Angels in Islam

Angel in a Persian miniature, in the style of Bukhara, 16th century.

In Islam, angels (Arabic: ملاك٬ ملك‎, romanized: malāk; plural: ملائِكة‎, malāʾik/malāʾikah or Persian: فرشته, romanized: ferešte) are believed to be heavenly beings, created from a luminous origin by God.[1][2][3][4] The Quran is the principal source for the Islamic concept of angels,[5] but more extensive features of angels appear in hadith literature, Mi'raj literature, Islamic exegesis, theology, philosophy, and mysticism.[3][4][6]

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Generally, belief in angels is one of the core tenets within Islam, as it is one of the six articles of faith.[7][8] Angels are more prominent in Islam compared to Judeo-Christian tradition.[9] The angels differ from other spiritual creatures in their attitude as creatures of virtue, in contrast to evil devils (Arabic: شَيَاطِين, romanized: šayāṭīn or Persian: دیو, romanized: dīv) and ambiguous jinn (Arabic: جِنّ or Persian: پَری, romanized: parī).[10][3][11][12] Despite being considered to be virtuous beings, angels are not necessarily bringers of good news, as per Islamic tradition, angels can perform grim and violent tasks.[13]

Angels are conceptualized as servants of God. As such, they are said to lack passion and bodily desires. If angels can nevertheless fail, is debated in Islam. Contemporary Salafis usually hold the opinion that angels are always obedient and never fail to perform their tasks. In contrast, schools of theology (Kalām) often accept the fallibility of angels. Māturīdites say that the heavenly creatures are tested, and angels may fail such a test, whereupon they are dismissed from their duties. Some Ashʿarite likewise argue that angels can fail. In contrast, most Mu'tazilites, including some Asharis such as al-Razi, consider angels to be infallible. Though some Muslim scholars may accept a certain degree of angelic fallibility, these angels do not rebel on their own part against God but fail to complete their task properly.

In Sufism, angels are related to the nature of reason ('aql). According to Sufi cosmology, they connect the higher realms of the intellect with the lower world of matter. Thus, the human mind is conceptualized to form a connection with the heavenly spheres (malakūt) through such heavenly entities associated with (nūr). In contrast, the devils attempt to disturb the connection by diverging the mind to the lower spheres, thus associated with fire (nār).

  1. ^ Webb, Gisela (2006). "Angel". In McAuliffe, Jane Dammen (ed.). Encyclopaedia of the Qurʾān. Vol. I. Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1875-3922_q3_EQCOM_00010. ISBN 90-04-14743-8.
  2. ^ MacDonald, D.B. and Madelung, W., "Malāʾika", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Online, retrieved 4 January 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_islam_COM_0642> Erste Online-Publikation: 2012 Erste Druckedition: ISBN 9789004161214, 1960-2007
  3. ^ a b c Reynolds, Gabriel S. (2009). "Angels". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett K. (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE. Vol. 3. Leiden: Brill Publishers. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23204. ISBN 978-90-04-18130-4. ISSN 1873-9830.
  4. ^ a b Kassim, Husain (2007). Beentjes, Pancratius C.; Liesen, Jan (eds.). "Nothing can be Known or Done without the Involvement of Angels: Angels and Angelology in Islam and Islamic Literature". Deuterocanonical and Cognate Literature Yearbook. 2007 (2007). Berlin: De Gruyter: 645–662. doi:10.1515/9783110192957.6.645. ISSN 1614-337X. S2CID 201096692.
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference burge angels1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  6. ^ Stephen Burge Angels in Islam: Jalal al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik fi akhbar al-mala'ik Routledge 2015 ISBN 978-1-136-50473-0 p. 22-23
  7. ^ Cite error: The named reference Uthaymeen; Syarh Usl Iman was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  8. ^ "BBC – Religions – Islam: Basic articles of faith". Archived from the original on 13 August 2018. Retrieved 2018-08-13.
  9. ^ Kiel, Micah D. The Catholic Biblical Quarterly, vol. 71, no. 1, 2009, pp. 215–18. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/43726529. Accessed 21 February 2023.
  10. ^ (Mahmoud Omidsalar) Originally Published: December 15, 2000 Last Updated: February 7, 2012 This article is available in print. Vol. X, Fasc. 4, pp. 418-422
  11. ^ el-Zein, Amira (2009). "Correspondences Between Jinn and Humans". Islam, Arabs, and Intelligent World of the Jinn. Contemporary Issues in the Middle East. Syracuse, New York: Syracuse University Press. p. 20. ISBN 978-0-8156-5070-6. JSTOR j.ctt1j5d836.5. LCCN 2009026745. OCLC 785782984.
  12. ^ Reynolds, Gabriel Said, "Angels", in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, THREE, Edited by: Kate Fleet, Gudrun Krämer, Denis Matringe, John Nawas, Devin J. Stewart. Consulted online on 02 January 2024 <http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_23204> First published online: 2009 First print edition: 9789004181304, 2009, 2009-3
  13. ^ Yazaki, Saeko. "Classes of Beings in Sufism." Sufi Cosmology. Brill, 2022. 68-88.