The four main angels

The four main angels 

Jibril, the revealer 

• Jibril guided muhammed s.a.w through the various levels until they reached the throne of God in mi'raj.

• Mikal purified Muhammad's heart in preparation for the Prophet's ascension to heaven (mi'raj),

• Mika'il, in Islam, the archangel who was so shocked at the sight of hell when it was created that he never laughed again.

• He resides in the seventh heaven

• Angel of death who separates souls from their bodies

• 'Izra'il is of cosmic size: with his 4,000 wings and a body formed by as many eyes and tongues as there are living human beings, he stands with one foot in the fourth (or seventh) heaven, the other on the razor-sharp bridge that divides paradise and hell.

• Before the creation of man, 'Izra'il proved to be the only angel brave enough to go down to Earth and face the hordes of Iblis, the devil, in order to bring God the materials needed to make man. For this service he was made the angel of death and given a register of all mankind.

• he does not know when anyone will die until the tree beneath God's throne drops a leaf bearing the man's name. He must then separate the body and soul after 40 days.

• Man has several means for forestalling death. By reciting a dhikr (ritual prayer), he prevents the angel of death from entering the throat to take his spirit. When he is distributing sadaqah (alms), the angel cannot take him by the hand.



• In Islam, the archangel who will blow the trumpet from a holy rock in Jerusalem to announce the Day of Resurrection (Qiamah or Qiamat).

• The trumpet is constantly poised at his lips, ready to be blown when God so orders.


Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has stated,



Hazrat Jaabir bin Abdullah (radi Allahu anhu) narrates another Hadith in which Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) is reported to have stated,



A commentary of a similar Hadith is to be found in the book, "Umdatul Qaari Sharah Sahihul Bukhaari", carrying an interesting observation of Hazrat Ali (radi Allahu anhu) wherein he mentions,



Hazrat Abu Sa'eed (radi Allahu anhu) narrates the following Hadith of Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) in which he has stated,


Imam ibn Hajr Ali bin Urtahtah reports a Hadith that has been narrated by several Sahaba, in which Sayyiduna Rasoolullah (sallal laahu alaihi wasallam) has stated,


Imam Qurtabi (radi Allahu anhu), in his book, "Tazkirah", narrates on the authority of great Scholars who maintain that,
Mikal, the provider 

'Izra'il, the angel of death 

Israfil, (the angel of the Last Judgment) 

• "Angels are created from light. The Jinns, from fire containing smoke, and Adam (alaihis salaam) from that already told to you (viz. black, white and red sand)." (Imam Ahmed bin Hanbal; Muslim)
• "O Jaabir, most certainly Almighty Allah created the Noor (Light) of your Nabi before anything else. Then, when He decided to create the world, He divided the Noor of your Nabi into four portions. From the first portion, He created the Pen (Qalam) of Destiny, from the second, the Divine Tablet (Lawh-e-Mahfooz), from the third, the Divine Throne. The fourth portion was further sub-divided into another four portions. From the first portion, He created those Angels who are the bearers of the Divine Throne, from the second, the Divine Chair, and from the third, the rest of the Angels."
• "There is an Angel named Rooh, who has seventy thousand heads, each head has seventy thousand faces, each face contains seventy mouths, each mouth is made up of seventy thousand tongues and each tongue is blessed with seventy thousand languages. By means of these languages, this Angel is constantly reciting the Tasbeeh of Almighty Allah. From each Tasbeeh, one Angel is being created. This Angel soars into the Heavens with rest of the Angels until the Day of Judgement."
• "Verily, there is a river in Heaven, in which whenever Hazrat Jibraeel (alaihis salaam) submerges his wings and shakes it, small droplets of water drip from it. From each droplet, an Angel is created."
• "There are some Angels of Almighty Allah whose every limb trembles from the constant Fear of Allah. Whichever of these Angels sheds a tear, it is immediately transformed into an Angel before that tear can even reach the ground."
• "Whosoever recites Surah Baqarah and Surah Ale Imraan, Almighty Allah will create Angels from his recitation and these Angels will intercede on behalf of the reciter on the Day of Judgement."