Fatema Nabila
Professor Kylee.Pastore
English 110
November 1, 2021

Muslims Believe in Angels Based on Quran
Angel, humans use that word a lot. When a problem occurs and someone helps a person, that helper is an angel. Humans think of angels as a good or positive aspect of life that can be found inside humans, but do you know angels do exist that can’t be seen. In this world, different types of groups believe different things about angels. The main focus is on Muslim’s beliefs about angels and the Quran’s analysis of angels. Muslims follow the Quran as their guidance on earth and angels are mentioned in this holy book. There are so many angels like millions or billions of them according to the Quran. According to the Quran, Muslims believe that angels are the ones who follow Allah’s command, angels are the ones who communicate Allah’s messages to humans, each angel was created for different duties, and they also believe that there are only 4 archangels angels who are the most important ones: Jibril, Mikael, Israfil, and Azrael. Moreover, Muslims believe in angels because the Quran analyzes everything about unseen creatures. The purpose of this research is to inform humans about Muslim’s belief in angels because angels are mentioned in the Quran like 88 times. As human beings, angels are part of our life, at least Muslims believe that. Moreover, it is relevant to social justice because every Muslim has the right to know what Quran talks about everything that can be seen and unseen. There is a saying by Margaret Fuller “If you have the knowledge, let others light their candles in it”. It means sharing your knowledge with others. Additionally, it counts as a good deed in Islam if you have knowledge about the Quran share it, with believers and others equally to enlighten them about Allah’s creation.
Firstly, In the Quran, it talks about that angel’s main purpose is to obey Allah’s command, no matter the situation. These unseen creatures live and die as Allah’s servant. According to Surah At Tahrim 66:6, “O believers! Protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, overseen by formidable and severe angels, who never disobey whatever Allah orders—always doing as commanded.” This indicates that angels witness God’s creation such as the fire in hell. Moreover, angels are responsible for all the assignments that God orders them to do. Words such as, “angels” and “Never disobey” depict that angels don’t have the freedom to do whatever they want because they exist to serve their creator Allah. Everything that Allah does, angels follow God’s path. Based on Surah At Tahrim 66:4, “ It will be better if you ‘wives’ both turn to Allah in repentance, for your hearts have certainly faltered. But if you continue to collaborate against him, then know that Allah Himself is his Guardian. And Gabriel, the righteous believers, and the angels are all his supporters as well.” This evidence shows that humans can go against Allah as they have free will, but they will get their punishment afterlife. However, the angels are always behind Allah as a servant and these unseen creatures are all Allah’s assistants in every doing. These servants follow every order from Allah even if it’s something hard or painful to do and they carry the divine throne. Furthermore, the Quran states that angels were created differently than humans and it talks about their appearances. Humans can be seen, but angels can’t be seen or heard as long as Allah doesn’t want them to be visible. As stated in Surah Fatir 35:1, “Who made angels as His messengers with wings—two, three, or four. He increases in creation whatever He wills. Surely Allah is Most Capable of everything.” This means that angels have wings not just two more than that. They are not like humans; they were created beautifully by Allah the most merciful. Later on Surah Az-Zukhruf 43:19, it stated, “ And they described the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, as females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned.” This evidence shows that they are not divine or god. Muslims should not worship them as they do to God. Angels will be judged similar to humans on the day of judgment according to the Quran. Additionally, In Surah Al-Isra 17:95 it stated, “ Say, O Prophet, “Had there been angels walking the earth, well settled, We would have surely sent down for them an angel from heaven as a messenger.” This evidence shows angels are different and strange then humans. They don’t have a physical body like humans. Angels will not be sent to graves like humans and they don’t need food to survive. A lot of Muslims don’t know this information about angels. Surprisingly, angels are immortal and they don’t need nutrition, but they will be punished and their deeds will be measured on a good and bad scale. Overall, it’s clear that Muslims believe that angels only reason to exist is to follow their creator’s instruction.
Moreover, in a company, people hold different positions and have different duties. Similarly, each angel plays a different role based on the Quran. One of the angels is Jibril, who plays an important role in Islam. Jibril’s main role is to interact with humans to communicate God’s word to humans as a messenger. Based on Surah Al-Baqarah 2:97, “Whoever is an enemy to Jibrîl (Gabriel) (let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (this Qur’ân) down to your heart by Allâh’s Permission, confirming what came before it [i.e. the Taurât (Torah) and the Injeel (Gospel)] and guidance and glad tidings for the believers.” This indicates that angel Jibril is the one who brought down the Quran to the prophet Muhammed (SAW) on God’s wish. Allah’s message was sent by Jibril to communicate with prophet Muhammed (SAW) to show humans the path of Islam, the way of living a good life, and all the things that will happen in life and the afterlife. Muslims believe Prophet Muhammed (SAW) talked to the angel face to face when he received Allah’s words from the angel Jibril. Furthermore, Jibril also appeared on earth when Maryam was supposed to receive Isa Ali Salam in her womb at God’s command. According to Surah Maryam 19:17-19, “She placed a screen (to screen herself) from them; then We sent to her Our Ruh [angel Jibrîl (Gabriel)], and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects. (The angel) said: “I am only a messenger from your Lord, (to announce) to you the gift of a righteous son.” This shows that Jibril brought Allah’s command to give Maryam a son even though she wasn’t touched by any man. Phrases such as,“ messenger from you lord” depict that Jibril is the angel who goes about as a delegate among God and people and as a carrier of disclosure to the prophets. The word Jibril appeared 3 times in the Quran. Angel Jibril mostly communicates with prophets to guide them towards Islam and Allah so they can guide humans on earth to follow Islam.
