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Azrael (; , 'God has helped'; ) is the canonical angel of death in Islam and appears centuries earlier in the apocryphal text Apocalypse of Peter.
Relative to similar concepts of such beings, Azrael holds a benevolent role as God's angel of death; he acts as a psychopomp, responsible for transporting the souls of the deceased after their death.Gustav Davidson. 1968. "Longfellow's Angels". Prairie Schooner 42(3):235–43. . In Islam, he is said to hold a scroll concerning the fate of mortals, recording and erasing their names at their birth and death, similar to the role of the malakh ha-mavet (Angel of Death) in Judaism.Hamilton, Michelle M. 2014. Beyond Faith: Belief, Morality and Memory in a Fifteenth-Century Judeo-Iberian Manuscript. Leiden: Brill. .
Depending on the perspective and precepts of the various religions in which he is a figure, he may also be portrayed as a resident of the Third Heaven, a division of heaven in Judaism and Islam. Gustav Davidson. 1967 1971. "A § Azrael". Pp. 64–65 in A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels. New York: Free Press. . In Islam, he is one of the four , and is identified with the Malʾak al-Mawt (), which corresponds with the Hebrew term Malʾakh ha-Maweth () in Rabbinic literature. In Hebrew, Azrael translates to "Angel of God" or "Help from God".
Despite the absence of such a figure in Judaism, the name Azrael is suggestive of a Hebrew theophoric name עזראל, meaning "the one whom God helps". Archeology evidence uncovered in Jewish settlements in Mesopotamia confirms that it was indeed at one time used on an incantation bowl from the 7th century.C.D. Isbell, Corpus of the Aramaic Incantation Bowls, Missoula: Scholars Press, 1975, §12:14 and 41:7, pp. 44 and 98J. Naveh and S. Shaked, Amulets and Magic Bowls: Aramaic Incantations of Late Antiquity, Jerusalem: Magnes Press, 1985, §1:13; 2:16; 7:3, pp. 40–41, 46–7 and 68–9. However, as the text thereon only lists names, an association of this angelic name with death cannot be identified in Judaism.Burge, S. (2019). Themes in Islamic angelology. In Angels in Islam: Jalal Al-Din al-Suyuti's al-Haba'ik Fi Akhbar al-Mala'ik (p. 36). essay, Routledge.
After the emergence of Islam, the name Azrael became popular among both Christian and Islamic literature and folklore. The name spelled as Ezrā’ël appears in the Classical Ethiopic version of Apocalypse of Peter (dating to the 16th century) as an angel of hell who avenges those who had been wronged during life.S. R. Burge (University of Edinburgh) cZR’L, The Angel of Death and the Ethiopic Apocalypse of Peter
The eighth Umayyad Caliph Umar II once reported the commentary regarding Azrael in Quran chapter As-Sajdah verse 11 , that taking many lives are very easy for the angel, that in caliph's words "it is as if the entire mankind of earth were only like a dish on a plate from the perspective of Malak al-Mawt (angel of death)".
Umar ibn Abd al-Aziz, an Umayyad caliph, reported a narration that the angel of death is armed with a flaming whip. Caliph Umar also reported a narration that the angel of death was so huge that he dwarfed Bearers of the Throne, group of angels which are known as the biggest among angels.
The "Islamic Book of Dead" describes him with 4 faces, and his whole body consists of eyes and tongues whose number corresponds to the number of humans inhabiting the Earth.
The angel of death features in a famous extra-Quranic creation story regarding the creation of Adam, recorded by various Muslim scholars, including Tabari, Mas'udi, Maqdisi, Kisa'i, Tha'labi, Ibn Kathir in his work Qiṣaṣ al-Anbiyā (Stories of the Prophets), and Muqatil.Chipman, Leigh NB. "Mythic Aspects of the Process of Adam's Creation in Judaism and Islam." Studia Islamica (2001): 5-25. Accordingly, God ordered the archangels to collect dust from earth from which Adam is supposed to be created. Only Azrael succeeded, whereupon he was destined to become the angel concerning life and death, a reference to show the close connection between these two.
One account explains death and its relation to Azrael, representing Death and Azrael as former two separate entities, but when God created Death, God ordered the angels to look upon it and they swoon for a thousand years. After the angels regained consciousness, Death recognized that it must submit to Azrael.Jane I. Smith, Yvonne Yazbeck Haddad Islamic Understanding of Death and Resurrection State University of New York Press 1981 p. 34-35 This opinion were shared among scholars of Islam such as Sultan ibn ‘Abdirrahman Al-‘Umairi, in his book Al-‘Uquud Adz-Dzahabiyyah ‘alaa Maqaasid Al-‘Aqiidah Al-Waasithiyyah where he adds commentary the Hadith about Death will be materialized after the judgment day in form of a Ram, which said as different entity than Angel Azrael. According to one narration, Azrael is rewarded to become the angel of death for successfully carrying the dirt of the earth from which Adam would be created.Wensinck, A.J., “ʿIzrāʾīl”, in: Encyclopaedia of Islam, Second Edition, Edited by: P. Bearman, Th. Bianquis, C.E. Bosworth, E. van Donzel, W.P. Heinrichs. Consulted online on 17 August 2023 First published online: 2012 First print edition: , 1960-2007
The identification of "Death" and angel Azrael as one entity were explained in a Hadith about the fate of "Death" entity itself after the judgment day, where classical Hanafite scholar Badr al-Din al-Ayni has interpreted in that Hadith which compiled in Sahih Bukhari collection, that Death would take on the form of a ram, then placed between paradise and hell, and finally slaughtered by God himself, causing Death cease to exist, which followed by God to declare to both people of paradise and hell that eternity has begun, and their state will never end. Lange mentioned that according to some scholars, the ram in that Hadith narration is no other than the angel of death himself, while others assert, this to be death's own form in the hereafter. In other account sourced from Muqatil ibn Sulayman, Azrael and death were said as one entity as he reported the angel has number of faces and hands equal to the number of living creatures on his body, where each of those faces and hands are connected with the life of each souls in the living world. Whenever a face within Azrael body vanished, then the soul which connected with it will experience death.
It is said that, when Rumi was about to die, he laid in his bed and met Azrael in human shape.Gustav Davidson. A Dictionary of Angels, Including the Fallen Angels. New York: Free Press. Simon & Schuster. p. 255. The belief that Azrael appears to saints before they actually die to prepare themselves for death, is also attested by the testament of Nasir Khusraw, in which he claims to have met Azrael during his sleep, informing him about his upcoming death.Rubanovich, Julia. 2015. Orality and Textuality in the Iranian World: Patterns of Interaction Across the Centuries. Leiden: Brill. . p. 148. According to the Sufi teacher Al-Jili, Azrael appears to the soul in a form provided by its most powerful metaphors.
It is believed to resist the pulling of the soul by the angel of death by accusing him of acting arbitrarily. In that case, the angel of death returns to heaven to bring proof for following heavenly instructions.
Some Western adaptions extended the physical description of Azrael, hence the English poet Leigh Hunt depicted Azrael in 1850 as wearing a black-hooded cloak.
Philip Pullman uses a variant spelling of the name "Azrael" in the name of Lord Asriel in the His Dark Materials trilogy (1995-2000).
In Joy Williams's 2024 novel Concerning the Future of Souls, Azrael is a core character, although his responsibilities extend beyond serving as a psychopomp for humanity alone—he also collects the souls of other sentient beings on Earth, such as whales and apes. Williams' book includes ninety-nine story accounts of his duties and interactions with multiple souls, God, Satan and countless others.
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