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قQuranicpediaEncyclopedia of the Glorious Qur’an

Angel of Death (Malak al-Mawt) مَلَك الْمَوْت

In review — pending scholar verification

The angel charged with taking souls at the appointed time of death — named in the Quran (Surah As-Sajdah 32:11), with classical traditions sometimes calling him ʿIzrāʾīl (a name not authenticated in primary sources).

Overview

The Angel of Death (Arabic: مَلَك الْمَوْت, Malak al-Mawt) is the angel charged by Allah with taking the soul of every living being at the appointed time of death. The Quran identifies him without giving a personal name. Surah As-Sajdah 32:11 reads: "Say: The Angel of Death, who has been entrusted with you, will take you."

Classical and later Islamic tradition refers to him as ʿIzrāʾīl (Azrael) — but this name is not authenticated in the Quran or the canonical hadith collections, and rests on weak traditions. Sunni scholars therefore use the Quranic name Malak al-Mawt in preference.

Quranic references

  • Surah As-Sajdah 32:11 — "Say: The Angel of Death will take you, who has been entrusted with you."
  • Surah Al-Anʿam 6:61 — "He is the Subjugator over His servants, and He sends over you guardian-angels until, when death comes to one of you, Our messengers take him; and they do not fail." ("Our messengers" in the plural — interpreted as the Angel of Death and his assistants.)
  • Surah Muhammad 47:27 — "Then how [will it be] when the angels take them in death, striking their faces and their backs?"
  • Surah An-Nāziʿāt 79:1–2 — implied in "those who extract violently" and "those who release gently".

Hadith

Abu Hurayra reported the Prophet ﷺ said: "The Angel of Death came to Musa and said: Respond to your Lord. Musa slapped the Angel of Death and put out his eye. The angel returned to Allah…" — Sahih al-Bukhari 1339; Sahih Muslim 2372

See also

References

  1. The Quran: Surahs Al-Anʿam 6:61; As-Sajdah 32:11; Muhammad 47:27; An-Nāziʿāt 79:1–2.
  2. Sahih al-Bukhari 1339; Sahih Muslim 2372.
  3. Ibn Kathir, Tafsīr, on As-Sajdah 32:11.
  4. Umar Sulayman al-Ashqar, ʿĀlam al-Malāʾikah al-Abrār.