Azrael is the Angel of Death in Islam and some Jewish traditions. The Hebrew name translates to "Angel of God", "Help from God". Azrael is the spelling of the Chambers Dictionary. Both in Islam and Judaism, he is said to hold a scroll concerning the fate of the mortals. In Islam, he is one of the four archangels, and is identified with the Quranic Malak al-Mawt "angel of death", which corresponds with the Hebrew term malakh ha-maweth in Rabbinic literature. The Arabic language adapts the name as ʿAzrāʾīl. He is responsible for transporting the souls of the deceased after death. In comparison to similar concepts of angels of death, Azrael holds a rather benevolent role as the angel of death.
Background
Depending on the outlook and precepts of various religions in which he is a figure, Azrael may be portrayed as residing in the Third Heaven. In one description, he has four faces and four thousand wings, and his whole body consists of eyes and tongues whose number corresponds to the number of people inhabiting the Earth. He is constantly recording and erasing in a large book the names of men at birth and death, respectively.
Azrael is, along with Jibrail, Mīkhā'īl and Isrāfīl, one of the four major archangels in Islam. He is responsible for taking the souls of the deceased away from the body. Azrael does not act independently but is only informed by God when time is up to take a soul. According to one Muslim tradition, forty days before the death of a person approaches, God drops a leaf from a tree below the heavenly throne, on which Azrael reads the name of the person he must take with him.
Surah 32:11 mentions an angel of death identified with Azrael. When the unbelievers in hell cry out for help, an angel, also identified with Azrael, will appear on the horizon and tell them they have to remain. Other Quranic verses refer to a multitude of angels of death. According to exegesis, these verses refer to lesser angels of death, subordinative to Azrael, who aid the archangel in his duty. Tafsir al-Baydawi mentions an entire host of angels of death, subordinative to Azrael.
Azrael in folklore
Azrael kept his importance in everyday life. According to the Sufi teacher Al-Jili, Azrael appears to the soul in a form provided by its most powerful metaphors. Great prophets such as Moses and Muhammad are invited politely by him, but also saints are said to meet Azrael in beautiful forms. A common belief holds that the lesser angels of death are for the common people, but saints and prophets meet the archangel of death himself. It is said that, when Rumi was about to die, he lay in his bed and met Azrael in human shape. 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.
Relationship between Azrael and Death
Islam elaborated further narratives concerning the relation between Azrael and Death. The Kitab ahwal al-qiyama offers an account of 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 it must submit to Azrael. According to another famous narrative, God once ordered to collect dust from earth from which Adam is supposed to be created from. Only Azrael succeeded, whereupon he was destined to become the angel concerning life and death of humanity.
Western reception
The Islamic notion of Azrael, including some narratives such as the tale of Solomon, a hadith reaching back to Shahr Ibn Hawshab, was already known in America in the 18th century as attested by Gregory Sharpe and James Harris. Some Western adaptions extended the physical description of Azrael, thus the poet Leigh Hunt depicts Azrael as wearing a black hooded cloak. Although lacking the eminent scythe, his portrayal nevertheless resembles the Grim Reaper. Henry Wadsworth Longfellow mentions Azrael in "" as an angel of death. But he is not equated with Samael, the angel of death in Jewish lore, who appears as a fallen and malevolent angel, instead. Azrael also appears in G. K. Chesterton's poem "Lepanto" as one of the Islamic spirits commanded by "Mahound" to resist Don John of Austria's crusade.
