Will you explain the hadiths that mention the angels and their duties?

The Answer

Dear Brother / Sister,

There are many hadiths that mention the angels; some of them are as follows:

The Messenger of Allah (pbuh) states the following in a hadith in which he narrates the duties of the angels of hafaza (kiraman katibin):

"When a Muslim gets ill, Allah orders the angels of hafaza who guard him as follows: "Write ten thawabs during this period of illness for every deed that my slave used to do every day and night." (Darimi, Riqaq, 56)

"The angels of the night and the angels of the day gather at the time of the morning and afternoon prayers. Allah asks them, ‘What were my slaves doing?’ The angels reply: ‘When we reached them, they were praying; when we left them they were praying.'" (Bukhari, Adhan, 31, Mawaqit, 16, Nasai, Salah, 21)

Hz. Jibril (Gabriel) could be disguised in any form. The Prophet (pbuh) saw him in his original form twice: At the beginning of the revelation while going to Makkah from Hira, and in Sidratul-Muntaha while returning from Miraj. (as-Saati, al-Fathur-Rabbani, VIII, 5)

Hz. Jibril sometimes brought revelation to the Messenger of Allah (pbuh) disguised as a man. In general, he was disguised as Dihya al-Kalbi, who was a handsome, young Companion. (Tajrid Sarih Translation, IX, 35)

Hz. Jibril accompanied the Prophet (pbuh) in the incidents of Isra and Miraj from Makkah to Quds (Jerusalem) and from there to Sidratul-Muntaha. (Bukhari, Bad'ul-Khalq 6; Salah 1)

"When Israfil blows the Trumpet for the first time, all of the living beings on the earth and in the sky will die and the worldly life will end. When he blows it for the second time, all living beings will be resurrected and life in the hereafter will start. The first blowing of the Trumpet is called "nafkha al-ula" and the second blowing is called "nafkha ath-thaniya".

Israfil is also called the Angel of the Trumpet (Sur) since he will blow the Trumpet. When the Prophet (pbuh) was asked about what Sur was like, he said, "It is a horn that is blown." (Ahmad b. Hanbal, II, 196)

The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Israfil is holding the Trumpet and waiting ready to blow it upon the order of Allah." (Tabari, Jamiul-Bayan, VII, 211; Ibn Kathir, Tafsirul-Quranil-Azim, Egypt, n.d. III, 276)

The Prophet (pbuh) sometimes prayed with the names of Israfil and other angels because of their high value. When the Prophet (pbuh) got up at night for tahajjud prayer, he would pray as follows:   

"O Allah, Lord of Gabriel (Jibril), Michael (Mikail) and Israfil, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, who knows the unseen and the seen! You decide amongst your servants concerning their differences. Guide me with your permission in the divergent views which the people hold about Truth. For, it is You who guides whom You wish to the Straight Path." (Muslim, Musafirun, 200)

The Prophet states the following in a hadith reported by Tirmidhi: 

"I have two ministers from the inhabitants of the earth: they are Abu Bakr and Umar; my two ministers from the inhabitants of the heavens are Jibril and Mikail." (Tirmidhi, Manaqib, 16)

When the Prophet (pbuh) migrated to Madinah, some Fadak Jews including Abdullah Ibni Suriya came and asked the Prophet some questions. The Jews regarded the answers appropriate and accepted them. Finally, they asked him which angel brought revelation to him. The Prophet (pbuh) said, "Jibril". The Jews objected to it and said, "He is our enemy." They expressed the reason for it as follows: Jibril brings "fighting and violence" and Mikail brings "glad tiding, cheapness and abundance".

Questions on Islam

Was this answer helpful?
Author:
Questions on Islam
Subject Categories:
Read 2.465 times
In order to make a comment, please login or register