Furthermore, the next important angel out of four in Islam is Mikael also known as Michael according to Quran. Mikael is mentioned only one time in the Quran and it talks about how important Mikael is for Allah. Based on Surah Al-Baqarah 2:98, “Whoever is an enemy of Allah, His angels, His messengers, Gabriel, and Michael, then ˹let them know that˺ Allah is certainly the enemy of the disbelievers.” This means Muslims believe that whoever is against Allah’s creation, supporters, and those servants such as Mikael who obeys Allah’s every command without any question, are Allah’s enemy. This verse from the Quran reveals Mikael’s relation to Allah and his importance in Islam. Similar to angel Jibril, Mikael also has an important role in Islam that is performed when Allah commands. According to Whitley Hopler who is a religion expert and currently writing articles about religions on Learn religions website and also she is the author of the nonfiction book “Wake Up to Wonder.” In her article “Angel Types in Islam” she stated, “Muslims view Michael as an angel of mercy and believe that God has assigned Michael to reward righteous people for the good they do during their earthly lifetimes. God also charges Michael with sending rain, thunder, and lightning to the Earth, according to Islam.” This depicts that Mikael is the second-highest-ranking angel in Islam and Allah gave him the power to create natural occurrence like storms and rain that provides food and nutrition for humans on Earth. Moreover, Mikael is a merciful angel and also known as a friend to humans because he always asks Allah to forgive humans for their bad deeds and God has relegated Michael to remunerate upright individuals for the great they do before the afterlife. Overall Muslims believe in Mikael based on Quran and their belief in angels like Jibril and Mikael increases Muslims sawab (reward) which means getting a reward from believing Allah’s word and creation.
Additionally, the third highest-ranked angel in Islam is Israfil. Muslims believe that Israfil has wings and one of his wings is protecting him. Israfil also known as Raphael and he is still waiting for Allah’s command to blow a trumpet, basically his main duty. According to Whitley Hopler who is a religion expert and currently writing articles about religions on Learn religions website and also she is the author of the nonfiction book “Wake Up to Wonder.” In her article “Angel Types in Islam” she stated, “As the angel who will blow a horn to announce that Judgment Day is coming. The Qur’an says in chapter 69 (Al Haqqah) that the horn’s first blow will destroy everything, and in chapter 36 (Ya-Sin) it says that humans who have died will come back to life at the second blow. Islamic tradition says that Raphael is a master of music who sings praises to God in heaven in more than 1,000 different languages.” This indicated that Muslims believe that Israfil is accountable for blowing the trumpet to check the Day of Judgment. The trumpet is continually ready at his lips, fit to be blown when God commands him.A phrase such as, “first blow will destroy everything” depicts that when Israfil blows the trumpet the Earth, universe, water, mountains, humans, and every single thing that God created for humans to live will be ruined because on the Day of Judgement humans will get their actual place in heaven or hell based on their activities while they were living. Furthermore, Muslims believe according to Quran and Hadith that the fourth-ranked angel in Islam is Azrael. Every single Muslim thinks of Azrael whenever they think of death. For normal humans or Muslims, it’s not possible to see the other three archangels angel Jibril, Mikael, and Israfils but when humans die they can see Azrael. Based on Surah As-Sajdah 32:11, “The angel of death who has been assigned for you will take you in full, then you will be brought back to your Lord.” This verse from the Quran talks about human death. The angel of death is known as Azrael and this angel’s main role is to separate human souls from the body when Allah commands her. Azrael takes the soul and goes back to Allah to return it. Muslims believe that during prayer when Satan puts bad thoughts into the mind they should think of Kaaba in the front and Azrael behind them. This represents that Muslims are worshipping Allah and death is behind them. The fear of Allah and Azrael brings back their focus on praying.
