Are there angels in Islam? Yes, there is a whole large section in encyclopedias that tells about them. It is called "Malaika." Let us enter together into this world of divine beings, turn the pages of ancient books, touch the ancient and wise revelations of the Koran. We will open the heavy door of history in order to at least a bit closer to the vast world of mysterious angels.
Faith in angels exists in all three essentially related religions - Christianity, Islam, and Judaism. The word "angel" of Greek origin also means "messenger", in Muslim culture - from the Arabic "malak", that is, a messenger. Faith in angels is clearly spelled out in the Qur'an; this is one of the main tenets of Islam. Anyone who does not believe in angels denies God, which means he is atheist! Who are they? Who are the main angels in Islam? How do they look? Where do they live? What is their purpose?
general information
Angels in Islam are rational beings whom Allah created from the world to fulfill his will, the embodiment of an ideal, absolute good. They are his faithful servants, the heavenly army, which was able to defeat the worst enemy - the rebellious genies and apostates. Angels are often mentioned in the Qur'an, although never a complete, detailed description of nature, appearance is given - only their deeds. Asexual, very strong, behind - two, three, four wings, which are so huge that they can cover the whole sky.
How many are there in Islam? There are a lot of them, you can’t count all. There are 10 major angels in Islam, the rest are guardians responsible for souls. They have power and great strength, nobility and piety. Beautiful creatures, unlike humans, are free from temptations, although they have the right to choose. The angels of Islam are impeccably beautiful, sinless, they do not need food. They occupy a high position and fulfill the most important mission, but their main purpose is to be faithful slaves, to serve, to glorify the lord day and night.
An angel in Islam, like light, can be everywhere, but an ordinary mortal is not able to see it. This is given only to the prophets and some animals. According to the prophet Muhammad, if a rooster sang, then he saw an angel. We do not know when these creatures appeared. Scripture indicates that even before the creation of man. The heavenly army of countless good, only Allah knows how many of them. Unquestioningly following orders, each of them has its own purpose.
Four prophets among the angels in Islam
Among the vast world of the bright servants of the four lords, they are called Great. Makribun (Mukarrabun) - chosen by Allah the prophets of the prophets.
Jibril (Jabrail) is the most revered archangel, closest to God. He conveys revelations to the prophets, notifies about commands and prohibitions. Allah endowed him with the best qualities: he possesses strength, power, humility, the ability to revive, to accept different images. Twice appeared to the prophet Muhammad. The first time in the sky - he had six hundred wings covering the entire space. In the second, on the night of the ascension. It was the angel Jabrail in Islam who revealed the heart of the prophet Quran.
Michael is the archangel who governs everything that happens on earth. He has at his disposal countless invisible helpers. Not a single rain, not a single snowflake will reach the earth without his will. The angel Michael in Islam personally monitors the subsistence of all things.
And the third angel will sound
Israfil is the third major archangel. His mission is to inform the world about the end of the world. On the appointed day, the giant will blow into Sur, a huge horn with a diameter in the whole earth and sky. The sounds of it will lead all life into indescribable horror, people and animals in a panic will rush about in search of salvation. The beautiful world will collapse, and all living things will perish. When Israfil sounded the second time, the time of resurrection would come, all who had ever lived would come to life, and would gather at the gathering place awaiting trial.
Angel of Death
Azrael (Malyak al-Maut) - the angel of death in Islam, the fourth of the great prophets. Translated from Arabic - literally "To whom God helps." He comes for the soul when a person expires. Death is a real inevitability, it awaits everyone, but a person is so arranged that he only understands this when he sees Azrael in front of him. Therefore, most often he is presented as sinister, scary: he has not one face, but four, thousands of wings, and there are as many tongues and eyes as there are people on earth. Let us not forget that he is the creation of Allah, fulfilling the command from above.
People often wonder how the angel of death in Islam manages to go everywhere, because there are so many dead in different parts of the world. Forget that he can do anything. Next to him are the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment. For the soul of every true Muslim, they come in a beautiful form, and the sinner in a terrible one. They take souls, escorted to the afterlife. But the angels themselves are also mortal: when everyone dies, Azrael will fall last - the work will end.
Allah, Islam, angels and their destinations
Each angel has his own, strictly defined purpose, a work that he performs everywhere and without question. In addition to the archangels, Islam describes many other groups of the heavenly army, differing in their position and purpose.
