Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn ؒ (d. 1421 AH / 2001 CE) explains:
Angels are beings of the unseen. They are created by Allah and they worship Him. They have no attributes that qualify them to be gods or lords. Allah created them from light, and He bestowed on them the bounty of obeying Him at all times. He gave them the power to carry and implement His orders,
وَمَنْ عِندَهُ لَا يَسْتَكْبِرُونَ عَنْ عِبَادَتِهِ وَلَا يَسْتَحْسِرُونَ يُسَبِّحُونَ اللَّيْلَ وَالنَّهَارَ لَا يَفْتُرُونَ
“And those who are near Him [the angels] are not too proud to worship Him, nor are they weary [of His worship]. They glorify His praises night and day, [and] they never slacken [to do so].”
[Q 21:19–20] (excerpt).
They are so numerous that only Allah can count their numbers. Anas ibn Mālik said, while narrating the story of the Prophet’s ascension to heaven, that al-Bayt Al-Maʿmūr (the house in heaven that is always inhabited. It is, for the inhabitants of heaven, like the Kaʿbah for the people of earth) was raised for the Prophet in heaven so that he could see it. Each day, seventy thousand angels pray in this house, and when they exit from it, they will never get back into it (this shows how numerous the angels are). [al-Bukhārī and Muslim]
Belief in the Angels
Belief in the angels has four parts:
1. Belief in their existence.
2. Belief in their names. Belief in what we were told of their names, such as Jibrīl, and also belief in other angels whose names we were not informed of.
3. Belief in their attributes. Belief in what we were told of their attributes. The example to this is the description of Jibrīl. The Prophet told us that he saw Jibrīl in the shape that Allah created him, having six hundred wings and covering the horizon. The angels may change their shapes, by the order of Allah. They may take the shape of men. Allah sent Jibrīl to Maryam (Mary) and he came to her in the shape of a man. He was also sent to Prophet Muḥammad , while he was sitting down with his companions, in the shape of a man, wearing very white clothes with very dark hair, a stranger to the companions, yet no evidence of travelling was apparent on him. He sat next to the Prophet and laid his knees next to the Prophet’s knees and put his hands on the Prophet’s thighs. He asked the Prophet about Islam, Imān, Iḥsān (excellence in the religion) and the last hour and its signs. The Prophet answered him. Then, Jibrīl left. The Prophet said to his companions,
هَذَا جِبْرِيلُ؛ أَتَاكُمْ يُعَلِّمُكُمْ دِينَكُمْ
“This was Jibrīl; he came to teach you your religion.” (Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, hadith 8)
Also, Allah sent the angels to Ibrāhīm (Abraham) and Lūṭ in the shape of men.
4. Belief in their tasks. Belief in the tasks that they perform, by the Order of Allah. They praise Allah and worship Him at all times without the slightest boredom or fatigue. Some angels may have special tasks to fulfil, a few have been mentioned below; Jibrīl is the honourable angel, whom Allah sends down with revelation to the Prophets and Messengers. Mīkāʾīl is the angel who is controlling rain and vegetation by the order of Allah. Isrāfīl is the angel who must blow in the Horn when the Hour (Last Day) has started and when it is time to resurrect the dead. Mālik is the angel entrusted with Hell, its keeper. The Angel of death captures the souls at death. There are angels who supervise foetuses in the wombs. When a foetus is four months old, Allah sends down an angel and orders him to record the foetus’s sustenance, lifespan, deeds and if miserable (destined to Hell) or happy (destined to Paradise). There are angels who record the deeds of mankind. They have a record of everyone’s deeds. There are two angels for each person, one to the right and the other to the left. There are other angels who question the dead when they are in their graves. Two angels come to all dead persons and ask each one of them about the Lord he worshipped, the religion he followed and the Messenger he obeyed.
Benefits of Believing in the Angels
1. Knowing Allah’s Might, Strength and Power. All the strength of creation is a sign of the Strength of the Creator.
2. Thanking Allah because He takes care of mankind. He appointed angels to protect them, record their deeds and other beneficial tasks.
