Say, “The Angel of Death who has been entrusted with you will take you up; thereafter to your Lord you will be returned.”

― As-Sajdah 32:11

Who are Angels in the Quran?

In Islam, Angels are created from heavenly light by Allah and given tasks to perform. The Quran mentions that Angels have a special status as being the helpers and protectors of people on the earth, and so are highly honored. The second pillar of the Islamic faith is belief in the Angels so belief in them is fundamental.

There are 8 Angels that have been referred to in the Quran, and 4 of them hold great importance with each being given central duties: Jibril, Mikhail, Israfil, and Izrael.

In Arabic, Angels are called Malaikah, and this comes from the word ‘uluk’ which means messengers because the most widely known duty of the Angels was to deliver the message of Allah to His Messengers. They are part of the Unseen world and Allah has told us about them in many parts of the Quran.
‘[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, [who] made the angels messengers having wings, two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent.’

Quran [35:1]

What are the qualities of the Angels?

They are created from light. Aisha (RA) reported: ‘The Messenger of Allah (SAW) said: ‘The angels are created from light, just as jinn are created from smokeless fire and mankind is created from what you have been told about.’ (Muslim).
They are huge in number. On the night journey and to the Me ’raj (Ascension) to the highest heavens, when the Prophet (SAW) reached the seventh heaven, a building called the Bayt ul Ma’moor (the Kaaba of the heavens) was erected in front of him. The Archangel Jibril (Gabriel) said to him: ‘This is the Bayt ul Ma’moor, every day 70,000 angels enter and pray in it, then they leave and never return to it until the end of time.’ This gives you an idea of their immense number.
They are enormous in size. Among the greatest angels are those who carry the Throne of Allah. Jabir (RA) stated: The Prophet (SAW) said: ‘I have been given permission to speak about one of the angels of Allah who take the Throne. The distance between his earlobes and his shoulders is equivalent to a seven-hundred-year journey.’ (Abu Dawud).
They carry out various duties and tasks. Jibril (AS), the most important Angel is the one who Allah trusts with bringing the Revelations. Mikhail (AS) is the angel who has been commissioned to manage rainfall and agriculture. Israfil (AS) in a hadith is mentioned as the one who will blow the trumpet to commence the Day of Judgement. There are other angels that sit on every person’s right and left recording his/her every utterance and every deed.
Their beauty. The idea that angels are beautiful is well placed in people’s minds, so much so that they liken a beautiful human to an angel. As when the women said about Yusuf (AS): ‘No mortal is this! This is none other than a noble angel!’ Quran 12:31
They are incapable of sinning. As Allah says in the Quran, ‘then fear the Fire, whose fuel is men and stones, prepared for the disbelievers.’ Quran 2:24 No mention here of angels, just the sinning people.
They are compassionate with the believers, and they pray for them. As it states in the Quran: ‘Those [angels] who carry the Throne and those around it exalt [Allah] with praise of their Lord and believe in Him and ask forgiveness for those who have believed, [saying], “Our Lord, you have encompassed all things in mercy and knowledge, so forgive those who have repented and followed Your way and protect them from the punishment of Hellfire.’ Quran 40:7
Which Angel is responsible for rain?
The Angel responsible for rain is Mikhail, who is one of the four greatest Angels. He is also appointed in charge of vegetation in relation to rain.

When were the Angels created?

Although there is no text to tell us precisely when they were created, it is accepted that angels were created before mankind and jinn. This is indicated in the Quranic verse of 2:30 ‘And [mention, O Muhammad], when your Lord said to the angels, “Indeed, I will make upon the earth a successive authority.” This is when Allah told the angels of His intention to create man.

They were created before mankind because the realm of the angels is completely independent of a paradise or a hellfire, as they need no incentive. They don’t need a paradise to motivate them to worship Allah. They don’t need pleasure or pain to push them towards that worship because they have been created only to worship Allah.

What is the benefit of believing in Angels?

Allah’s creation of these Angels and our believing in them causes great benefits for us, so much so that you cannot be a believer without believing in them. Some of these benefits are:

Their creation is a sign and a display of Allah’s power. Listening and thinking about these beings with their immense size and power, compassion, and other attributes that are far superior to humans, then comparing them to the immeasurable greatness of Allah is a sign of His power which increases the believer in faith and confidence.
The creation of the Angels is an honor for the believers. They worship Allah day and night constantly, without tiring; plus, they are sinless and more in number and size than humans. But even after this, the human being can be superior to the Angels. How? Because the human being can commit sin, but when he chooses to be a believer and fear Allah and love him, trust and obey him, and he doesn’t commit a sin even though he is capable of it, this is more praiseworthy than an Angel who is unable to commit a sin, to begin with.
Believing in them brings a humbling reality to us. When you see how these creatures with all their qualities do nothing but worship Allah and see it unbefitting to do anything but worship Allah and even then, will say ‘Glorified you are Allah, we didn’t worship you enough.’ This is humbling for a person who commits excesses and sins to reflect on his worship of Allah.