Encyclopedia of Islam

Further reading: Salma Khadra Jayyusi, ed., The Legacy 

of Muslim Spain. 2 vols. (Leiden: E.J. Brill, 1994); Maria 

Rosa Menocal, The Ornament of the World: How Mus-

lims, Jews, and Christians Created a Culture of Tolerance 

in Medieval Spain (Boston: Little Brown & Co., 2002); 

W. Montgomery Watt and Pierre Cachia, A History of 

Muslim Spain (Edinburgh: University of Edinburgh 

Press, 1965).

angel

An angel (from the Greek word for “messenger”) 

is a supernatural being that participates in the 

relations between God and human beings. Belief 

in angels usually occurs in monotheistic religions 

such as Judaism, Christianity and i

slam

, where 

there is a belief in only one god and there exists a 

clear separation between this god and the created 

world. Islamic belief in angels first appears early in 

the seventh century in the q

Uran

, and it is based 

on related beliefs held previously by Zoroastrians, 

Jews, and Christians in the Middle East. Indeed, 

according to the Quran and early Muslim theolo-

gians, belief in angels is one of the requirements of 

Faith

. Islamic understandings about angels have 

developed through the centuries and continue to 

be part of the spiritual outlook of many Muslims 

today, although skeptics deny their existence.

According Islamic tradition, angels submit 

to God’s commands and serve as his messengers 

and helpers. In heaven, they sing his praise, 

K  42  

angel

---

guard his throne, and visit the celestial k

aaba

, as 

Muslims visit the earthly one during the pilgrim-

age to m

ecca

. They will also greet people when 

they enter 

paradise

. According to the Quran, 

angels witnessed the creation of a

dam

, the first 

human. All but Iblis (s

atan

) bowed down to 

Adam in respect; God punished Iblis by cursing 

and expelling him from heaven. Sometimes, Iblis 

is regarded as one of the 

Jinn

, a separate class of 

supernatural beings, but he is also seen as a fallen 

angel whose role is to test people’s faithfulness to 

God’s commands. Some angels have special func-

tions. For example, g

abriel

 is widely regarded as 

the angel of revelation, Izrail is the angel of death, 

Malik is the guardian of hell, and Israfil is the 

one who will blow the trumpet on J

Udgment

 d

ay

.

Other angels are responsible for recording people’s 

good and bad deeds, while the angels Mlunkar 

and Nakir are assigned to conduct interrogations 

of the dead in their tombs, thus preparing them 

for their future rewards or punishments in heaven 

or hell.

Angels are said to be awesome beings made of 

dazzling light and to have wings, unlike humans, 

who are made of clay, and the jinn, who are made 

of fire. But according to some accounts, angels 

may also appear in human form, as beautiful men 

and women. Islamic tradition holds that Muham-

mad encountered Gabriel many times in his adult 

life: Gabriel transmitted the Quran to him, and 

he served as his escort through the heavens dur-

ing the n

ight

 J

oUrney

 

and

 a

scent

. According to 

some versions of this story, Muhammad also led 

the angels in prayer at the a

qsa

 m

osqUe

 in J

erU

-

salem

. Shia Muslims share many of these beliefs 

with the Sunnis, but they also claim that their 

Imams have special knowledge that angels have 

given to them and no one else and that the angels 

protect them from harm. In s

UFism

 and Islamic 

philosophy, angels were associated with the stars 

and planets and ranked according to their place in 

the seven spheres of heaven. Some mystics even 

thought that humans could perfect their souls 

enough to become angels themselves.