3. Loving the angels because they are true worshippers of Allah.
Some misguided people reject that the angels exist in a physical form. They claim that the angels are the potential for good that creation possesses. This is a direct rejection of the Book of Allah , the sunnah of His Messenger and the ijmāʿ (consensus) of Muslims. Allah said, in meaning;
الْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ السَّمَاوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا أُولِي أَجْنِحَةٍ مَّثْنَىٰ وَثُلَاثَ وَرُبَاعَ
“All the praises and thanks be to Allah, the (Only) Originator of the heavens and the earth, Who made the Angels messengers with wings, two or three or four.” [Q 35:1] (excerpt)
And;
وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذْ يَتَوَفَّى الَّذِينَ كَفَرُوا ۙ الْمَلَائِكَةُ يَضْرِبُونَ وُجُوهَهُمْ وَأَدْبَارَهُمْ
“And if you could see when the angels take away the souls of those who disbelieve (at death), they smite their faces and their backs.” [Q 8:50] (excerpt),
Allah said;
وَلَوْ تَرَىٰ إِذِ الظَّالِمُونَ فِي غَمَرَاتِ الْمَوْتِ وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ بَاسِطُو أَيْدِيهِمْ أَخْرِجُوا أَنفُسَكُمُ
“And if you could but see when the unjust (disbelievers) are in the agonies of death, while the angels are stretching forth their hands (saying): ‘Deliver your souls.’” [Q 6:93] (excerpt),
And;
حَتَّىٰ إِذَا فُزِّعَ عَن قُلُوبِهِمْ قَالُوا مَاذَا قَالَ رَبُّكُمْ قَالُوا الْحَقَّ وَهُوَ الْعَلِيُّ الْكَبِيرُ
“Until when fear is banished from their (the angels’) hearts, they (the angels) say: ‘What has your Lord said?’ They say: ‘The truth.’ And He is the Most High, the Most Great.” [Q 34:23] (excerpt)
And He said;
وَالْمَلَائِكَةُ يَدْخُلُونَ عَلَيْهِم مِّن كُلِّ بَابٍ سَلَامٌ عَلَيْكُم بِمَا صَبَرْتُمْ ۚ فَنِعْمَ عُقْبَى الدَّارِ
“And angels shall enter unto them from every gate (saying): ‘Peace be upon you for that you persevered in patience! Excellent indeed is the final Home (Paradise).’” [Q 13:23–24] (excerpt).
The Messenger of Allah said:
إِذَا أَحَبَّ اللَّهُ الْعَبْدَ نَادَى جِبْرِيلَ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ فُلاَنًا فَأَحْبِبْهُ فَيُحِبُّهُ جِبْرِيلُ فَيُنَادِي جِبْرِيلُ فِي أَهْلِ السَّمَاءِ إِنَّ اللَّهَ يُحِبُّ فُلاَنًا فَأَحِبُّوهُ فَيُحِبُّهُ أَهْلُ السَّمَاءِ ثُمَّ يُوضَعُ لَهُ الْقَبُولُ فِي الأَرْضِ
“When Allah loves a servant, He calls Jibrīl, saying, ‘Allah loves so-and-so, so love him.’ Then Jibrīl loves him and calls to the inhabitants of heaven, ‘Allah loves so-and-so, so love him.’ The inhabitants of heaven then love him, and acceptance is granted to him on earth.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, hadith 3209.)
He also said:
إِذَا كَانَ يَوْمُ الْجُمُعَةِ كَانَ عَلَى كُلِّ بَابٍ مِنْ أَبْوَابِ الْمَسْجِدِ الْمَلاَئِكَةُ يَكْتُبُونَ الأَوَّلَ فَالأَوَّلَ فَإِذَا جَلَسَ الإِمَامُ طَوَوُا الصُّحُفَ وَجَاءُوا يَسْتَمِعُونَ الذِّكْرَ
“When Friday comes, angels stand at each door of the mosque, recording arrivals in order. When the imām sits, they close their scrolls and come to listen to the remembrance.” (Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, hadith 3211.)
The above texts are clear in their meaning that the angels have physical forms and are not a state of the mind, as the misguided claim. The true meaning of these texts, which states that the angels exist in a physical form, is accepted by the entire Islamic community.
References
The Qurʾān: 6:93; 8:50; 13:23–24; 21:19–20; 34:23; 35:1. Excerpts are labelled.
Muḥammad ibn Ismāʿīl al-Bukhārī ؒ (d. 256 AH / 870 CE), Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, hadith 3209 and 3211, both from Abū Hurayrah.
Muḥammad ibn Ṣāliḥ al-ʿUthaymīn, Nubdhah fī al-ʿAqīdah al-Islāmiyyah (Sharḥ Uṣūl al-Īmān), Arabic text published by Risālat al-Ḥaramayn, section on angels. Dār al-Waṭan, Riyadh, 1410 AH, p. 27.
Muslim ibn al-Ḥajjāj ؒ (d. 261 AH / 875 CE), Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, hadith 8, Jibrīl’s visit..
