Angels are a form of spiritual beings created by Allah to perform various assigned duties. There are numerous angels. They are bound to obey the commands of Allah. Unlike human beings, they have not been given the choice to do either right or wrong.
In the Holy Qur’an, Angels are frequently referred to as malak and rasool which, in Arabic language, means power and messenger, respectively. These literal meanings indicate the nature of various duties of the Angels.
Angels do not possess any fixed material form. They cannot be seen with our physical eyes due to our limited faculties. But when they appear to human beings (e.g. in a spiritual vision), they appear in such forms which are imaginable by us. For instance, the Archangel Jibra’eel (Gabriel) is known to have appeared to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessing of Allah be upon him, in the form of an ordinary human being. The same Archangel, however, seemed to have appeared to Jesus Christ, may peace be with him, in the form of a dove.
The names of some important Angels of Allah are as follows:
Jibra’eel (Gabriel)
Mika’eel (Michael)
Israfeel (Raphael)
Izra’eel (Israel)
Some of their assigned tasks are given below:
The Archangel Jibra’eel controls the communication of divine revelation to the Prophets. It was he who used to bring the Qur’anic revelation to the Holy Prophet Muhammad, may peace and blessing of Allah be upon him.
The Chief Angel Mika’eel controls the provision and maintenance of life.
The Chief Angel Israfeel is the angel responsible for announcing the last day (the day of Judgement)
The Chief Angel Izra’eel controls the phenomenon of death. .
There are other Angels who:
Keep record of people’s deeds.
Control the maintenance of the universe.
Control the operation of the laws of nature.
Glorify Allah with His praise.
In short, according to Islam, the operation and maintenance of the whole Universe, including our world, is maintained and controlled by Allah through His Angels.
“Deeds are determined by intentions alone” (Bukhari)