Dad, What Exactly Are the Angels?

There exists around us a world that our eyes cannot see.

A world that Allah has nonetheless made known to us.

In this world are extraordinary creatures.

The angels.

But… what exactly are the angels?

The angels are creatures that Allah created.

We cannot see them. But we know they exist, because Allah has told us about them in the Quran, and the Prophet ﷺ taught us many things about them.

And believing in the angels is very important.

It is part of the six pillars of faith.

But then…

What do they look like?

What are they made of?

And what do they do?

The Prophet ﷺ taught us that the angels were created from light.

Human beings, on the other hand, were created from clay.

And the jinn were created from fire.

So these are three different creations.

Humans.

Jinn.

And angels.

But the angels also have a very important characteristic.

They do not disobey the orders that Allah gives them, and they do what He commands them.

They worship Allah and glorify Him.

And Allah has given them wings.

The Quran teaches us that some angels have two, three, or four wings, and that Allah adds to His creation whatever He wills.

But there is a very special angel, whose true form the Prophet ﷺ saw.

That angel is Jibril عليه السلام.

And do you know how many wings the Prophet ﷺ saw on him?

Six hundred wings.

But Jibril عليه السلام did not always appear to the Prophet ﷺ in his true form.

Allah also allowed him to take the form of a man.

One day, a man came to the Prophet ﷺ while his Companions were with him.

His clothes were extremely white, and his hair extremely black.

He sat down in front of the Prophet ﷺ and began to ask him questions.

He asked him what Islam was.

Then, what faith was.

Then, what ihsan, excellence in worship, was.

The Companions listened.

Then that man left.

And do you know who it was?

The Prophet ﷺ then explained to them…

It was Jibril عليه السلام.

He had come to teach them their religion.

The angels are extremely numerous.

So numerous that we are unable to count them.

During his ascension through the heavens, the Prophet ﷺ saw a place called **البيت المعمور
(al-Bayt al-Ma'mur)**.

Every day…

Seventy thousand angels enter it.

Seventy thousand.

And when they come out, they never return to it.

The next day, it is therefore other angels.

Another seventy thousand.

Then others.

And still others…

So, how many angels has Allah created?

We do not know.

Allah alone knows their number.

And among this immense creation, Allah entrusts the angels with different missions.

Jibril عليه السلام was especially tasked with conveying the revelation to the prophets.

It was he who, by Allah's command, brought the revelation of the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ.

There is also Mikail عليه السلام.

And Allah has informed us of the existence of the angel of death, tasked with taking souls when the time that Allah has decreed comes.

An angel will also be tasked with blowing into the Trumpet, when the time appointed by Allah comes.

Allah has also placed near us noble angels who record our deeds.

When we do something, nothing escapes Allah.

Allah knows everything we do.

And angels are tasked with writing down our works.

But that is not all.

The Prophet ﷺ taught us that angels take turns with us.

Angels during the night.

And angels during the day.

They gather especially at the time of the Fajr prayer, and the 'Asr prayer.

And listen carefully to this.

There are also angels who travel the roads.

What are they looking for?

They look for places where believers gather to mention Allah.

When they find a gathering in which Allah is mentioned, they call one another.

And they surround those believers with their wings.

The angels can also supplicate to Allah on behalf of the believers.

For example, when the Muslim remains in the place where he performed his prayer, the angels ask for him, as long as he remains in the state mentioned by the Prophet ﷺ:

"O Allah, forgive him. O Allah, have mercy on him."

The Prophet ﷺ taught us that when Allah loves one of His servants, Allah calls Jibril عليه السلام.

Allah tells him that He loves that person, and commands him to love him.

So Jibril عليه السلام loves him.

Then Jibril عليه السلام announces to the inhabitants of the heavens that Allah loves that person, and that they should love him.

And the inhabitants of the heavens love him in turn.

All of this takes place in a world that our eyes cannot see.

And that is exactly what must be understood.

We do not believe only in what we can touch or see.

Allah has informed us of things that belong to the unseen world.

And the angels are part of that.

We know they exist.

We know they were created from light.

We know they have wings.

We know they worship Allah and never disobey Him.

We know they are extremely numerous.

And we know that Allah has entrusted them with different missions.

That is what, exactly…

The angels.