List five prominent Angels of Allah and explain their functions.
Explanation
Gabriel (PBUH): The Archangel (A.S)
Gabriel (A.S) is one of the four greatest angels. He is appointed to convey revelations to the prophets by Allah. In three places of the Qur’an, His name is Jibril. Besides, He is mentioned in verses as the spirit, rasulun karim, ruh al-Amin and ruh al-qudus”. In addition to these, in one of the hadiths, he is called “an-namus”.
The Angel of Soor (The Trumpet): Hz. Israfel (A.S)
The angel that will blow the trumpet is called Israfel. His name is mentioned among the four great angels in the hadiths. Israfel will blow two times, in the first one, the Doomsday will occur and in the second blowing, the resurrection will occur. Because of this duty of him, He is called the angel of Soor (the Trumpet). When the prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was asked about the nature of the trumpet, he answered: “A horn that is blown” (Ahmad b. Hanbal, II, 196).
The prophet Muhammad (PBUH) said that “Israfel is awaiting the order of blowing while He grasps the trumpet”. (Tabari Jami-ul Bayan, VII, 211; Ibn Kathir, Tafsiru’l-Qur’an-il Azim, Egypt, n.d. II, 276)
The Angel of Death: Hz. Azrael (A.S)
His duty is to grasp the souls of people whose death times have come. He is called as “Malak-ul Mawt”, that is, the angel of death.
Say: “The Angel of Death, put in charge of you, will (duly) take your souls: then shall ye be brought back to your Lord.” (Surah as-Sajda)
The Angel that controls the events in this realm: Hz. Mikail (A.S) (Michael)
He is one of the greatest angels of four and He is responsible for the pouring of rain, the blowing of the wind, natural events such as the ordering of seasons and the management of supplications of the created beings. He is only mentioned in one place of the Qur’an. Hz. Mikail is the angel that manages the divine work of arts that are planted on the field of earth with the power of Allah and His order.
The angels of Kiraman Katibin
It is the names of the angels who are attendant on the right and left of humans. The angel on the right is responsible for recording the good deeds and manners; the angel on the left is responsible for recording the bad deeds and manners. “The angels who are also called Hafaza will attend as witnesses of the deeds of humans in the Day of Judgment during reckoning.