Angels in Islam

File:'Angel Blowing a Woodwind', ink and opaque watercolor painting from Iran, c. 1500, Honolulu Academy of Arts.JPG, {{c.|1500}}, Honolulu Academy of Arts.]]

The Quranic word for angel ({{langx|ar|ملك|malak|links=no}}) derives either from {{transliteration|ar|Malaka}}, meaning "he controlled", due to their power to govern different affairs assigned to them,Ali, Syed Anwer. [1984] 2010. Qurʼan, the Fundamental Law of Human Life: Surat ul-Faateha to Surat-ul-Baqarah (sections 1–21). Syed Publications. p. 121. or from the triliteral root {{transliteration|ar|'-l-k}}, {{transliteration|ar|l-'-k}} or {{transliteration|ar|m-l-k}} with the broad meaning of a "messenger", just as its counterpart in Hebrew ({{transliteration|hbo|malʾákh}}). Unlike the Hebrew word, however, the term is used exclusively for heavenly spirits of the divine world, as opposed to human messengers. The Quran refers to both angelic and human messengers as {{transliteration|ar|rasul}} instead.{{cite journal |last=Burge |first=Stephan R. |date=2011 |title=The Angels in Sūrat al-Malāʾika: Exegeses of Q. 35:1 |journal=Journal of Qur'anic Studies |volume=10 |issue=1 |pages=50–70|doi=10.3366/E1465359109000230}}

In pre-Islamic Arabian culture, the term was also used by the Thamud for beings who deserve supplication.Al-Azmeh, Aziz. The emergence of Islam in late antiquity: Allah and his people. Cambridge University Press, 2014. p: 294

The Quran describes angels in the context of earlier Middle Eastern cultural traditions, both monotheistic and polytheistic belief-systems.Kuehn, Sara, Stefan Leder, and Hans-Peter Pökel. "Introduction: Angels and Their Religious and Cosmological Contexts." The Intermediate Worlds of Angels. Ergon-Verlag, 2019. p. 18-19 Belief in angels is prescribed for the believer.Reynolds, G. S. (2009)- Angels, In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopedia of Islam Three Online. BrillPiras A. (2016) Angel. In Vocabulary for the stury of religion Brill Surah 35 is, in some manuscripts, named after them (al-malā’ikah).Reynolds, G. S. (2009)- Angels, In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopedia of Islam Three Online. Brill With a few exceptions, angels in the Quran are largely impersonal.Stephen Burge. 2024. 'Angels (malāʾika)', St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Edited

by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. https://www.saet.ac.uk/Islam/Angels Accessed: 4 November

2024 p. 4 They appear in stories about the mythic past, eschatological imagery (heaven/hell), and in discussions about prophecy and worship.Stephen Burge. 2024. 'Angels (malāʾika)', St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Edited

by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. https://www.saet.ac.uk/Islam/Angels Accessed: 4 November

2024 p. 4

While in the Bible the term 'angel' refers to 'messengers' (mundane or divine) the Quran uses the term 'rasul' instead.Kuehn, Sara, Stefan Leder, and Hans-Peter Pökel. "Introduction: Angels and Their Religious and Cosmological Contexts." The Intermediate Worlds of Angels. Ergon-Verlag, 2019. p. 26S.R. Burge Journal of Qurʼanic Studies The Angels in Sūrat al-Malāʾika: Exegeses of Q. 35:1 Sep 2011. vol. 10, No. 1 : pp. 50–70 Angels are solely heavenly spirits. As in Biblical tradition, angels deliver the message to Zechariah (3:39) and Mary (3:45).Reynolds, G. S. (2009)- Angels, In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopedia of Islam Three Online. Brill In the Quran, angels are not limited to be messengers but are also part of the heavenly council. They serve as scribes (50:17-18), serve as God's warriors (9:26), and carry God's throne.Reynolds, G. S. (2009)- Angels, In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopedia of Islam Three Online. Brill God commands the angels to prostrate themselves before Adam, similar to the Syrian Cave of Treasures.Reynolds, G. S. (2009)- Angels, In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopedia of Islam Three Online. Brill

The Quran portrays the Jahiliyyah as worshipping angels as minor deities (Surah 53:19-22; 6:100; 16:57; 37:149), believed to function as intercessors (Surah 10:18). In the pre-Islamic Arabian religion, deities, jinn, angels, and demons are not clearly distinguished and shade into another.Izutsu, Toshihiko. "Revelation as a linguistic concept in Islam." Studies in Medieval Thought 5 (1962): 142.Kuehn, Sara, Stefan Leder, and Hans-Peter Pökel. "Introduction: Angels and Their Religious and Cosmological Contexts." The Intermediate Worlds of Angels. Ergon-Verlag, 2019. p. 28 Several angels in the Quran function as personified meteorological phenomena, and may root in polytheistic animistic beliefs.Kuehn, Sara, Stefan Leder, and Hans-Peter Pökel. "Introduction: Angels and Their Religious and Cosmological Contexts." The Intermediate Worlds of Angels. Ergon-Verlag, 2019. p. 29

The Quranic creation account suggests the superiority of humans over angels: When God creates Adam, he taught him the names of all things, knowledge the angels lack. Muslim exegetes read this as a demonstration of the a unique capacity (exercise of 'aql) whereas the angels are lacking.Stephen Burge. 2024. 'Angels (malāʾika)', St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Edited

by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. https://www.saet.ac.uk/Islam/Angels Accessed: 4 November