In Addition, there are other low-ranked angels like Munkar and Nakeer. These two angels appear to humans after death. Muslims believe when they die their souls are taken by Azrael but they get their souls back when their body is buried under the ground. Then Munkar and Nakeer questioned the souls in Allah’s order to find out what the souls believed or disbelieved. Then there is angel Malik who takes care of Jahanam ( hell) and by Allah’s command angel, Malik gives punishments to sins and disbelievers of Islam. Lastly, there is an important angel called Ridwan known as the angel of paradise, who is the guardian of Jannat ( Heaven). As stated in Surah Al-Isra 17:44, “All the seven skies and the earth and all those therein extol His purity. And there is not a single thing that does not extol His purity and praise, but you do not understand their extolling. Surely He is Forbearing, Most-Forgiving.” This means there are seven heavens according to the Quran and each is protected by angels so satan can’t enter. Angel Ridwan protects one of heaven’s gates. Muslims accept that Hadith that says Mohammed (SAW) believed that there are ten guardian angels with each human. According to Surah Qaf 50:17-18, “when the two receiving angels receive (every human act to record it), seated (one) on the right and (one) on the left. Not a single word is uttered by one, but there is a watcher near him, ready (to record).” This indicates that there are always two angels on an individual shoulder. On the right side, the angel writes down the good thoughts and deeds that the person did, and on the left side angel writes down the bad thoughts, and deeds that the person did throughout the day. They are known as Kiraman and katibin. Muslims believe these records go back to Allah and on the day of Judgement, these will be shown to individuals to give them reward or punishment. As stated in Surah 13:11, “For him, there are angels replacing each other, before him and behind him, who guard him under the command of Allah.” This means there are other two angels who are protected by Allah’s command, one from the front and one from the back so Satan can’t harm the person or from danger. Based on Bukhari hadiths, “ Angels take turns around you, some at night and some by day, and all of them assemble together at the time of the Fajr and ‘Asr prayers.” This represents that some angels protect us when Muslims pray during the day and some angels protect us when Muslims pray at night. Overall ten guardian angels are always beside individuals because Allah loves his servants so he protects his servants 24/7 hours from danger and evil. Muslims believe Nothing can’t harm them without Allah’s permission. Moreover, Muslims believe there is also a replica of Mecca Kaaba in heaven just above the one on Earth. Based on Surah At-Tur 52:4, “And by the Bait-ul-Ma’mur (the house over the heavens parable to the Kaaba at Makkah, continuously visited by the angels).” Later on Sahih Bukhari 3207; Sahih Muslim 164, “Then I was shown Al-Bait-al-Ma’mur (i.e. Allah’s House). I asked Gabriel about it and he said, “ This is Al Bait-ul-Ma’mur where 70,000 angels perform prayers daily and when they leave they never return to it (but always a fresh batch comes into it daily).” This indicates that the name of the Kaaba in heaven is Bait-ul-Ma’mur and angels do tawaf (go around ) just like humans do on earth. Muslims believe 70,000 Angels visit Bait-ul-Ma’mur every day and there is a new batch of angels every day who come to pray there and never return. Words such as, “ leave” and “ never return” depict that there are trillions of angels because just imagine a new batch of 70,000 angels visiting Bait-ul-Ma’mur then there will be trillions, trillions of angels Allah created. It’s astonishing to learn that there are countless angels and no humans have seen these unseen creatures.
On the other hand, Hinduism believes only in guardian angels because they worship guardian angels as minor gods, believe angels in human forms, and connect their souls to communicate with angels. According to Whitley Hopler who is a religion expert and currently writing articles about religions on Learn religions website and also she is the author of the nonfiction book “Wake Up to Wonder.” In her article “Hinduism’s divine beings or angels are spiritual in nature, yet often appear to people in material form looking like human beings.” This means Hinduism believes that gods sometimes take human form to protect their child, of like when someone helps someone with money during emergency surgery of a relative they think that helper as a god who came as a guardian angel to help that person. Later on the author states, “Major gods, minor gods, the planets, human gurus, and ancestors may all play a protective role, like that of a guardian angel, during times of crisis or stress.” This indicates that sometimes humans are guardian angels like school teachers because he/she takes you towards the knowledge to enlighten their mind with light. Moreover, the author states, “By this sacrifice unto the Supreme Lord the demigods are propitiated; the demigods being propitiated will mutually propitiate you and you will obtain supreme blessings.” (Bhagavad Gita 3:11). This depicts that Hindus believe that specific mediation helps them to connect their souls with guardian angels who are also their minor gods because mediation can take a soul to a universe where unseen creatures communicate with humans. Overall Hinduisms believe guardian angels in gods, humans, and even in themself which is different from Muslim’s believe because Muslims believe angels are created before humans and their only purpose is to pray to Allah and serve Allah’s command.
To conclude, as indicated by the Quran Muslims Believe that heavenly messengers are the ones who follow Allah’s order, their reality as portrayed in the Quran, every holy messenger was made for various obligations and Muslims likewise accept that there are just 4 of them who are the main ones: Jibrael, Mikael, Israfil, and Azrael. Muslims believe angels can’t read Quran but they love to listen to the Quran, so when Muslims read the disbelievers Quran angels come to listen to it. Muslims also believe that angels come to protect Muslims when several Muslims pray all together something like Mosque. Lastly, Muslims believe on the Day of Judgment these four archangel angels will join other archangel angels to carry Allah’s throne and they will help Allah to punish or reward each soul according to their deeds. Overall, Muslims all believe in angels, the afterlife, and life on earth because of the Quran that was recited to Muhammed (SAW) through one of the most powerful archangel angels, Jibril.

