Bible Stories

Islam has a vast hierarchy of malaaka (angels), having inherited the concept of angels from Judaism and Christianity. Indeed, belief in angels is one of the six pillars of Islamic faith. In descending order of importance, the angels of the Islamic faith are:

• The Four Throne Bearers of Allah (hanialat al-arsh), symbolized by a bull, a man, a lion and an eagle (which was inspired by the Revelation of St John in the New Testament).
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• The Cherubim (karubiyum) who praise Allah constantly.
• The four archangels: Gabriel (Jibril also spelt Jabra’il), the revealer, who revealed the Koran to Mohammed; Michael (Mikal), the provider; Izrail, the angel of death (who separates mens’ souls from their bodies); and Israfil, the angel of the last judgement of Allah.
• There are also lesser angels, known as the hafazah or hafza, who are guardian angels.

In Islam, Jibril acts as a messenger between God and man, as bearer of revelation to the prophets of God. Mohammed mentions Jibril by name three times in the Koran and it is Jibril and Mikal who purify the prophet’s heart in preparation for his ascension into Heaven. Jibril guided Mohammed through the various levels of Heaven to reach the throne of God. Jibril also helped Mohammed by coming to his aid at the battle of Badr (624 cE) with thousands of angels telling him to attack the Jewish tribes of Banu Qaynuqa and Banu Qurayzah. As-Shaitan is the ‘evil one’, the Islamic devil, who is prince of the evil angels or bad spirits. The Koran says that angels were created from light and the jinn (evil angels) were created from smokeless fire. Malik is the angel who is the keeper of hell.

Islamic angels have wings and are beautiful in appearance; they are also vast because the prophet Mohammed described Jibril as filling the space between Heaven and Earth. He also saw Jibril’s true form — he had 600 wings that covered the horizon and pearls and rubies fell from his wings. The number of angels is not known in Islam; only Allah knows how many angels there are.

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