Are the names of the four great angels (archangels) mentioned in the Quran and hadiths?

The Details of the Question

Are the names of the four great angels (archangels) mentioned in the Quran and hadiths?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

HADITHS ABOUT FOUR ARCHANGELS:

HZ. JIBRIL (GABRIEL)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"If Allah loves a person, He calls Gabriel and says to him, 'Allah loves so and so, O Gabriel love him.' So, Gabriel loves him and then will make an announcement in the Heavens: 'Allah loves so and-so therefore you love him too.' So all the dwellers of the Heavens start to love him, and then he is granted the consent of the people on the earth."

The following addition exists in the hadith reported in Muslim:

"And when Allah is angry with any servant, He calls Gabriel and says: ‘I am angry with such and such and you also become angry with him,’ and then Gabriel also becomes angry. Then, he makes an announcement amongst the inhabitants of heaven: ‘Verily Allah is angry with so-and so, so you also become angry with him; thus, they also become angry with him’. Then he becomes the object of wrath on the earth." [Bukhari, Tawhid 33, Adab 41; Muslim, Birr 157; Muwatta, Shi'r 15; Tirmidhi, Tafsir, Maryam (3160)]

The Messenger of Allah said,

"When Allah created Paradise, He sent Jibril to Paradise, saying: 'Look at it.' He went there and said, 'Indeed, by your Might, anyone that shall hear of it shall enter it.' Allah surrounded Paradise with hardships. He said to Jibril, 'Go and look at it again.’ He went there and said, 'Indeed, by your Might, I fear that none shall enter it.'

When Allah created Hell, He sent Jibril to Paradise, saying: 'Look at it.'" He went there and said, 'Indeed, by your Might, I fear that none shall enter it.' Allah surrounded Hell with desires. He said to Jibril, 'Go and look at it again.’ He went there and said, 'Indeed, by your Might, I fear that everybody shall hear of it and then enter it.'" [Abu Dawud, Sunnah 25, (4744); Tirmidhi, Jannah 21, (2563); Nasai, Ayman 3, (7, 3)]

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) read the following verse, which is Hz. Ibrahim's prayer:

"O my Lord! They have indeed led astray many among mankind; He then who follows my (ways) is of me, and he that disobeys me,- but Thou art indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful." (Ibrahim, 14/36)

Then, he read the following verse, which is Hz. Isa's prayer:

"If Thou dost punish them, they are Thy servant: If Thou dost forgive them, Thou art the Exalted in power, the Wise." (al-Maida, 5/118)

Then, he raised his hands and prayed to Allah as follows:

"O Allah! Forgive my ummah! Forgive my ummah!" and wept. Allah said to Gabriel,

Go to Muhammad” (though He knows it fully well) “and ask him what makes him weep.” So, Gabriel came to him and asked him why he wept. Gabriel told Allah what he had said (though Allah knew it fully well). Upon this, Allah said, ‘O Gabriel! Go to Muhammad and say: Verily We will please you with regard to your ummah and will not displease you."(Muslim, Iman 346)

"Move not thy tongue concerning the (Quran) to make haste therewith." (al-Qiıyamah, 75/16)

Ibn Abbas made the following explanation regarding the verse above:

"When the Prophet (pbuh) received revelation, he felt great hardship. He would move his lips because of it. After the verse above was revealed, the Prophet (pbuh) would keep quiet (and listen) whenever Jibril came. And when Jibril left, he would recite that revelation as Jibril recited it."[Bukhari, Tafsir, Qiyamah 1, 2, Bad'ul-Wahy 4, Fadailul-Quran 28, Tawhid 43; Muslim, Salat 147, (448); Tirmidhi, Tafsir, Qiyamah, (3326); Nasai, Salat 37, (2, 149, 159)]

"Gabriel continued to recommend me about treating the neighbors kindly and politely so much so that I thought he would render neighbors inheritors." [Bukhari, Adab 28; Muslim, Birr 140, (2624); Abu Dawud, Adab 132, (5151); Tirmidhi, Birr 28, (1943)]

