Angel of Death

[HOPE]

 Salam brother Joseph,

 Enjoyed reading your FB post but I need further elaboration on the subject in light of the verses: 6:61; 16:28; 39:42.  Under which conditions does the Almighty delegate this task to the Angel of Death?

Thank you,

[Sardar Miyan]

Salam Sister Hope The Angel are Allah's helpers in carrying out His assignments. Jibril is for carting out Allad's message to Prophets, Michael is for Rain, Izraeel for carrying out Death while Israfeel will announce Yume Qhyama. Some angels like Kiraman Katebeen are for recording Good & Bad deed & Talks of Humans. Thanks
 

[Sardar Miyan]

Jibril is for carrying out Allah's message (Wahi) to His Prophets. Allah's other assignments are known to Him alone

[AbbsRay]

Salaam Alyikum Sister

Verse 6:61 ----Allah has a Decree for all his creatures he creates. He has a set time for our expiration on this earth when our soul will be taken. There is a time and date assigned when He creates us. This time is never delayed. 

(There is a verse in regards to death, 7:34, which is Allah has set a fixed time/term for each nation and when the time has come, one can not delay it or advance it)

16:28- Those whom the angels take them in death while still they are wronging themselves, than they would offer the submission. (This verse describes the people who did not believe and did evil, it is usually described in other verses similar that they get their soul snatched from them harshly. They know that they never submitted and they only realize that when they meet the Angel of death)

39:42 Allah takes the souls at the time of their death, and those that do not die, He takes during their sleep. Then He keeps those for which He has decreed death and releases the others for a specified term. Indeed in that are signs for a people who give thought.

It all comes down to the Decree of Allah when each individuals soul is taken,  it's appointed time Allah has given us. Allah only knows (May Allah forgive me if I misspoke)  if  the person is a submitter or not and it is a matter of letting the Angel of Death know which it is and they know what to do from there.

There are many verses in the Quran that Allah tells us each person has angels that are Guardian over us. I am not sure if those are the Angels who will be ones taking our soul. I really have not looked into  what the Quran says about if it is one Angel that is assigned to putting one to death or many.
 There is another verse I forgot which one about the ones who gets their souls snatches harshly are the ones who do not believe in Allah, have not submitted, setting up idols, and various other things I have seen in the Quran. It indicates they are hit on the face and backs at the time they are being put to death from the Angel. There is another verse about the believer who have nothing to fear as it would be a peaceful experience.
I do remember in the verse the Angel will ask the person

Also Gabriel/Jibreal is never described as an Angel in the Quran. 

http://quransmessage.com/articles/gabriel%20FM3.htm

I hope this explains it..
Salaam,

[nabeelkhan]

Salam Sister Hope The Angel are Allah's helpers in carrying out His assignments.

Allah does not need help. Instead, we should say "angels are Allah's servants in carrying out his assignments.".

[HOPE]

Salam all,

Thanks for the replies.   Of course, it is God Who makes people die.  The Angel of Death is charged with this task per 32:11. 
Ali Unal 39:42 "God takes the spirits at the time of the death of (the souls), and in their sleep those (of the ones) that have not died. He withholds (the spirits of) those for whom He has decreed death, and the rest He sends back (to their bodies to live on) for a term appointed by Him. Surely in that are signs (important lessons) for people who reflect and are mindful."   

The aides are to the Angel of Death, if I am not mistaken.  The correct question should have been:  Is it sometimes God Himself, other times the Angel of Death and some other times  angel's helpers who are engaged in the task depending on the spiritual level of the deceased?   During sleep, soul and body are intact, spirit is  released a bit.  In death, both spirit and nafs are removed.  Nafs is removed by the angel and the spirit is by God, since the spirit comes direct from God?  What do you think?

[good logic]

Peace Hope.

This is what Qoran tells us about Angels.