Some angels are under Allah. The elect take his throne, there are three or four of them, but on Judgment Day there will be eight. They are so huge that the distance from the earlobe to the shoulder of an angel, the fast-winged bird will fly seven hundred years. And it is impossible to imagine the size and grandeur of the Throne, as well as the universe, because this is the most magnificent and beautiful creation. The throne, as a symbol of unlimited power and greatness, is always surrounded by countless retinue of angels.
Heaven and hell
Stoker angels working in hell bring suffering to sinners. The Qur'an refers to the number nineteen. This may be the number of servants of hell, leaders or varieties of performers. They claim that they are cruel, ruthless, incorruptible. In hell, only fire and stones, unimaginably high temperature. Man is not given to know - this is only a formidable reminder of punishment for sins.
The main guardian of the underworld is the angel Malik, who holds the keys to the gates of hell. He has never smiled since its inception. Malik zealously and strictly makes sure that all sinners experience the hellish torment to whom they are supposed. At the end of their tenure, unhappy souls will be released into paradise.
Ridwan - the chief guardian of Paradise
Souls who have gone to Paradise will experience the highest pleasure, unprecedented during earthly life. There is eternal bliss and such blessings that a person could not even imagine. Angels who truly believe and repent get there. Eternal youth awaits them there, all thirty-three years old, beauty without flaws and diseases. Everyone will receive the level of enjoyment that he deserves. And it will last forever! To get to Paradise, you need to go through the Gates, which themselves open before the new arrivals. Beautiful angels in sparkling robes meet, congratulate and see off to the place. There are eight entries in all, but only angels are allowed to enter through any. The chief guardian of Paradise is called Ridwan.
Angels in charge of souls
The angel in Islam, responsible for the womb of the mother, is sent one hundred and twenty days after the conception of the child. He brings the soul and breathes it into the unborn child. From this moment he is alive. Abortion is tantamount to murder, followed by severe punishment for a failed mother. Together with the soul, an angel in Islam lays the future fate, evil or happy, and writes down sex, food and life.
Grave meal is another truth that Muslims believe in. Angels Munkar and Nakir interrogate a deceased person. After the funeral, they come to him, sit down and begin to question. They are witnesses of everything that has been done in a lifetime. Only the martyrs, the righteous, the defenders of the borders, the obsessed, who died from cholera or a stomach disease, and who died on Thursday or Friday, who studied the Koran diligently, will not be interrogated.
Guardian angels
Faithful companions in life are guardian angels in Islam, who from birth to death follow the actions of each of us. Even in the afterlife, they are close, right up to the final court. Front and rear escort, guard, change in turn, catch every moment of human life. Angels on their shoulders in Islam sit and listen carefully to speeches, read thoughts. Rakib sits on the right side, writes down good words and deeds. On the left is Atid. He notes all sinful thoughts and deeds. If a person suddenly has a sinful thought (it is whispered by an unbelieving shaitan), but he struggles with temptation, then he saves his soul.
The most important thing is not to say it out loud. In the case, all the same, bad thoughts go off the tongue, the angels record, and thus teach a person to control their thoughts, speeches and actions. These bright guards love their wards, pray for them, give reasonable advice, worry, therefore, make notes only after six hours, so that there is time for repentance and correction of mistakes.
Necessarily keepers are present during the performance of prayers. They carefully monitor people, then they report to Allah about who performed the prayers and how. When Judgment Day arrives, records on the left and right sides will be weighed on special scales. If good thoughts and deeds turn out to be harder, the road to paradise and eternal bliss will follow, otherwise, to hell to atone for your sins.
The bright army of good
There are angels sent to protect people from danger, of which there are many on earth: human vices, snakes, wild animals - there is nothing to list. All acts take place at the behest of Allah. But if he wants to destroy a man, then the guardian angels depart, not wanting to contradict his will.
There are angels who are entrusted with controlling the universe. Without their help, rivers do not flow, winds do not blow, grass does not grow, the sun does not shine. They are omnipresent, their number is innumerable. Without them, the world will stop.
Where do angels live?
Heaven is the habitat of invisible creatures, their refuge. Allah divided the firmament into seven levels, each of which is another twenty nine tiers. Paved with emeralds, the first vault serves as a home for angels similar to bulls. They spend all their time in prayers for the souls of men. The terrible guard Ismail guards the peace of the soul of the original Adam.