2024 p. 5Kuehn, Sara, Stefan Leder, and Hans-Peter Pökel. "Introduction: Angels and Their Religious and Cosmological Contexts." The Intermediate Worlds of Angels. Ergon-Verlag, 2019. p. 29 As such, angels are no longer objects of deserving worship and also become distinguished from God.Kuehn, Sara, Stefan Leder, and Hans-Peter Pökel. "Introduction: Angels and Their Religious and Cosmological Contexts." The Intermediate Worlds of Angels. Ergon-Verlag, 2019. p. 29 According to Quranic exegesis, some angels refused to accept the superiority of mankind and became devils (šayāṭīn).Reynolds, G. S. (2009)- Angels, In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopedia of Islam Three Online. Brill This debate is closely related to a discussion regarding other verses about angels.

File:Maalik opens the gates of hell.jpg.]]

The possibility and degree of the angels' errability is debated in Islam.Welch, Alford T. (2008) Studies in Qur'an and Tafsir. Riga, Latvia: Scholars Press. p. 756. Hasan of Basra (d. 728) is often considered one of the first who asserted the doctrine of angelic infallibility. When discussing the nature of Iblis, Tabari does not mention angelic infallibility, the idea might not have been universal in early Islam.Erdağı, D. Evil in Turkish Muslim horror film: the demonic in "Semum". SN Soc Sci 4, 27 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43545-024-00832-w Thus, from the traditions of ibn Abbas (angels can sin), and Hasan of Basra (angels cannot sin), two different opinions derived. In a comment by Gibril Haddad on Qadi Baydawi's defense on angelic fallibility, in his Tafsir al-Baydawi, it is said that the angels' "obedience is their nature while their disobedience is a burden, while human beings' obedience is a burden and their hankering after lust is their nature."{{rp|p=546}}

Opposition to the concept of the fallen angel is mostly found among the Qadariyah and most Mu'tazilites.Basharin, Pavel V. (April 1, 2018). "The Problem of Free Will and Predestination in the Light of Satan's Justification in Early Sufism". English Language Notes. 56 (1). Durham, North Carolina: Duke University Press: 119–138. doi:10.1215/00138282-4337480. S2CID 165366613. Many Salafis also agree with this view.Gauvain, Richard (2013). Salafi Ritual Purity: In the Presence of God. Abingdon, England: Routledge. ISBN 978-0710313560 p. 73 Those who oppose angelic fallibility refer to Surah at-Tahrim (66:6)Hoffman, Valerie J. The Essentials of Ibadi Islam. Syracuse University Press, 2012. p. 188 in favor of their position:

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.

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi is an exception to most mutakallimūn, and agrees that angels are free from any form of sin and includes angelic infallibility to the six articles of faith.Street, Tony. "Medieval Islamic doctrine on the angels: the writings of Fakhr al-Dīh al-Rāzī." Parergon 9.2 (1991): 111-127.

Al-Razi argues that "except Iblis" (2:34, 18:50) is read as an "interrupted exception" (istithna munqathi), excluding Iblis from the group of angels and states that he hailed from jinn species instead.Teuma, E. (1980). The nature of" Iblis" in the Qur’an as interpreted by the commentators. p. 14 Ibn Taimiyya rejects any ambiguity on the nature of Iblis and portrays him as a satanic jinni in contrast to the obedient angels.Sela, R., Sartori, P., & DeWeese, D. (Eds.). (2022). Muslim Religious Authority in Central Eurasia (Vol. 43). Brill. p. 78 Following the opinions of ibn Taimiyya and his disciple ibn Kathir, many scholars of Salafism and Wahhabism agree on this.Sela, R., Sartori, P., & DeWeese, D. (Eds.). (2022). Muslim Religious Authority in Central Eurasia (Vol. 43). Brill. p. 81 Furthermore, many of them regard this as a major difference between Christianity and Islam.

File:FallenAngelsHarutandMarut.jpg punished by hanging over the well, condemned to teach sorcery. (c. 1703)]]

Surah 2:30 portrays the angels arguing with God about the creation of Adam, since Adam's progeny will cause suffering. From among the angels, Iblis refuses to pay homage to Adam and is banned. The phrase "except Iblis" in 2:34 and 18:50 is understood as an uninterrupted exception (istithna' muttasil).Teuma, E. (1980). The nature of "Iblis" in the Qur’an as interpreted by the commentators p. 14 A possible reconciliation of Iblis' fall and the doctrine of angelic impeccability is to say that God wanted Iblis to disobeyAbu-Zaid, Nasr. "The Perfect Man in Islam: A Textual Analysis." 大阪外国語大学学報 77 (1989): 123-124.Öztürk, Mustafa. "The Tragic Story of Iblis (Satan) in the Qur’an." Journal of Islamic Research 2.2 (2009): 139 or that Iblis' disobedience derives from a noble yet misguided motivation.Cole, Juan. "Infidel or Paganus? The Polysemy of kafara in the Quran." JAOS 140.3 (2020): 615-636.