Work Cited

[1] “The Noble Quran.” Quran.com, quran.com/.

[2] “All You Need to Know about Bait-Ul Ma’mur.” IslamicFinder, 8 Oct. 2021, www.islamicfinder.org/news/all-you-need-to-know-about-bait-ul-mamur/.

[3] Hopler, Whitney. “Acknowledging Guardian Angels in Islam.” Learn Religions, Learn Religions, 26 Apr. 2019, www.learnreligions.com/muslim-guardian-angel-prayers-124056.

[4] Hopler, Whitney. “Angels in Islam: Hamalat Al-Arsh.” Learn Religions, Learn Religions, 13 July 2017, www.learnreligions.com/islam-which-angels-carry-gods-throne-124067.

[5] Hopler, Whitney. “Guardian Angels in Hinduism.” Learn Religions, Learn Religions, 27 Apr. 2019, www.learnreligions.com/guardian-angels-in-hinduism-124346.

[6] Hopler, Whitney. “Learn about the Angels of Islam.” Learn Religions, Learn Religions, 3 Mar. 2019, www.learnreligions.com/angel-types-in-islam-123834.

[7] Huda. “The Existence of Angels in Islam.” Learn Religions, Learn Religions, 10 Jan. 2019, www.learnreligions.com/angels-in-islam-2004030.

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