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) asked Hz. Jibril,

"What prevents you from visiting us more often than you visit us now?" The following verse was sent down:

"We descend not but by command of thy Lord: to Him belongeth what is before us and what is behind us, and what is between: and thy Lord never doth forget" (Maryam, 19/64). [Bukhari, Tafsir, Maryam 2, Bad’ul-Khalq 6, Tawhid 28; Tirmidhi, Tafsir, Maryam, (3157)]

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) stated the following on the day of Badr:

"This is Gabriel holding the head of his horse and equipped with arms for the battle." (Bukhari, Maghazi 11)

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said to me, "O Aisha! Here is Jibril! He greets you." I said, "Wa aleyhissalamu wa rahmatullahi wa barakatuhu!" The Messenger of Allah would see what I did not see. " [Bukhari, Fadailul-Ashab 30, Bad'ul-Khalq 6, Adab 11, Isti'dhan 16, 19; Muslim, Fadailus-Sahaba 91, (2447); Abu Dawud, Adab 166, (5232); Tirmidhi, Manaqib, (3876); Nasai, Ishratun-Nisa 3, (7, 69)]

While the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) was leading his Companions in prayer, he took off his sandals suddenly and laid them on his left side. When the congregation saw this, they removed their sandals. When the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) finished the prayer, he asked,

What made you remove your sandals?” They replied:

We saw you remove your sandals; so, we removed our sandals.

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said.

Gabriel came to me and informed me that there was filth on them. When any of you comes to the mosque, he should look at his sandals; if he finds filth on them, he should wipe it off and pray in them.[Abu Dawud, Salat 89, (660)]

"On the Night of Miraj, I passed by people who had nails of copper and were scratching their faces and their breasts. I asked, ‘O Gabriel! Who are these people?’ He replied, ‘They are those who were given to backbiting and who aspersed people's honor.’” [Abu Dawud, Adab 40, (4878, 4879)]

Hz. Ibrahim proceeded with Hz. Ismail and his mother, who was breastfeeding him. (...) She heard that voice again. Thereupon, she said, “You made your voice heard. Do not delay if you want to help.” An angel became manifest next to Zamzam. It was Gabriel. He asked the woman, "Who are you?” The woman said, "I am Hagar, mother of Ibrahim's son." Gabriel asked, "To whom did Ibrahim entrust you?" She said, "To Allah." He said, "He entrusted you the Being that will meet all of your needs." He dug the ground with his feet or wings. Finally, water came up. The woman surrounded the water so that it would not flow away. She also filled her water pan. As she took water, it gushed again. Ibn Abbas said (...) (Bukhari, Anbiya 8)

"When the Prophet returned from Khandaq, he laid down his arms and washed his hands and face. Gabriel came and said, ‘You have laid down your arms. By Allah, we (angels) have not laid them down yet. Set out for them.’ The Prophet asked, ‘Where to?’ Gabriel said, ‘Toward this side,’ pointing to fight them. Thereupon, the Prophet (pbuh) set off in order to fight them.  The people of Qurayza agreed his decree. They chose Sa'd Ibnu Muadh as the judge. He said, ‘I decree that their warriors be killed, their women and children be enslaved and their wealth be distributed.’"(...) [Bukhari, Maghazi 30, Jihad 18; Muslim, Jihad 67, (1769); Abu Dawud, Janaiz 8, (3101); Nasai, Masajid 18, (2, 45)]

Hz. Gabriel came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and said,

"O Allah's Messenger! There is Khadija coming to you with a dish having meat soup (or some food or drink). When she reaches you, greet her on behalf of her Lord (or on my behalf), and give her the glad tidings of having a palace of pearl in Paradise wherein there will be neither any noise nor any fatigue (trouble)." [Bukhari, Manaqibul-Ansar 20, Tawhid 35; Muslim, Fadailus-Sahaba 71, (2432)]

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"When Allah has ordained some affair in the Heaven, the angels beat with their wings in obedience to His statement, which sounds like a chain dragged over a rock. when terror is removed from their hearts, they will ask, ´What is it that your Lord commanded?´ They will say(angels like Jibril and Mikail, who are the angels that are close to Allah),