Al-Maturidi (853–944 CE) rejects that angels are free from sin altogether, stating that angels too are tested and also have free-will based on the Quran:Ulrich Rudolph Al-Māturīdī und Die Sunnitische Theologie in Samarkand Brill, 1997 ISBN 978-90-04-10023-7 pp. 54-56Saleh, Walid A. "Rereading al-Ṭabarī through al-Māturīdī: New light on the third century hijrī." Journal of Qur'anic Studies 18.2 (2016): 180-209.

By calling the stars adornment of the heavens, we can deduce another meaning: that is, the inhabitants of the heavens themselves are put to the test to see which of them is the best in deeds, (...)

Those who are in support of the concept of fallen angels (including Tabari, Suyuti, al-Nasafi, and al-Māturīdī) refer to al-Anbiya (21:29) stating that angels would be punished for sins and arguing that, if angels could not sin, they would not be warned to refrain from committing them:Yüksek Lisans Tezi Imam Maturidi'nin Te'vilatu'l-kur'an'da gaybi konulara İstanbul-2020 2501171277

Whoever of them were to say, "I am a god besides Him", they would be rewarded with Hell by Us [...]

Besides the case of Iblis, the presence of Harut and Marut in the Quran, further hindered their complete absolution from potentially sinning.{{rp|p=548}}MacDonald, D.B. and Madelung, W., "Malāʾika", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 12 October 2021 {{doi|10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0642}}

First published online: 2012

First print edition: {{ISBN|978-90-04-16121-4}}, 1960-2007 Ahmad ibn Hanbal (d. 241/855) describes these angels, in his Musnad, as boasting of their obedience, so God sends them down to earth, where they commit sins. Although not explicit in the Quran, some exegetes linked them to Iblis, and the angels with him, protesting the creation of Adam.Ayoub, Mahmoud M. Qurʾan and Its Interpreters, The, Volume 1 State University of New York Press, 30.06.1984 p. 131

File:Muhammad ibn Muhammad Shakir Ruzmah-'i Nathani - The Archangel Michael - Walters W65946B - Full Page.jpg depicting the Archangel Michael (Mika'il)]]

In Islam, angels are heavenly creatures created by God. They are considered older than humans and jinn.Kuehn, Sara, Stefan Leder, and Hans-Peter Pökel. The intermediate worlds of angels: Islamic representations of celestial beings in transcultural contexts. Orient-Institut, 2019. p. 336 Although Muslim authors disagree on the exact nature of angels, they agree that they are autonomous entities with subtle bodies.{{cite book |translator1-first=Gibril Fouad |translator1-last=Haddad |first=ʿAbd Allah |last=ibn ʿUmar al-Baydawi |date=2016 |title=The Lights Of Revelation And The Secrets Of Interpretation |publisher=Beacon Books and Media Limited |isbn=978-0-9926335-7-8}}{{rp|p=508}} Yet, both concepts of angels as anthropomorphic creatures with wings and as abstract forces are acknowledged.{{cite book |author-last=Burge |author-first=Stephen |year=2015 |orig-date=2012 |chapter=Part 1: Angels, Islam, and al-Suyūṭī's Al-Ḥabāʾik fī akhbār al-malāʾik – Angels in Classical Islam and contemporary scholarship |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZzVACwAAQBAJ&pg=PA3 |title=Angels in Islam: Jalāl al-Dīn al-Suyūṭī's Al-Ḥabāʾik fī akhbār al-malāʾik |location=London and New York |publisher=Routledge |edition=1st |pages=3–15 |doi=10.4324/9780203144978 |isbn=978-0-203-14497-8 |lccn=2011027021 |oclc=933442177 |s2cid=169825282}} Angels play an important role in Muslim everyday life by protecting the believers from evil influences and recording the deeds of humans. They have different duties, including their praise of God, interacting with humans in ordinary life, defending against devils (shayāṭīn) and carrying on natural phenomena.

In Islamic philosophy angelic qualities, just as devilish ones, are assumed to be part of human's nature, the angelic one related to the spirit (ruh) and reason (aql), while the devilish one to egoism.{{cite web | url=https://sorularlaislamiyet.com/kaynak/meleklere-iman#_Toc201395583 | title=Meleklere 陌man 禄 Sorularla 陌slamiyet | date=24 June 2008}} Angels might accompany aspiring saints or advise pious humans.

One of the Islamic major characteristic is their lack of bodily desires; they never get tired, do not eat or drink, and have no anger.{{cite book |last1=Glassé |first1=Cyril |last2=Smith |first2=Huston |title=The New Encyclopedia of Islam |date=2003 |publisher=Rowland Altamira |isbn=978-0-759-10190-6 |pages=49–50}} Various Islamic scholars such as Ibn Kathir, Ibn Taymiyya, Al-Tabari, Fakhr al-Din al-Razi, and Umar Sulaiman Al-Ashqar also quoted that angels do not need to consume food or drinks.{{cite web |author1=h Muhammad Singgih Pamungkas |title=Mengenal Alam Malaikat (1) |url=https://muslim.or.id/25445-mengenal-alam-malaikat-1.html#sdfootnote15anc |website=muslim.or.id |publisher=Al-Atsari Islamic Education Foundation /Kantor Sekretariat Yayasan Pendidikan Islam Al-Atsari (YPIA) |access-date=21 December 2023 |language=Id |date=15 December 2022 |quote=Dr. Sulaiman Al Asyqor, 'Alamul Malaikat, hal. 18}} They are also described as immortal, unlike jinn. In Islamic traditions, they are described as being created from incorporeal light ({{transliteration|ar|Nūr}}) or fire ({{transliteration|ar|Nar}}).Kuehn, Sara. "The Primordial Cycle Revisited: Adam, Eve, and the Celestial Beings." The intermediate worlds of angels (2019): 173-199.

