakāh - Purifying religious dues Ṣawm - Fasting during Ramadan Hajj - Pilgrimage to Mecca Jihad - Struggle

Others

Kharijite Sixth Pillar of Islam. This box: view • talk • edit

Angels (Arabic: ملائكة , Malaekah) in Islam are light-based creatures, created from light by God to serve and worship Him.^[1]

Believing in angels is one of the six Articles of Faith in Islam, without which there is no faith. The six articles are belief in: God, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and that predestination, both good and evil, comes from God.

Qu'ran, Chapter 17. Al-Isra verse 95. [Isra, The Night Journey, Children of Israel]

Angel hierarchy

There is no standard hierarchical organization in Islam that parallels the division into different "choirs" or spheres, as hypothesised and drafted by early medieval Christian theologians. Most^[who?] Islamic scholars agree that this is an unimportant topic in Islam, especially since such a topic has never been directly mentioned or addressed in the Qur'an. However, it is clear that there is a set order or hierarchy that exists between Angels, defined by the assigned jobs and various tasks to which angels are commanded by God. The Angel Jibreel is the most recognised angel, as in Islam this angel delivers the message of Allah (Quran) to the prophets.

Some scholars suggest that Islamic angels can be grouped into fourteen categories. Numbers 2-5 are considered archangels.

• Hamalat al-'Arsh, Those who carry the 'Arsh (throne of God) (40:7)

• Gabriel, the angel of revelation, who is said to be the greatest of the angels.

• Rapheal, who will blow the trumpet twice at the end of time. At the first blow, everyone in heaven and earth will faint away, and at the second blow, all will be brought forth to meet their Lord.

• Michael (2:98), who provides nourishments for bodies and souls.

• Azrael, the angel of death.

• The cherubim, who have no knowledge of created things and spend all their time contemplating God.

• The angels of the seven heavens.

• Hafaza (The Guardian Angel):
  • Kiraman Katibin (Honourable Recorders) (Al Infithaar 82:11), two of whom are charged with each human being; one writes down good deeds, and the other writes down evil deeds.
  • Mu'aqqibat (The Protectors) (Ar-Raad 13:10-11), who keep people from death until its decreed time and who bring down blessings and go back to God with the news of the creatures..

• Nakir and Munkar, who question the dead in their graves.

• Darda'il (The Journeyers), who travel in the earth searching out assemblies where people remember God’s name.^[2]

• Harut and Marut are believed to be two angels who came down to Babylon. The knowledge gained from these angels was misused by the evil ones in teaching sorcery to the inhabitants there.(2:102).

• The angels charged with each existent thing, maintaining order and warding off corruption. Their number is known only to God.^[3]

Archangels

(Due to varied methods of translation from Arabic and the fact that these Angels also exist in Christian contexts and the Bible, several of their Christian and phonetic transliteral names are listed.)

• Jibraaiyl/Jibril (Judeo-Christian Gabriel) Jibraaiyl is the archangel responsible for revealing the Qur'an to Muhammad, verse by verse. Jibrayil is known as the angel who communicates with (all of) the prophets.

• Mikaaiyl (Judeo-Christian Michael) Mikaaiyl is often depicted as the Archangel of mercy who is responsible for bringing rain and thunder to Earth. He is also responsible for the rewards doled out to good persons in this life.

• Israfil/Israafiyl (Judeo-Christian Raphael) According to the Hadith, Israafiyl is the Angel responsible for signaling the coming of Qiyamah (Judgment Day) by blowing a horn and sending out a Blast of Truth. The blowing of the trumpet is described in many places in Qur'an. It is said that the first blow will destroy everything ^{[Qur'an 69:13]}, while the second blow will bring all human beings back to life again ^{[Qur'an 36:51]}.

• Izrael (Judeo-Christian Azrael) who is responsible for parting the soul from the body. Although he is frequently referred to as Azrael in Arabic, he is referred to as Malak al-Maut (the angel of death) in the Qur'an (Surah al-Sajdah 32:11). There is also no mention of the name Azrael in reference to Malaik al-Maut found amongst the verified Hadith of Bukhari.

Other angels

• Maalik is the chief of the angels who guards Hell.
• Zabaniah are 19 angels who torment sinful persons in hell.
• Ridwan is the angel who is responsible for Heaven (Paradise).
• Munkar and Nakir are the angels who interrogate a person in the grave about his good and bad deeds.

The Qur'an also mentions angels who are ruling the Hell. A verse stipulates this:

Also the number of Angels of Fire mentioned as Nineteen:

The Qur'an also mentions that angels have qualities that may be typified by the word wings. Another ayah (verse) stipulates this:

The preceding sentence does not imply that all angels have two to four wings. Most notably, archangels (namely Gabriel and Michael) are described as having thousands of wings. Tradition also notes that certain angels, created solely for the purpose of praising God, have 70 thousand heads, each with 70 thousand mouths that speak 70 thousand languages solely to sing praises for the Almighty. This type of angel, whose type is nameless, accompanied Muhammad up to Jannah (Heaven) when he received commands from Allah. Instead of riding on an angel, Muhammad rode a creature called a Buraq whose stride spans from horizon to horizon.

Verses in the Qur'an that directly name Angels

Gabriel (Jibreel) and Michael (Mikaa'eel) are mentioned early on the Qur'an in Sura Al-Baqarah:

Another Angel, Malik is defined in the Qur'an as a being who is the warden of Hell. Malik also translates into "King" from Arabic, so it is assumed that Malik is "King" of Hell. However Malik is not an evil angel, nor a fallen one, a notion Islam rejects, rather Malik is merely doing what he is commanded to do by God.

Two other Angels are also mentioned directly in the Qur'an: Haaroot and Maaroot (OR Harut and Marut).

These can also be interperated as to Kings(Malakyn) as well as angels, just as the Prophets are called Rasuls(Messengers) and the Angels are also Rasuls

Several Angels, Angel of death Izra'il, Israfil and Munkar and Nakir are not mentioned directly in the Qur'an but are explained further in the Hadiths of Muhammad. They are also mentioned in traditional myths, however, they seldom retain complete originality from the Hadith.

References

1. ^ Islam Online
2. ^ Darda'il on Dinul-islam.org
3. ^ The Vision of Islam by Sachiko Murata & William C. Chittick pg 86-87

See also

• Archangel
• Azrael
• Gabriel
• Hafaza
• Malik
• Michael