´That which is true and just; and He is the Most High Most Great´ Those who gain a hearing by stealing (i.e. devils) will hear Allah's Statement: Those who gain a hearing by stealing, (stand one over the other like this). (...)" [Bukhari, Tafsir, Saba 1, al-Hijr 1; Tirmidhi, Tafsir, Saba, (3221)]

Gabriel came to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) and asked, "How do you look upon the warriors of Badr among yourselves?" The Prophet said, "As the best of the Muslims." On that, Gabriel said, "And so do we know the angels who participated in the Badr." [Bukhari, Maghazi 11]

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “Gabriel came, took me by the hand and showed the gate of Paradise by which my ummah will enter.” Hz. Abu Bakr said, “O Messenger of Allah! I wish I had been with you so that I might have looked at it.” The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, “O Abu Bakr! Is it not enough for you to be the first of my people to enter Paradise?[Abu Dawud, Sunnah, 9, (4652)]

HZ. MIKAIL (MICHAEL)

"I saw Allah's Messenger (pbuh) on the day of the Battle of Uhud accompanied by two men fighting on his right and left. They were dressed in white and were fighting as bravely as possible. I had never seen them before, nor did I see them later on. –That is, they were Jibril and Mikail."[Bukhari, Maghazi 18; Muslim, Fadail 46, (2306)]

Once, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) mentioned Israfil, the owner of Sur (Trumpet), to us and said, "Jibril is on his right and Mikail is on his left." [Abu Dawud, Huruf wal-Qira’ah 1, (3999)]

We said to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) when we performed a prayer, "Peace be upon Allah Jibril and Mikail." The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said,

"Do not say peace (salam) be upon Allah. For, Allah is salam Himself. However, say, "at-Tahiyyat... for Allah."[Nasai, Iftitah 189, (2, 237)]

"Shall I inform you about two of you resembling angels and prophets?

"O Abu Bakr! You resemble Mikail among angels; he comes down with mercy. You resemble Ibrahim among prophets. Although his nation denied him and wronged him, he said, " He then who follows my (ways) is of me, and he that disobeys me,- but Thou art indeed Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."

"O Umar! You resemble Jibril among angels; he comes down with violence and penalty against the enemies of Allah. You resemble Nuh among prophets. He said, "O my Lord! Leave not of the Unbelievers, a single one on earth." (see Waqidi, Maghazi, Beirut nd, 1/108-110; Tabari, Jamiul-Bayan, XI, 273-274; Suyuti, Tarikhul-Khulafa, p. 139)

"There are two angels in the sky. One of them orders severely and the other softly. Both of them speak appropriately. One of them is Jibril and the other is Mikail. There are two prophets. One of them orders severely and the other softly. One of them is Ibrahim and the other is Musa. I have two friends. One of them orders severely and the other softly: Abu Bakr and Umar." Narrator: Hz. Umm Salama (Ramuzul-Ahadith)

HZ. ISRAFIL (ISRAFEL)

Once, the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) mentioned Israfil, the owner of Sur (Trumpet), to us and said, "Jibril is on his right and Mikail is on his left." Razin reported it. [Abu Dawud, Huruf wal-Qira’ah 1, (3999)]

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) said, " How can I be comfortable when the one with the horn is holding it to his lip, his ears listening for when he will be ordered to blow, so he can blow.”' It was as if that was very hard upon the Companions of the Prophet. They asked, "O Messenger of Allah! What shall we do (or say)? He said to them, “Say, ‘Hasbunallah wa ni'mal-wakil; tawakkalna alallah (Allah is sufficient for us and what a good protector He is; and upon Allah we rely)’" [Tirmidhi, Qiyamah 9, (2433)]

HZ. AZRAIL (AZRAEL)

"Azrail's attempting to take the soul of a person is more severe than one thousand blows of sword. All of the veins of a believer feel the agonies of death like that and Allah’s enemy (Satan) is closer to man than any other time." Narrator: Hz. Ata Ibn Yasar (Ramuzul-Ahadith)

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