Jane Dammen McAuliffe Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān Volume 3 Georgetown University, Washington DC p. 45{{efn|Differences between {{transliteration|ar|nūr}} and {{transliteration|ar|nar}} have been debated in Islam. In Arabic, both terms are closely related morphologically and phonetically.Mustafa Öztürk Journal of Islamic Research Vol 2 No 2 December 200 Baydawi explains that the term light serves only as a proverb, but fire and light refers actually to the same substance.Houtsma, M. Th. (1993). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Band 5. Brill. p. 191. {{ISBN|978-9-004-09791-9}} p. 191 Apart from light, other traditions also mention exceptions about angels created from fire, ice or water.Fr. Edmund Teuma, O.F.M. Conv The Nature of "Ibli'h in the Qur'an as Interpreted by the Commentators p. 16 Tabari argued that both can be seen as the same substance, since both pass into each other but refer to the same thing on different degrees.Gauvain, Richard (2013). Salafi Ritual Purity: In the Presence of God. Abingdon, England: Routledge. p. 73. {{ISBN|978-0-7103-1356-0}} p. 302 Asserting that both fire and light are actually the same but on different degrees can also be found by Qazwini and Ibishi.Syrinx von Hees Enzyklopädie als Spiegel des Weltbildes: Qazwīnīs Wunder der Schöpfung: eine Naturkunde des 13. Jahrhunderts Otto Harrassowitz Verlag 2002 {{ISBN|978-3-447-04511-7}} page 270{{cite book |first1=Seyyed Hossein |last1=Nasr |title=Islamic Life and Thought |publisher=Routledge |date=2013 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_jkNAQAAMAAJ |isbn=978-1-134-53818-8 |page=135}} In his work {{transliteration|ar|Al-Hay'a as-samya fi l-hay'a as-sunmya}}, Suyuti asserts that the angels are created from "fire that eats, but does not drink".ANTON M. HEINEN ISLAMIC COSMOLOGY A STUDY OF AS-SUYUTI'S al-Hay'a as-samya fi l-hay'a as-sunmya with critical edition, translation, and commentary ANTON M. HEINEN BEIRUT 1982 p. 143 Abd al-Ghani al-Maqdisi argued that only the angels of mercy are created from light, but angels of punishment have been created from fire.Gibb, Hamilton Alexander Rosskeen (1995). The Encyclopaedia of Islam: NED-SAM. Brill. p. 94. ISBN 9789004098343}} Ahmad Sirhindi, a 17th-century Indian scholar, has added, that angels can take various shapes.{{cite book |author1=Ahmed Sirhindi Faruqi |title=Maktubat Imam Rabbani (Shaykh Ahmed Sirhindi) |url=http://www.maktabah.org/index.php/sufism/45-maktubat/62-maktubat-imam-rabbani.html |access-date=22 November 2023 |language=En, Pa |chapter=31 - INFORMATION ABOUT GENIES|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090810170341/http://www.maktabah.org/index.php/sufism/45-maktubat/62-maktubat-imam-rabbani.html |archive-date=2009-08-10}}

File:Mohammed receiving revelation from the angel Gabriel.jpg receiving his first revelation from the angel Gabriel. From the manuscript Jami' al-Tawarikh by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani, 1307 AD.]]

Angels believed to be engaged in human affairs are closely related to Islamic purity and modesty rituals. Many hadiths, including Muwatta Imam Malik from one of the Kutub al-Sittah, talk about angels being repelled by humans' state of impurity.{{cite journal |last=Burge |first=Stephen R. |date=January 2010 |title=Impurity / Danger! |journal=Islamic Law and Society |publisher=Brill Publishers |location=Leiden |volume=17 |issue=3–4 |pages=320–349 |doi=10.1163/156851910X489869 |issn=0928-9380 |jstor=23034917}}{{rp|323}} It is argued that if driven away by ritual impurity, the Kiraman Katibin, who record people's actions,{{rp|325}} and the guardian angel,{{rp|327}} will not perform their tasks assigned to the individual. Another hadith specifies, during the state of impurity, bad actions are still written down, but good actions are not.

When a person tells a lie, angels nearby are separated from the person from the stench the lie emanates.{{rp|328}} Angels also depart from humans when they are naked or are having a bath out of decency, but also curse people who are nude in public.{{rp|328}} Ahmad Sirhindi has mentioned that the angels nobility are because their substances are created from luminous light.

