The World of Angels (Malaikah) in Islam Faith

Angels or malaikah in arabic are heavenly beings mentioned many times in the Quran and hadith. Unlike humans or jinn, they have no free will and therefore can do only what God orders them to do. An example of a task they carry out is testing individuals by granting them abundant wealth and curing their illness. Believing in angels is one of the six Articles of Faith in Islam. Just as humans are made of clay, and jinn are made of smokeless fire, angels are made of light.

Muslims believe in the existence of angels.  In Islam there are six pillars of faith; belief in God, the One and Only, the Creator and Sustainer of all that exists, belief in His angels, His books, His messengers, the Last Day and divine predestination.

Angels are part of the unseen world, but Muslims believe in their existence with certainty because God and His messenger, Muhammad, have provided us with information about them.  The angels were created by God in order to worship and obey Him..

“They, (angels) disobey not, the Commands they receive from God, but do that which they are commanded.” (Quran 66:6)

God created angels from light.  Prophet Muhammad, may the mercy and blessings of God be upon him, said, “The angels are created from light,”  We have no knowledge of when the angels were created, however, we do know that it was before the creation of humankind.  Quran explains that God told the angels of His intention to create a vicegerent on earth. (2:30)

Muslims know that angels are beautiful creations.  In Quran 53:6 God describes the  angels  as  dhoo mirrah, this is an Arabic term that renowned Islamic scholars  define as,  tall and beautiful in appearance.

Angels have wings, and can be very large.  There is nothing in either the Quran, or the traditions of Prophet Muhammad that indicate that angels are winged babies or have any form of gender.   We do know however, that angels are winged and some are extremely large.  From the traditions of Prophet Muhammad we know that the angel Gabriel’s great size filled “the space between heaven and earth”  and that he had six hundred wings.