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Israfil إِسْرَافِيل

In review — pending scholar verification

The angel charged with the Trumpet — one of the named archangels in Islamic tradition (alongside Jibril and Mikail), who awaits the divine command to blow the two blasts at the end of time.

Overview

Israfil (Arabic: إِسْرَافِيل) is the angel charged with the Trumpet (aṣ-Ṣūr), which he will blow at Allah's command to mark the end of the world and the resurrection. He is not named in the Quran directly, but is named in authentic hadith alongside Jibril (Gabriel) and Mikāʾīl (Michael) as one of the three named archangels of Islamic tradition.

Role

Israfil holds the Trumpet to his lips, awaiting the command to blow. The first blast collapses creation; the second resurrects all who have ever lived for the Day of Judgement. Belief in Israfil is part of the broader article of Iman in Allah's angels.

Quranic references

Israfil is not named directly in the Quran, but the Trumpet that he holds is described:

  • Surah Az-Zumar 39:68 — the two blasts.
  • Surah An-Naba 78:18 — "The Day the Trumpet is blown."
  • Surah An-Nazi'at 79:6–7 — the two blasts.

Hadith

Abu Hurayra reported that the Prophet ﷺ used to begin his night prayer with the supplication: "O Allah, Lord of Jibrīl, Mikāʾīl, and Isrāfīl — Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed — You judge among Your servants regarding what they used to differ. Guide me to the truth of what they differed about by Your leave; indeed You guide whom You will to a straight path." — Sahih Muslim 770
ʿAbdullāh ibn ʿAmr reported the Prophet ﷺ said: "How can I be at ease when the bearer of the Trumpet has placed it to his lips, knit his brow, and inclined his ear, awaiting the command to blow?" — Jami at-Tirmidhi 2431 (graded Sahih by al-Albani); Sunan Abi Dawud 4742

Significance

Israfil is the cosmological signal of the end of time and the start of the Hereafter; the imagery of the angel awaiting the divine command — preserved in Tirmidhi 2431 — is among the most arresting in eschatological hadith.

See also

References

  1. The Quran (Sahih International translation): Surahs Az-Zumar 39:68; An-Naba 78:18; An-Nazi'at 79:6–7.
  2. Sahih Muslim 770; Jami at-Tirmidhi 2431; Sunan Abi Dawud 4742 — both graded Sahih by al-Albani.
  3. Ibn Kathir, Tafsīr, on Surah Az-Zumar 39:68.
  4. Umar Sulayman al-Ashqar, ʿĀlam al-Malāʾikah al-Abrār (Dar an-Nafāʾis).