Entirely woven from rare yellow rubies, the second arch became a home for the semurg angels, who took the form of beautiful birds, and Kashima, who has seventy faces, heads, and tongues. Here, Archangel Michael guards the immortal soul of Jesus.
Even higher, everything burns with red rubies! Eagle angels, one of them numbers wings and heads in thousands, cares for the souls of Joseph, David and Solomon.
The fourth vault is all of silver, the angels are there in human form. Here they rest in the humility of the souls of Moses and St. Mary. Fifth - golden, cast with a red flame. Angels are beautiful and look like guria, paradise women. They look after the departed prophets.
At the sixth level, Noah’s soul dwells in pearl chambers, and many beautiful helpers serve him. The higher, the richer the decorations. And finally, the last, seventh - it is above all, shines like the sun. Behind him is the direct road to Paradise!
Each level is a peculiar and separate world with its own planet, seven skies - seven planets of the solar system. There is an entrance and exit, a large population. The whole cosmos is home to divine creatures. There is a huge distance between each tier, you have to fly five hundred years! All space is populated. To imagine this is beyond the power of the human imagination, because the people feel like a worthless grain of sand in the vast ocean.
Are there fallen angels in Islam?
The fallen angel in Islam is an impossible phenomenon. They are sinless beings. There are different legends, they call the names of the angels in Islam - Iblis, Harut and Marut - as if they were fallen. But there is no such thing. All angels are impeccable in their obedience to Allah. In fact, Iblis was a genie, that is, it was created from fire. On his conscience is the temptation and expulsion of Adam and Eve from paradise. Deprived of mercy, he became an enemy of the people.
Harut and Marut were sent by Allah to the earth with the mission of testing people's faith. At that time, the inhabitants of Babylon were carried away by witchcraft, with which they solved all their problems. Harut and Marut in the guise of ordinary people were sent to clarify the destructiveness of such activities, they began to learn to defend themselves from magic, to break the spell. To find a cure for the disease, you need to study the disease itself. The angels have made incredible efforts, trying to help the unfortunate inhabitants. Not a single act was done without the teachings of sin, but no one listened to them. Harut and Marut did not become fallen angels, in Islam there is no such meaning. They only carried out the highest commission.
Kara for sins
The story with Loot reveals another side of the angels. Allah sent a prophet to Sodom to return the inhabitants to the correct faith. Favat's wife, with whom he lived for twenty years, died, and Loot married again. Vakhil’s wife swore that she believed in God, and she deceived and laughed at her husband’s righteousness. All the people of Sodom were mired in sins, doing abominations. Seeing how men robbed, openly engaged in sodomy, the prophet appealed to the unfortunate, demanded to stop blasphemous affairs. But no one listened or believed him, not even his wife. Loot had no choice but to turn to God for help.
Angels sent to punish the atheists quickly appeared. The owner was very scared when he saw beautiful young men on the threshold, because they could be stolen by sodomites. The trouble did not keep waiting long. Burning lust, the men surrounded the house and began to demand to give them guests. Loot begged not to disgrace his family, promised to give his daughters as a wife. It was impossible to calm the crowd. And then the beautiful young men opened up, they are the messengers of God, they came to punish the apostates. They reassured that no one could harm them. Angels ordered to gather and take away the family at night, except for the harlot wife. In the morning with a stone rain, the city, together with its inhabitants, was destroyed. This instructive story is a warning to all.
Faith in angels in Islam gives a lot to a person. A true Muslim truly believes that invisible light creatures lead him through life, guarding, teaching, helping, following every word and step. In response, he tries to avoid, to refrain from discrediting thoughts, statements and actions, because he perfectly understands: nothing is hiding from Allah.
Instead of an epilogue
The world of angels is beautiful and mysterious. In the Islamic worldview, it is especially complicated. Angels are not deities; people do not worship or pray to them. There are no fallen ones, good and evil. A man will never become an angel after death!
As the mother does not let go of the child’s hand on the road, so the angel leads along the steep slopes of the life of his ward. In difficult times, he will cover his wing from adversity, with a rustle of foliage he will quietly whisper the correct answer in his ear, support him in the fall, lead him forward, asking nothing in return! This is its purpose.