Angels are believed to be attracted to clean and sacred places. Impure conditions, such as dogs or unclean places, may impede an angels' duty.Sa'diyya Shaikh Sufi Narratives of Intimacy: Ibn Arabi, Gender, and Sexuality Univ of North Carolina Press 2012 {{ISBN|978-0-807-83533-3}} page 114Christian Krokus The Theology of Louis Massignon CUA Press 2017 {{ISBN|978-0-813-22946-1}} page 89{{Cite web|url=http://www.dinimizislam.com/detay.asp?Aid=3563|title=Melekler akıllı varlıklardır – Dinimiz İslam|first=dinimiz|last=islam|website=dinimizislam.com}} (Turkish)Reynolds, G. S. (2009). Angels. In K. Fleet, G. Krämer, D. Matringe, J. Nawas and D. J. Stewart (eds.), Encyclopaedia of Islam Three Online. Brill. https://doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23204

File:Miraj by Sultan Muhammad.jpg from an edition of the Khamsa of Nizami Ganjavi created for Shah Tahmasp IBowker. World Religions. p. 165.]]

File:Sultan_Ibrahim_ibn_Adham_of_Balkh_visited_by_angels1009_IP.jpg

Sultan Ibrahim ibn Adham of Balkh visited by angels, 1760–70. Opaque watercolor with gold on paper, Cynthia Hazen Polsky Collection (1009-IP)]]

Just as in non-Sufi-related traditions, angels are thought of as created of light. Al-Jili specifies that the angels are created from the Light of Muhammad and in his attribute of guidance, light and beauty.Awn, Peter J. (1983). Satan's Tragedy and Redemption: Iblīs in Sufi Psychology. Leiden, Germany: Brill Publishers. p. 182 {{ISBN|978-90-04-06906-0}} Influenced by Ibn Arabi's Sufi metaphysics, Haydar Amuli identifies angels as created to represent different names/attributes of God's beauty, while the devils are created in accordance with God's attributes of Majesty, such as "The Haughty" or "The Domineering".Ayman Shihadeh Sufism and Theology Edinburgh University Press, 21 November 2007 {{ISBN|978-0-7486-3134-6}} pp. 54-56

Andalusian scholar ibn Arabi argues that a human generally ranks below angels, but developed to al-Insān al-Kāmil, ranks above them. While most earlier Sufis (like Hasan al-Basri) advised their disciples to imitate the angels, Ibn-Arabi advised them to surpass the angels. The angels being merely a reflection of the Divine Names in accordance within the spiritual realm, humans experience the Names of God manifested both in the spiritual and in the material world.Reynolds, Gabriel Said, "Angels", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Everett Rowson. Consulted online on 17 August 2021

First published online: 2009 First print edition: 9789004181304, 2009, 2009-3Mohamed Haj Yousef The Single Monad Model of the Cosmos: Ibn Arabi's Concept of Time and Creation ibnalarabi 2014 {{ISBN|978-1-499-77984-4}} page 292 This reflects the major opinion that prophets and messengers among humans rank above angels, but the ordinary human below an angel, while the messengers among angels rank higher than prophets and messengers among humans.Houtsma, M. Th. (1993). E.J. Brill's First Encyclopaedia of Islam, 1913–1936, Band 5. Brill. p. 191. ISBN 978-9-004-09791-9 p. 191 Ibn Arabi elaborates his ranking in {{transliteration|ar|al-Futuhat}} based on a report by Tirmidhi. Accordingly, Muhammad intercedes for the angels first, then for (other) prophets, saints, believers, animals, plants and inanimate objects last, this explaining the hierarchy of beings in general Muslim thought.Gallorini, Louise. The Symbolic Functions of Angels in the Qur'an and Sufi Literature. Diss. 2021. p. 304

In Sufism, angels do not appear as merely models for the mystic but also their companions. Humans, in a state between earth and heaven, seek angels as guidance to reach the upper realms. Some authors have suggested that some individual angels in the microcosmos represent specific human faculties on a macrocosmic level.John Renard Historical Dictionary of Sufism Rowman & Littlefield, 19 November 2015 {{ISBN|978-0-8108-7974-4}} p. 38 According to a common belief, if a Sufi can not find a sheikh to teach him, he will be taught by the angel Khidr.Michael Anthony Sells Early Islamic Mysticism (CWS) Paulist Press 1996 {{ISBN|978-0-809-13619-3}} page 39Noel Cobb Archetypal Imagination: Glimpses of the Gods in Life and Art SteinerBooks {{ISBN|978-0-940-26247-8}} page 194 The presence of an angel depends on human's obedience to divine law. Dirt, depraved morality and desecration may ward off an angel. A saint might be given the ability to see angels as gift (karāmāt) from God.Maddenin bu bölümü TDV İslâm Ansiklopedisi'nin 2022 yılında Ankara'da basılan 25. cildinde, 265-268 numaralı sayfalarda "KERÂMET" başlığıyla yer almıştır. Matbu nüshayı pdf dosyası olarak indirmek için tıklayınız. Bu bölüm en son 13.02.2019 tarihinde güncellenmiştir

Ahmad al-Tijani, founder of the Tijaniyyah order, narrates that angels are created through the words of humans. Through good words an angel of mercy is created, but through evil words an angel of punishment is created. By God's degree, if someone repents from evil words, the angel of punishment may turn into an angel of mercy.Wright, Zachary Valentine. "Realizing Islam, Sustainable History Monograph Pilot OA."

