Belief In The Angels

The Definition of Angels

The linguistic meaning: The Arabic word for angels is Mala'ikah, and the singular is Malak. They say that it is derived from the word Ulukah, which means the message. It is also said to have been derived from Laaka, meaning sent. There are other opinions as well regarding its root meaning.

Its definition as an Islamic term: A creation from the realm of the unseen; angels are created from light and they worship Allah.
The angels have no share in the qualities of Rububiyyah and Uluhiyyah that we discussed in the previous section. Allah granted them the level of total submission to His Commands as well as the strength to carry out those commands. Allah Almighty says:

To Him belongs whosoever is in the heavens and on the earth. And those who are near Him (i.e., the angels) are not too proud to worship Him, nor are they weary (of His worship). They (i.e., the angels) glorify His praises night and day, (and) they never slacken (to do so). (Surah Al-Anbiya’ 21:19-20)

They, are but honored slaves. They speak not until He has spoken, and they act on His Command. (Surah Al-Anbiya’ 21: 26-27)


The Belief of the Arab Polytheists regarding the Angels before the Advent of Islam.

The people of ignorance - in the period before Islam - claimed that the angels were the daughters of Allah - far above Allah is from what they say. Allah Almighty refuted them, clarifying that they have no knowledge thereof:
Or did We create the angels females while they were witnesses? Verily, it is of their falsehood that they (Quraish pagans) say: "Allah has begotten (offspring or children, i.e., angels are the daughters of Allah)?" And, verily, they are liars! (Surah As-Saffat 37: 150-152)





Belief in the Angels

Belief in the angels is the second pillar of faith, and what this pillar means is for us to believe with certainty that Allah has angels that exist: they are created from light, and they do not disobey Allah in what He orders them, while they perform that which they are commanded.

Proofs indicating that it is obligatory to have Belief in Them

1) Allah Almighty says:

The Messenger believes in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers. Each one believes in Allah, His Angels, His Books, and His Messengers. (Surah Al-Baqarah 2: 285)

2) Allah Almighty says:

It is not Al-Birr (piety, righteousness, and each and every act of obedience to Allah, etc.) that you turn your faces towards east and (or) west (in prayers); but Al-Birr is (the quality of) the one who believes in Allah, the Last Day, the Angels, the Book, the Prophets .. .(Surah Al-Baqarah 2: 177)

Allah Almighty says:

And whosoever disbelieves in Allah, His Angels, His Books, His Messengers, and the Last Day, then indeed he has strayed far away (Surah An-Nisa’ 4: 136)

3) When Jibril (Alayhi Salam) asked the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) about Iman, he (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) said:

To believe in Allah, in His Angels, in His Books, in His Messengers, in the Last Day, and to believe in Divine Preordainment, both the good of it and the bad of it.

So belief in the angels is part of what was included as Iman in this Hadith. Because their existence is supported by irrefutable proof, to reject their existence is disbelief, a ruling that is established by the consensus of the Muslims: disbelief in them is disbelief in the clear verses of the Qur'an and sayings of the Messenger of Allah (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam).

Belief in the Angels comprises of the following

1) We must believe that they exist.

2) We must believe in those angels that we know the names of (through revelation), such as Jibril (Alayhi Salam). Those that we do not know, we believe in their existence in general.

3) We must believe in their qualities which we learn of through revelation, such as the description of Jibril: The Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam) informed us that he saw him in the image that he was created ¬he had six hundred wings that blocked the horizon. Angels may also take the shape of man, such as happened with Jibril (Alayhi Salam) in the Hadith wherein he asks about Iman and Islam.

4) We must believe in those of their actions that we learn through revelation: they glorify Allah and worship Him day and night. It is in their nature to obey Allah, and they do not have the ability to disobey Him:

Who disobey not, (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allah, but do that which they are commanded. (Surah At-Tahrim 66: 6)

For them, avoiding sins and performing acts of obedience is natural: they expend no effort in this regard because they have no desires or lust.

Some angels may have certain tasks specific to them, such as Jibril, who ¬is the one entrusted with Allah's revelation; Allah
sends him to the Prophets and Messengers. Allah Almighty says:

Which the trustworthy Rub (Jibril (Gabriel)) has brought down; upon your heart that so you may be of the warners ..(Surah Ash-Shu’ara 26:193-194)

Mika'il is the angel who is entrusted with the rain and vegetation. Abu Hurairah (Radhi Allahu Anhu), related this Hadith from the Prophet (Sallallahu Alayhi wa Sallam)

As a man was standing in a vast open space of land, he heard a voice in the clouds saying, "Supply water to the garden of so and-so." So, the cloud left its place and emptied its water into an area; a waterway absorbed all of the water that fell from the sky. The man followed the water, until he reached a man who was standing in his garden, diverting the water with his shovel. The man said, "0 servant of Allah! What is your name." He gave him his name. The man in the garden asked, "0 servant of Allah! Why do you ask me my name?" He said, "I indeed heard a voice in the same clouds from which this water came, saying, 'Supply water to the garden of so-and-so', and the name I heard was yours. Then what will you do with it?" He said, "Because of what you said, I will wait and see what comes out of the earth: I will give one-third of it in charity, I will eat one- third of it along with my family, and I will return one-third ... " (Recorded by Muslim)

This Hadith is referring to the angels who divert the rains according to Allah's Will.

