Arabian Tongue Institute Blog (Angels in Islam)

Angels in Islam

Belief in angels is one of the six pillars of faith without which there is no faith. Whoever does not believe in any of these pillars is not a believer (mumin). These pillars are belief in: Allah, His angels, His Books, His Messengers, the Last Day, and that predestination, both good and bad, comes from Allah.

“The messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and (so do) the believers; they all believe in Allah and His angels and His books and His messengers.” (2:285).

Angels are a form of spiritual beings created by Allah to perform various assigned duties. There are numerous angels. They are bound to obey the commands of Allah. Unlike human beings, they have not been given the choice to do either right or wrong.

Angels are heavenly illuminating beings, created from light. In corollary, they are not material creatures that human beings can see, hear or touch, given the human normal senses and perceptions. In this regard, Prophet Muhammad pbuh is quoted to have said, “Angels are created from light and jinn from fire, whereas Adam is created out of what is described to you” Actually, the Quran mentions nothing about the origin from which the angels are created, it only describes them as winged beings:“Praise be to God, The Originator of the heavens and the earth, The Maker of the angels (as) messengers endowed with wings, two’s, three’s and four’s. He increases in creation as He decides; surely God is Ever-Determiner over everything.” (Quran, 35:1)

However immaterial and invisible they are, angels are well able to appear and assume physical forms, such as the human shape, for example. Gabriel frequently assumed a human form in his visits to the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him). He also assumed a human form when he appeared to Mary (peace be upon her) and so did the delegation of angels who visited Prophet Abraham (PBUH)

Angels possess different grades and varied ranks; some are always in a state of ruku' while others are perpetually in a state of prostration.

“And there is none of us but has an assigned place, and most surely we are they who draw themselves out in ranks, and we are most surely they who declare the glory (of Allah).” 

Angels are different from humankind and jinn in the following characteristics:

1. They neither eat, nor drink.

2. They neither marry, nor procreate.

3. They are neither males, nor females.

​​​​​We have no knowledge of precisely when they were created, because there is no text to tell us this. But they were created before mankind for certain

Every person has two “angels in succession” who protect him/her from harm, unless the harm is divinely decreed. The Holy Quran states,

“For each (person), there are angels in succession, before and behind him. They guard him by the command of Allah…” (13:11). 

Angels who carry the Throne and those around it ask forgiveness for those who have believed, [saying], “Our Lord, You have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way and protect them from the punishment of Hellfire.” (40:7)

The Quran speaks of angels as playing a crucial role in processes like creation, prophecy, spiritual life, death, resurrection, and the workings of natural elements, Other angels are in charge of embryos in wombs, or responsible for protecting human beings.

Angels are also mentioned in many hadiths. For example, the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) is reported to have said that when people gather together in remembrance of God, “The angels surround them, mercy covers them, peace descends on them, and God remembers them among those who are with Him” (At-Tirmidhi).

From all of this we can conclude that angels play a prominent role in the Divine system.