File:Miniatura_Maometto.jpg image of angel Gabriel visiting Muhammad]]

Muslim philosophers, such as al-Fārābī and Ibn Sīnā, drew from Aristotelianism and Neo-Platonism a hierarchy of causal effects. God created the divine Intellect known from Aristotelian cosmologyEfremova, Natalia V. "The Islamization of Aristotelism in the Metaphysics of Ibn Sina." RUDN Journal of Philosophy 24.1 (2020): 20Webb, Geoffrey. “Aristotle and the Angels: Convergence of Islam and Christianity.” Studies: An Irish Quarterly Review 79, no. 315 (1990): 293. http://www.jstor.org/stable/30091976. and the writings of Plotinus, identified with an angel (usually Gabriel). The archangel then influences other cosmic intellects who in turn influence the sublunary world.Stephen Burge. 2024. 'Angels (malāʾika)', St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Edited

by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. https://www.saet.ac.uk/Islam/Angels Accessed: 21 November

2024 p. 18Lizzini, Olga, "Ibn Sina's Metaphysics", The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Fall 2021 Edition), Edward N. Zalta (ed.), URL = Janssens, Jules. "Ibn Sīnā’s Ideas of Ultimate Realities. Neoplatonism and the Qur’ān As Problem-Solving Paradigms in the Avicennian System." Ultimate Reality and Meaning 10.4 (1987): 252-271. As such, the philosophers considered angels to be bodiless spirits.Stephen Burge. 2024. 'Angels (malāʾika)', St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Edited

by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. https://www.saet.ac.uk/Islam/Angels Accessed: 4 November

2024 p. 18

Muslim theologians (mutakallimun), for example al-SuyutiStephen Burge Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi akhbar al-mala'ik Routledge 2015 ISBN 978-1-136-50473-0 and al-Taftazani,Erdinç, Z. (2021). The Being and Essence of the Human Soul in al-Taftazanı's Thought. Nazariyat, 7(2). generally rejected the philosophical depiction of angels as immaterial beings, since angels are, according to ḥadīṯ, created from light ({{transliteration|ar|nūr}}). In response to the invisibility of angels, Taftazani argues that only God is immaterial and that angels evade perception due to their transparent bodies. Although Mutazilites and Asharites agree upon that everything in the world is bound to matter, including angels and demons, they disagree on the nature of their bodies: While for the Mutazilites angels were luminous, the Asharites maintained that their bodies are airy and could condence in order to interact with the physical world (i.e. becoming visible, fighting in battle, destroying a city, etc.)Stephen Burge. 2024. 'Angels (malāʾika)', St Andrews Encyclopaedia of Theology. Edited

by Brendan N. Wolfe et al. https://www.saet.ac.uk/Islam/Angels Accessed: 4 November

2024 p. 18

The influential Sunni Muslim author al-Ghazali ({{c.|1058}}–19 December 1111) reconciled the Islamic Neo-Platonist with traditional Sunni interpretations.Tamer, Georges. Islam and Rationality: The Impact of al-Ghazālī. Papers Collected on His 900th Anniversary. Vol. 1. Vol. 94. Brill, 2015. p. 103Kianifard, Nazanin. "Al-Ghazali's Compatibility with the Philosophers and the Influence of Sufism." Religious Inquiries 9.17 (2020): 59 He divides human nature into four domains, each representing another type of creature: animals, beasts, devils and angels.Zh. D. Dadebayev, M.T. Kozhakanova, I.K.Azimbayeva Human's Anthropological Appearance in Abai Kunanbayev's Works World Academy of Science, Engineering and Technology

Vol:6 2012-06-23 p. 1065Seyyed Hossein Nasr An Introduction to Islamic Cosmological Doctrines SUNY Press, 1 January 1993 {{ISBN|978-0-7914-1515-3}} p. 236Syrinx von Hees Enzyklopädie als Spiegel des Weltbildes: Qazwīnīs Wunder der Schöpfung: eine Naturkunde des 13. Jahrhunderts Otto Harrassowitz Verlag 2002 {{ISBN|978-3-447-04511-7}} page 268 {{in lang |de}} The spiritual components are related to the mental domain ({{transliteration|ar|malakut}}), the plane in which symbols take on form, angels and devils advise the human hearth ({{transliteration|ar|qalb}}).{{cite book |author1=Amira El-Zein |title=Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn |date=2009 |publisher=Syracuse University Press |pages=34–51 |jstor=j.ctt1j5d836 |quote=Wings It is known angels have wings.}} However, the angels also inhabit the realm beyond considered the realm from which reason ({{transliteration|ar|'aql}}) derives from and devils have no place.

While the angels endow human mind with reason, advices virtues and leads to worshipping God, the devil perverts the mind and tempts to abusing the spiritual nature by committing sins, such as lying, betrayal, and deceit. The angelic natures advices how to use the animalistic body properly, while the devil perverts it.Truglia, Craig. "AL-GHAZALI AND GIOVANNI PICO DELLA MIRANDOLA ON THE QUESTION OF HUMAN FREEDOM AND THE CHAIN OF BEING." Philosophy East and West, vol. 60, no. 2, 2010, pp. 143–166. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/40666556. Accessed 17 Aug. 2021. In this regard, the plane of a human is, unlike whose of the {{transliteration|ar|jinn}} (here: angels and devils) Teuma, E. (1984). More on Qur'anic jinn. Melita Theologica, 35(1-2), 37-45. and animals, not pre-determined. Humans are potentially both angels and devils, depending on whether the sensual soul or the rational soul develop.Amira El-Zein Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn Syracuse University Press 2009 {{ISBN|978-0-815-65070-6}} page 43Khaled El-Rouayheb, Sabine Schmidtke The Oxford Handbook of Islamic Philosophy Oxford University Press 2016 {{ISBN|978-0-199-91739-6}} page 186

