When you think of an angel do you imagine someone clad in flowing white robes, with white wings and a halo over his or her head? Or have you watched movies or read books where angels are portrayed as the spirits of dead people who went to Heaven?

Or do you think of naked little cherubs that are also depicted as angels? Or have you fallen prey to the Hollywood version of angels as ordinary people with magical, mystical powers?

What does Islam say about Angels?

The Arabic word for angels is Malaaikah. Angels are made out of light. They are neither male nor female and they are not the children of Allah. Unlike humans, angels do not have a free will and independent desires and they never disobey Allah. They can appear in human form, but rarely do so.

So What Do Angels Do?

Innumerable angels fill the Universe and they perform many different duties, some related to this world and others to the Next.

Allah has created a special group of angels to record our deeds (and the deeds of all of humanity). These angels are called Kiraman and Katibeen or The Noble Writers. They record each and every one of our deeds each and every moment of the day.

There are other angels who are in charge of nature, the winds, the oceans, etc.

Other angels have duties that are related to the afterlife. There are angels who question the soul of a dead person to determine if he is a Muslim or a disbeliever. These two angels are called Munkir & Nakir.

Then there is the very feared Angel of Death, who is called Malikul Mawt in Arabic. He appears in a pleasant form and gently removes the soul of believers, but appears in a terrifying form to rip out the souls of unbelievers.

Nineteen angels guard over the Fire Of Hell. The chief of these angels is called Malik. It is the duty of these angels to prevent people from escaping from the punishment of Hell.

"The unbelievers will be lead to Hell-fire in crowds. When they arrive there, its gates will be opened and the keepers will say 'Didn't Messengers come to you from among your own kind, explaining to you the signs of your Lord and warning you of the meeting on this Day of yours?' The (the keepers will) answer their own question thus, 'It is true. The order of punishment has been proven against the Unbelievers.' Then (the unbelievers will be told,) 'Enter the gates of Hell and dwell inside. Terrible is the home of the arrogant!"
Surah 39 Verses 71-72

The most famous and important of all the angels is Jibrail (Gabriel) He is the angel who brought down revelation to the Prophets.

Israfeel is an angel whose only purpose is to blow the trumpet that will herald the end of the world and the coming of The Day Of Judgement.

Angels are also sent to guide and protect humanity especially children and old people.


I have just given a brief overview of angels and their duties in this article. In future articles I will be covering other aspects of the fundamental beliefs of Islam. If you want to know when I add new articles don't forget to sign up for the More About Islam newsletter.