4. THE ANGEL OF DEATH AND HIS HELPERS
The Angel of Death and His Helpers
THE ANGEL OF DEATH
Allah gave some of the angels the job of taking the lives of people. The chief of these angels is known as the Angel of Death. Allah (swt) says about him:
«Tell them (O Muhammad), “The Angel of Death, who is assigned to you, will take away your lives. Then you will be brought before your Lord.”» (As-Sajdah 32:11.)
Some people call the Angel of Death “Izra’il”. As we indicated earlier(In Chapter 1.), it is wrong to use this name because it is not mentioned in the Quran or Sunnah.
THE ANGEL OF DEATH WITH MUSA
In the early times, the Angel of Death sometimes came to humans in the form of a man. This happened to the noble prophet Musa (pbuh). When the angel came to take away his life, Musa did not recognize him at first. When he told him, “Get ready to die,” Musa thought that he was an evil person trying to harm him, so he punched him in the eye. Abu Hurayrah reported that the Prophet (pbuh) said:
<The Angel of Death used to come to (some) people in a visible way (i.e., in the form of a man). So, he came to Musa and said to him, “Come to your Lord.” On hearing this, Musa punched him and knocked out his eye.>
<The angel went back to Allah and said, “My Lord, You sent me to a person who does not wish to die. Indeed, he has knocked out my eye. If he did not have a noble position with You, I would have dealt with him harshly.”>
<So Allah restored his eye and said, “Go back to my servant and ask him if he wishes to live longer. If he does, then tell him to put his hand on the back of a bull. For every hair that his hand touches, he will have a year to live.”>
<When the angel told Musa this, Musa asked Allah (swt), “What after that long life, my Lord?” Allah revealed to Musa, “After that, you will die.” Musa said, “Then, let it be now. And my Lord, let me die a stone’s throw away from the Holy Land(This means Jerusalem.). So with one sniff, the Angel of Death took Musa’s soul. After this incident, the Angel of Death always came to people in an invisible form.>
The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) then added:
<If I was near that place, I would have shown you his grave by the road at the
foot of the red mountain.> (This hadith was recorded by al-Bukhari (3407), Muslim
(2372), Ahmad, and others (see as-Sahihah 3279).)
THE HELPERS OF THE ANGEL OF DEATH
There are other angels who accompany the Angel of Death when he takes the souls from the bodies. They come with him when a person is close to death. Allah (swt) says about them:
«When death comes to one of you, Our messengers (the angels) take his soul, and they never neglect their duty.» (Al-An‘am 6:61.)
There are many hadiths about the Angel of Death and his helpers. For example, the Prophet (pbuh) said:
<The angels took the soul of a man from the previous nations. They asked him, “Have you done any good deeds? He said, “No, except that I used to lend money to people, and I was easy in demanding repayment from the wealthy, and I pardoned the poor, hoping that Allah (swt) would pardon me.” Allah then said, “I have more right to pardon than you.” And He commanded the angels, “Pardon my servant.”> (This was recorded by al-Bukhari (2077) and Muslim (1560) from Huthayfah and Abu Hurayrah.)
There are two types of these angels of death: the angels of mercy and the angels of punishment. They are both mentioned by the Prophet (pbuh) in the following story:
<A man from the people who lived before you killed ninety-nine persons. He wanted to repent, so he asked who was the most learned person on earth. He was directed to a monk. He went to him and told him that he had killed ninety-nine persons, and asked if he may repent. The monk said, “No!” The man killed him, making this his hundredth murder.>
<Still wishing to repent, the man again asked who was the most learned person on earth. He was directed to a ‘alim (scholar). He went to him and told him that he had
killed one hundred persons, and asked if he may repent. The ‘alim answered, “Certainly! Who can prevent you from repenting? Go to such-and-such town. You will find people who worship Allah, so worship Him with them, and do not return to your land because it is an evil land.”>
<Following the ‘alim’s advice, the man started in the direction of the good town. When he was near the middle of the way, he suddenly died.
The angels of mercy and the angels of punishment disputed over him. The angels of mercy said, “He came repenting, his heart turning’ to Allah The angels of punishment said, “But he never did a good deed.”>
<Allah then sent an angel in the form of a man to resolve the dispute. He said, “Measure his distance to each of the two lands, and consider that he belonged to the land nearer to him.”
They did this and found him just a little nearer to the good land. So, the angels of mercy took his soul.> (This was recorded by al-Bukhari (3470), Muslim (2766), and
others from Abii Sa‘id al-Khudri.)
THE ANGELS OF MERCY
The angels of mercy come to the believers at the time of death in a kind manner. They remove their souls kindly and tell them of their great rewards in Jannah. Allah (swt) says:
«Surely, those who say, “Our Lord is Allah Alone,” and do good, the angels descend to them (at the time of death) saying, “Do not be afraid or sad. We bring you the good news of the Jannah that you have been promised. We have been your friends in the life of this world, and will be so in the hereafter.”» (Fussilat 41:30-31.)
THE ANGELS OF PUNISHMENT
The angels of punishment come to the disbelievers at the time of death in a cruel and horrible manner. They tear out their souls and beat them hard. Allah (swt) says:
«Then how will it be when the angels will take their souls at death, beating their faces and backs?» (Muhammad 47:27.)
Malik and the Guards of Hell
The guards of hell keep it hot and burning for the evil people. Their leader is called Malik. Allah (swt) says:
«Then let him (Abu Jahl) call upon his helpers: We will call the guards of hell (to deal with him).» (Al-‘Alaq 96:17-18.)
Malik has no mercy or kindness toward the kuffar. Allah (swt) says:
«And they (the people of the Fire) will cry, “O Malik! Let your Lord make an end of us.” He will say, “You will stay! Indeed, We have brought the truth to you, but most of you (people) have a hatred for the truth.’» (Az-Zukhruf 63:77-78.)
Munkar and Nakir
Munkar and Nakir are two angels whose job is to question the people in their grave. They ask them about their Lord, their religion, and about the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh). The believers give right answers to these questions, which result in a restful
stay in the grave. The disbelievers give wrong answers, which result in their punishment in the grave. (This is detailed in the Author’s book, Life in al-Barzakh.) The Prophet (pbuh) said:
<When a dead person is buried, two black-blue angels come to him. One of them is called Munkar, and the other Nakir.> (This was recorded by at-Tirmidhi from Abu Hurayrah. It was verified to be hasan (good) by al-Albani (Sahih-ul-Jami‘ 724 and as-Sahihah 1391).)
Harut and Marut
Harut and Marut are two angels that Allah (swt) mentions in the Qur’an.(Al-Baqarah 2:102.) He sent them to an old city called Babylon where the devils taught its people magic. The two angels showed the people a more powerful magic, but warned them, “If you insist on learning this from us, you should know that we have only been sent to try you with this knowledge. Magic often leads to disbelief in Allah and to evil.”
The devils and the evil people learned from these two angels magic that enabled them to break-up families and caused great harm on earth. By that, they deserved Allah’s anger and punishment.
Conclusion
Correct belief in the angels helps us know these sublime and righteous beings. It also teaches us what we should do to deserve their love, help, and support.
With this belief, we also understand that those who obey Allah (swt) are many more than those who do not. They include the angels and multitudes of other created things. The disobedient humans are indeed very few compared to them.
Indeed, Allah (swt) only loves the obedient, and will surely admit them into His Jannah. May He make us of them, amin.
By Muhammad Al-Jibaly
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