File:Konya angel wall fragment.png

Despite its heterodoxy, Alevis believe in the Quran, the revelation by Muhammad, the afterlife, and angels, pretty much as Sunnis do.Topuz, Birol. "Three Concepts That Are Confused With Each Other In Academia: Alevism, Bektashism, and Shiism." Journal of Alevism-Bektashism Studies 27 (2023): 65. Like orthodox Muslims, Alevis believe that Muhammad undertook the heavenly journey guided by the angel Gabriel ({{langx|tr|Cebrâil}}), mentioned in the Quran (Surah 17), as evident from the miraçlama, a form of poetry (deyiş) remniscient of Anatolian folk songs.Suzuki, Manami. "< Special Feature “The Encounter with Religious Others through Music and Musician in the Islamic World”> The Transmission of Alevi Ritualistic Practices in Austria as the Religious Other's Society." イスラーム世界研究 16 (2023): 49. Alevis affirm the Quranic message that angels were ordered to bow down before Adam, and for that reason, believe that humans inherent a special status.Shindeldecker, John. Turkish Alevis Today. Sahkulu Sultan Külliyesi Vakfı, 1998. p. 4 Some Alevis believe that good and bad angels are merely symbols and do not believe in their literal existence.

Angels are also mentioned in Alevi-spiritual literature. The cosmology outlined in the Buyruks ascribes a central role to angels. Accordingly, when God created the angels, God tested them by asking who they are. Those angels who responded "You are the Creator and I am the created." were the good angels, while those who claimed independency by stating "You are you; I am I" were burned.Gezik, E. (2015). How Angel Gabriel Became Our Brother of the Hereafter (On the Question of Ismaili Influence on Alevism). British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 43(1), 64-65. https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2015.1060154 Whereby, the destroyed angels feature as an example of spiritual ignorance.Gezik, E. (2015). How Angel Gabriel Became Our Brother of the Hereafter (On the Question of Ismaili Influence on Alevism). British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, 43(1), 65. https://doi.org/10.1080/13530194.2015.1060154 Similar to the Quran, the story continues with that the angel Azâzîl, overcome by his ego, refuses to bow before the light, arguing that the light is a created thing and thus, cannot be the creator, and accordingly unworthy of prostration.DOĞAN, Eşref, and Hasan ÇELİK. "HÛ ERENLER! HÂYYʼDAN GELDİK HÛʼYA GİDERİZ: ALEVÎ-BEKTÂŞÎ DEYİMLERİNİN TÜRK EDEBİYATINA YANSIMALARI." p. 185 In contrast to Sunni tradition however, the light symbolizes Ali and Muhammad, not Adam. Besides Gabriel and Azazil, other angels, such as the Kiraman Katibin also appear in the text.EKİNCİ, Mustafa. "ALEVİUGIN TEMEL KAYNAKLARINDAN BIRI OLAN BUYRUK'UN İMAN VE İSLAM ESASLARI AÇlSINDAN DEGERLENDIRILMESI." p. 19

Islamic Modernist scholars such as Muhammad Asad and Ghulam Ahmed Parwez have suggested a metaphorical reinterpretation of the concept of angels.{{cite book|last1=Guessoum|title=Islam's Quantum Question: Reconciling Muslim Tradition and Modern Science|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zaL3AgAAQBAJ&q=angels&pg=PT165|isbn=978-0-85773-075-6|date=2010-10-30|publisher=I.B.Tauris}}

Orthodox forms of Islam, on the other hand, emphasizes a literal interpretation of angels, as recently affirmed by a fatwa from al-Azhar University.Kuehn, Sara, Stefan Leder, and Hans-Peter Pökel. "Introduction: Angels and Their Religious and Cosmological Contexts." The Intermediate Worlds of Angels. Ergon-Verlag, 2019. p. 16 Wahhabism and Salafism, also considers metaphorical interpretation as a form of unbelief or illicit innovation (bidʿah), brought by secularism and positivism, as stated by Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymin.{{cite book |author1=Muhammad ibn al-Uthaymin |editor1-last=Saleh al-Saleh |title=شرح اصل الايمان/Explaining the foundations of faith |date=1998 |publisher=Cooperative Office for Call & Islamic Guidance at Unaizah; King Fahd National Library Cataloging-in-Publication Data; Riyadh |isbn=9960-783-17-0 |pages=49–54 |url=https://archive.org/details/FP0523/mode/2up |access-date=19 November 2023 |chapter=The Belief in Angel}}

In contrast to traditional orthodox accounts, many Salafis, such as members of the Muslim Brotherhood Sayyid Qutb and Umar Sulaiman al-Ashqar, differ by also disregarding material previously well-accepted in Islamic tradition, such as the story of Harut and Marut (qiṣṣat Hārūt wa-Mārūt) or the name the Angel of Death (ʿAzrāʾīl).Stephen Burge Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi Akhbar al-malik Routledge 2015 {{ISBN|978-1-136-50473-0}} p. 13-14 Al-Ashqar not only rejects the traditional material itself, he furthermore disapproves of scholars who use them.