To continue Insha Allah

There is an angel who is entrusted with the Trumpet, his name is Israfil (Alayhi Salam). He will blow into it twice by Allah's Command: the first time he blows it, people will become terrified and swoon away, and the second blowing is for the resurrection. Allah Almighty says:

And the Trumpet will be blown, and all who are in the heavens and all who are on the earth will swoon away, except him whom Allah wills. Then it will blown a second time and behold, they will be standing, looking on (waiting) (Surah Az-Zumar 39: 68)

Another angel we know of is the one entrusted with the task of taking souls, the Angel of Death, and we also know that he has helpers. Allah Almighty says:

Say: "The angel of death, who is set over you, will take your souls, then you shall be brought to your Lord.(Surah As-Sajdah 32:11)


Some angels are the keepers of Paradise, for Allah Almighty says:

And those who kept their duty to their Lord will be led to Paradise in groups, till, when they reach it, and its gates will be opened (before their arrival for their reception) and its keepers will say: "Salamun 'Alaikum (peace be upon you)! You have done well, so enter here to abide therein.” (Surah Az-Zumar 39: 73)


There are other angels who are the keepers of the Hellfire - the Zabaniyyah - and they are nineteen in number. At their forefront is Malik (Alayhi Salam) Allah Almighty says:

And what will make you know exactly what Hellfire is? It spares not (any sinner), nor does it leave (anything unburnt)! Burning and blackening the skins! Over it are nineteen (angels as guardians and keepers of Hell). And We have set none but angels as guardians of the Fire. (Surah Al-Muddaththir 74: 27-31)

And Allah Almighty says:

And they will cry: "0 Malik (Keeper of Hell)! Let your Lord make an end of us." He will say: "Verily you shall abide forever." (Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:77)

Then there are the angels that protect man in all situations, and they are called Al-Mu'aqqibat. Allah Almighty says:

For each (person), there are angels in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the Command of Allah. (Surah Ar-Ra’d 13:11)

He is the Irresistible, Supreme over His slaves, and He sends guardians (angels guarding and writing all of one's good and bad deeds) over you. (Surah Al-An’am 6: 61)

There are some angels who are entrusted with the fetus in the womb; when the fetus has spent four months in the womb, Allah sends an angel and orders the angel to write his provision, his life¬span, his deeds, and whether he will be miserable or happy. All of this is established in a Hadith related by Muslim and narrated by Ibn Mas'ud (Radhi Allahu Anhu).

There are also angels that are responsible for questioning the dead person when he is put in his grave; they ask him about his Lord, his religion, and his Prophet - this too is established in the Sunnah.


Their Relation To Man

Allah Almighty has entrusted the angels with tasks related to different kinds of creation - from among them is man. In fact, the angels have a very strong attachment with man from the very early stages of his development - from the time he is merely semen. Ibn Al-Qayyim mentions the close relationship between angels and man in Ighathatul-Lahfan:

"Indeed they are entrusted in shaping man and in moving him along from one stage to the next. They are entrusted to protect the fetus in the three levels of darkness. They are even responsible for writing man's provision, deeds, life-span, and whether he will be miserable or happy. Indeed angels stick close to man in all situations, listing his sayings and deeds. They are responsible for protecting man while he is alive and for taking away his soul when he dies, and then for presenting that soul before its Creator and Maker. In the grave and in the Hereafter, they are responsible for executing his punishments and rewards, and they are responsible for the instruments used to give both punishment and reward.

The angels have a special relationship with the believer, for by the Will of Allah, they support him, and during battle, they defend him. They are his helpers in this world and in the Hereafter, and they are the ones who not only supplicate for him, but also call him to good and forbid him from evil. They are his helpers, supporters, protectors, teachers, advisors; and they are the ones who supplicate for him, ask Allah Almighty to forgive him, and pray for him as long as he is obeying his Lord; they also continue to pray for him as long as he is teaching good to others. While he is asleep, when he is dead, and when he is resurrected - on these occasions, they give him glad tidings of Allah's generosity and rewards. They advise him to seek little from this world and much from the Hereafter. They remind him when he forgets; invigorate him when he becomes lazy. They make him firm when he is afraid, and they strive for his welfare, in both this life and the Hereafter.

On the other hand, they do not love the disbelievers, the oppressors, and the wrongdoers; rather, they show enmity toward them, waging war against them, making their hearts shake. The angels send punishment upon them by Allah's Will and they curse them. They are Allah's Messengers among the creation and they are the ambassadors between Allah and His worshippers. They execute His Commands all over the world and they raise matters up to Him."

The proofs in the Qur'an and Sunnah regarding the above require much space to enumerate; they are well-known, however, and some of them we have already mentioned.


The Fruits of Believing in the Angels

Belief in the angels reaps many fruits; among them are the following:

1) One appreciates the greatness, strength, and power of Allah, for greatness in the creation results from the greatness of the Creator.

2) One must be thankful to Allah for the care He shows to the children of Adam, whereby some angels are entrusted to protect man, to write his deeds, and to do other tasks that are related to the welfare of man.

3) One must love the angels because of their prodigious worship of Allah Almighty.