Angels are devoted  to God alone and are extensively mentioned in Quran. God clarifies what convictions they have and what tasks they are in charge of. Students of Quran easily conclude that they are God's dedicated worshipers and servants (43:19) who uphold God's absolute authority without wavering, glorify Him, praise Him (2:30) and race to carry out His orders (79:4-5, 15:7-8). Mediating God's missions is what makes them referenced by Him as messengers which is one of the literal meanings of angels (22:75, 43:80, 77:5). They are constant messengers; on duty, non-stop, until the Day of Judgment. They surround us, every night and day all year around to perform certain duties as decreed by God (79:3-5):

- God along with the Spirit and the angels placed Quran in prophet Muhammad's heart on the Night of Destiny (16:2, 97:4, 44:4, 53:1-10, 2:97).
- The angels were also witnesses for that process of revelation (4:166).
- They will be witnesses on the Day Of Judgment (78:38).
- They guard us which means they are our keepers according to God's plans and based on our choices (13:11).
- They support the prophets and all the believers according to God's will (33:43, 33:56, 3:124-125, 8:9, 8:12).
-They are messengers to deliver good news or warnings and to inspire the believers (41:30-31, 3:39, 3:42, 3:45, 11:81).
- They take our souls when it is time to depart earth (16:28, 16:32).
- They will descend and will be seen in multitudes on the Day of Judgment (25:22-25).
- They receive the believers on the Day of Judgment to comfort them and protect them from any horror of that day (21:103).
- They record everything we do or utter on earth (50:17, 43:80).
- They climb to God with their reports (32:5, 70:4).
- They stir clouds and drive the wind (77:2-3).
- They will guard Hell & Paradise, and float around the believers in Paradise (74:31, 39:73, 13:23).
- They surround the throne of the Most Gracious (69:17, 39:75, 89:22).
There are many controversies and man-made innovations that surround the angels starting from questioning their existence, attributing certain looks or feminine gender to them (43:19, 37:150, 53:27) and all the way to idolizing them as entities that have powers and could serve without God's full authority (3:79-80). All of this is explicitly refuted in Quran.

One of the commonly used expressions by humans is:".....is like an angel". We usually resort to that when a person is portraying qualities that we generally attribute to angels such as physical beauty, sincerity, purity of thoughts, kindness, or when this person serves us and/or saves us just in time when it is urgently needed.

The truth of the matter is that our standards and perceptions of how an angel should be are irrelevant and at times false. The absolute truth about angels is already detailed in Quran, and all that we need to know about them is presented for us in black and white. According to our shortsighted understanding of kindness, angels would not always be considered kind (79:1-2, 6:93, 8:50, 47:27, 66:6). The portrayed image of them in art work as beautiful creatures is only a man-made assumption based on the human standards of beauty but their actual physical appearance is only briefly mentioned in Quran (35:1). They are not always at our rescue ; they might support us and guard us or not according to God's decree and based on the choices we make (13:11). They might deliver certain blessings while withholding them for others according to God's decree (77:2-4).

This reminder emphasizes the one quality of angels that should matter the most to believers. It is their unconditional submission to God alone, and their dedication to serve Him, obey Him, and please Him. Their full awareness of God and their unwavering faith in Him makes them set such a perfect and powerful example of how true believers in God should be. For the students of Quran, "like an angel" should only imply the awesome blessing of certainty and the quality of the absolute devotion to the only Lord and Master.

Angels are full of reverence and compassion for God. They value Him as He should be valued. They obey Him without the least hesitance or arrogance. They act based on His will, and utter what conforms with His set laws and systems. Examples of that are that they are the believers' allies (41:30-31), they pray for their forgiveness (40:7), and they condemn the disbelievers (3:87, 2:161). They will testify according to the divine righteousness on the Day of Judgment (78:38). Allying with believers, praying for the forgiveness of the believers, dissociating from disbelievers, condemning disbelief, and uttering only what goes with God's laws and teachings are all set divine commands.

I believe any other details that people attribute to them or names that they pick for angels , if not confirmed by Qoran, are fantasies and irrelevant.

GOD bless you.
Peace.