The Muslim Concept of Angels

The six articles of faith in Islam are belief in One God, holy books, prophets, angels, destiny and life hereafter. In Islam the concept of angels is entirely different from what the world beliefs in. In common folklore or fairytales angels are thought of as good forces of nature, hologram images, or illusions. Western society depicts angels as fat cute little babies with arrows and blonde locks or handsome men and women with halo surrounding their heads, having two wings and white in color. But angels in Islam hold a very high and sacred place; they are real created beings of God and would surely suffer death like the humans. They are created to worship and submit to the commands of Allah. Unlike humans they don’t have free will or desires. In Islam all angels are good; there are no ‘fallen angels’ i.e. evil. Satan was a jinn and not an angel, therefore it often gets mixed with an angel. From the Qur'an we know that human beings are made from clay and the Jinn’s are made of smokeless fire. The angels have no gender (neither male nor female) and were created from light before human beings were created, and thus their graphic or symbolic representation in Islamic art is rare. 

Behold, thy Lord said to the angels: “I will create a vicegerent on earth.” They said: “Wilt Thou place therein one who will make mischief therein and shed blood, whilst we do celebrate Thy praises and glorify Thy holy (name)?” He said: “I know what ye know not.” [Qur'an 2:30]

Angels do not sin nor do they get tired of worshipping Allah the Great.

“They celebrate His praises night and day, nor do they ever slacken.” (Quran 21:20)

There are countless number of angels varying in size, status and merit. The greatest of all the angels in Islam is Gabriel. Holy Prophet actually saw him in his actual appearance when he used to bring revelations to him. Some other angels that are mentioned in Quran are Mika’eel, Israfeel, Malik etc. One of the many attributes of angels is that they possess great power and take human forms.

“…Then We sent to her Our angel, and he appeared before her as a man in all respects.” (Quran 19:17)

They visited Abraham in human form.  Similarly, angels came to Lot to deliver him from danger in the form of handsome, young men.  Gabriel used to visit Prophet Muhammad in different forms.  Sometimes, he would appear in the form of one of his handsome disciples, and sometimes in the form of a desert Bedouin. Angels are assigned different tasks. Here are a few of them that have been mentioned in Quran and Sunnah.

·         Executing God’s law in the physical world. 

·         Michael is responsible for rain, winds and clouds directing it wherever God wishes. 

·         Blowing the Horn which will be blown by Israafeel at the onset of the Day of Judgment. 

·         Angel of Death responsible for taking souls from the dying

·         Protecting the believers

·         Two angels, Munkar and Nakeer, are responsible for testing people in the grave.

As we learn from above, the angels are a modest creation of Allah; varying in numbers, roles, and abilities. God is in no need of these creatures, but having knowledge and belief in them adds to faith in the unseen world created by Allah and is thus a required element of faith in Islam.