There are different kinds of angels. Besides those deputed to represent and supervise various species on the Earth and present their worship to God, there are four Archangels and the angels who carry God’s Throne. (We do not know what God’s Throne is like and how It is carried.) There are other groups of angels known as Mala’-i A‘la (the Highest Council), Nadiyy-i A‘la (the Highest Assembly), and Rafiq-i A‘la (the Highest Company), as well as angels appointed to Paradise and Hell. Angels who record a person’s deeds are called Kiramun Katibun (the Noble Recorders), and, as stated in a hadith, 360 angels are responsible for each believer’s life. They guard their charges, especially during infancy and old age, pray for them, and ask God to forgive them. Other angels help believers during times of war, attend assemblies that praise and glorify God, as well as study meetings held for God’s sake and to benefit people.
Angels, particularly angels of mercy, do not enter houses containing statues or places where dogs are fed, and refrain from close contact with ritually impure people and menstruating women. They also avoid those with bad breath, derived from eating onions or garlic or from smoking, and do not visit those who sever relations with their parents and relatives.
God Almighty is powerful over everything. Even though He can guard everyone by Himself, He may appoint angels to guard His servants. To earn such a guardianship and the company of angels, one has to willingly do what is good and establish a close relation with God Almighty. One must have strong belief in God and all other pillars of faith, never abandon regular worship and prayer, lead a disciplined life, and refrain from forbidden things or sinful acts.
Angels helped the believers during the battles of Badr and Uhud, and also during the conquest of Makka. They always help believers who sincerely struggle in the way of God, regardless of time and place.
Belief in angels has many benefits. For example, it provides us with some sort of peace and removes our loneliness. The inspiration breathed by angels exhilarates us, enlightens us intellectually, and opens new horizons of knowledge and thought. Awareness of the continuous company of angels also helps us abstain from sin and improper behavior.
The Qur’an’s description of angels
We may use some Qur’anic verses, such as the following, to observe angels:
By the loosed ones successively, storming tempestuously; by the scatterers scattering, and the severally severing and those hurling a reminder, excusing or warning. (77:1-6)
By those that pluck out violently; and those that draw out gently; by those that float serenely, and those that outstrip suddenly; by those that direct an affair. (79:1-5)
... in (the Night of Power) the angels and the spirit descend, by the leave of their Lord, upon every command. (97:4)
... a Fire whose fuel is men and stones, and over which are harsh, terrible angels who disobey not God in what He commands them and do what they are commanded. (66:6)
Glory be to Him! Nay, but they are honored servants that outstrip Him not in speech, and perform as He commands. (21:26–7)
This article has been adapted from Risale- i Nur Collection.