File:Muhammad and the Angel Gabriel by Abd al-Razzak.jpg

Islam has no standard hierarchical organization that parallels the division into different "choirs" or spheres hypothesized and drafted by early medieval Christian theologians, but generally distinguishes between the angels in heaven ({{transliteration|ar|karubiyin}}) fully absorbed in the ma'rifa (knowledge) of God and the messengers (rasūl) who carry out divine decrees between heaven and earth.Wensinck, A. J. (2013). The Muslim Creed: Its Genesis and Historical Development. Vereinigtes Königreich: Taylor & Francis. p. 200Imam Abu Hanifa's Al Fiqh Al Akbar Explained By أبو حنيفة النعمان بن ثابت Abu 'l Muntaha Ahmad Al Maghnisawi Abdur Rahman Ibn Yusuf" Others add a third group of angels, and categorize angels into İlliyyûn Mukarrebûn (those around God's throne), Mudabbirât (carrying the laws of nature), and Rasūl (messengers).Serdar, Murat. "Hıristiyanlık ve İslâm'da Meleklerin Varlık ve Kısımları." Bilimname 2009.2 (2009). p. 156 Since angels are not equal in status and are consequently delegated to different tasks to perform, some authors of tafsir (mufassirūn) divided angels into different categories.

Al-Baydawi records that Muslim scholars divide angels in at least two groups: those who are self-immersed in knowledge of "the Truth" (al-Haqq), based on "they laud night and day, they never wane" (21:20), they are the "highmost" and "angels brought near" and those who are the executors of commands, based on "they do not disobey Allah in what He commanded them but they do what they are commanded" (66:6), who are the administers of the command of heaven to earth.{{rp|p=509}}

Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1209) divided the angels into eight groups, which shows some resemblance to Christian angelology:Serdar, Murat. "Hıristiyanlık ve İslâm'da Meleklerin Varlık ve Kısımları." Bilimname 2009.2 (2009).

• Hamalat al-'Arsh, those who carry the {{transliteration|ar|'Arsh}} (Throne of God),{{Cite quran|40|7|s=ns}} comparable to the Christian Seraphim.
• Muqarrabun (Cherubim), who surround the throne of God, constantly praising God (tasbīḥ)
• Archangels, such as Jibrāʾīl, Mīkhāʾīl, Isrāfīl, and ʿAzrāʾīl
• Angels of Paradise, such as Riḍwān.
• Angels of Hell, Mālik and Zabānīya
• Guardian angels, who are assigned to individuals to protect them
• The angels who record the actions of people
• Angels entrusted with the affairs of the world, like the angel of thunder.

File:Siyer-i Nebi 298a.jpg, Michael, Israfil and Azrail. (Siyer-i Nebi, 16th century)]] Angels in Islamic art often appear in illustrated manuscripts of Muhammad's life. Other common depictions of angels in Islamic art include angels with Adam and Eve in the garden of Eden, angels discerning the saved from the damned on the Day of Judgement, and angels as a repeating motif in borders or textiles.{{Cite book|title=Images of Paradise in Islamic Art|last=Blair|first=Sheila|publisher=Hood Museum of Art|year=1991|location=Dartmouth College|page=36}} Islamic depictions of angels resemble winged Christian angels, although Islamic angels are typically shown with multicolored wings. Angels, such as the archangel Gabriel, are typically depicted as masculine, which is consistent with God's rejection of feminine depictions of angels in several verses of Quran.{{Cite book|title=The Holy Qur'an|last=Ali|first=Mualana Muhammad|pages=149–150}} Nevertheless, later depictions of angels in Islamic art are more feminine and androgynous.

The 13th century book Ajā'ib al-makhlūqāt wa gharā'ib al-mawjūdāt (The Wonders of Creation) by Zakariya al-Qazwini describes Islamic angelology, and is often illustrated with many images of angels. The angels are typically depicted with bright, vivid colors, giving them unusual liveliness and other-worldly translucence.{{Cite web|url=https://www.wdl.org/en/item/8961/|title=The Wonders of Creation|date=1750|website=www.wdl.org|access-date=2019-03-09}} While some angels are referred to as "Guardians of the Kingdom of God," others are associated with hell. An undated manuscript of The Wonders of Creation from the Bavarian State Library in Munich includes depictions of angels both alone and alongside humans and animals. Angels are also illustrated in Timurid and Ottoman manuscripts, such as The Timurid Book of the Prophet Muhammad's Ascension ({{transliteration|ar|Mir'ajnama}}) and the Siyer-i Nebi.Gruber, Christiane J. (2008). The Timurid "Book of Ascension" (Micrajnama): A Study of the Text and Image in a Pan-Asian Context. Patrimonia. p. 254

{{Commons category|Angels in Islam}}

• Angels in art
• Angels in Judaism
• List of theological angels
• List of theological demons
• Peri

{{Notelist}}

{{Reflist|group="Notes"}}

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{{reflist}}

{{Angels in Abrahamic Religions}}

{{Characters and Names in Quran}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Islamic View Of Angels}}

Angels