Does the Angel of Death, Azrael (peace be upon him), take the spirits of animals and jinn too?

Dear Brother / Sister,

The spirits of humans and jinn are taken either by Azrael himself or by his assistants.

Prophets are visited by Azrael himself, and he sometimes informs them of his visit. For example, it occurred with the Prophet Adam, Prophet Moses, and even, as stated in a sound hadith, Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon them), where Azrael sought permission to take his spirit. (al-Haythami, Majmauz-Zawaid, 9/35; Ibn Sa'd, at-Tabaqat al-Kubra, 2/259)

In cases where Azrael does not come personally, the spirit is taken by one of his assistants or directly under his supervision, depending on the deceased's status.

Regarding the removal of animal spirits, scholars have different opinions.

According to some scholars, Azrael takes all spirits, whether human or animal.

According to some others, Allah directly takes the spirits of animals.

The scholars who hold the latter opinion base it on a hadith narration. It is as follows: in summary: "The lifespan of animals is based on their glorification of Allah. Once their glorification ends, their lifespan ends, and Allah directly takes their spirits. Azrael has no duty of taking their souls." (See al-Uqayli, ed-Duafaul-Kubra, 4/321; Daylami, 1/418)

- Ibn Hajar al-Haytami is of the opinion that Azrael takes the spirits of animals. He cites the following two hadiths as evidence:

1) Azrael said to the Prophet Muhammad:

"O Muhammad! By Allah, if I wanted to take the spirit of a mosquito, I would not have the power to do so unless Allah commanded." (Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, al-Fatawal-Hadithiyya, 1/3; al-Fawakihu-Dawwani, 1/100)

- Qurtubi also includes a hadith suggesting that Allah directly takes the spirits of all animals, but he states that there are conflicting hadiths and mentions the ones cited above. (See Qurtubi, Tafsir of as-Sajda, 11)

2) According to a narration from Ibn Abbas, the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) said: "I said to Azrael, 'How can you take the spirits of all those living on land and sea?'" (see Ibn Hajar al-Haytami, ibid) (The evidence here is that only animals live in the seas. Also, the phrase "those on land and sea" is general and includes all beings with spirits).

- Imam Malik responded to the question, "Does Azrael take the spirit of the mosquito too?" by asking, "Do they have spirits too?" When they said "yes", Imam Malik said: "Azrael takes their spirits too" and cited the following verse as evidence: "It is Allah that takes the souls (of men) at death" (az-Zumar, 39:42). (see Qurtubi, ibid)

It is understood from the explanations above that there is more information showing Azrael takes the spirits of animals than the opposite view.

However, if the information indicating that Allah directly takes the souls of animals is sound, the wisdom behind it could be as follows:

Sending an angel to take their spirits could be considered an honor for humans because Azrael is a special official of Allah. That he comes to man to take his spirit at the time of death indicates that man is an honorable being. All humans are honored creatures of Allah though some of them are unbelievers. They were created in the best form.

It should not be difficult to see the difference between sending a messenger to take their spirits and directly taking them without sending a messenger.

Questions on Islam