Recording angel


A recording angel is, in Judaic, Christian and Islamic angelology, one or more angels assigned by God with the task of recording the events, actions, and prayers of each individual human.

Description

In the Book of Malachi 3:16, the prophet describes Heaven as having conferring angels, and "The Lord took note and listened, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who revered the Lord and thought on his name." In Judaic thought, Gabriel is the principal recording angel, as shown in Ezekiel 9:3-4, where he is "the man clothed in linen, who had the writing case at his side" who put the mark of Passover on Jewish houses in Egypt.
In the Secrets of Enoch the recording angel is named Pravuil or Vretil: "And the Lord summoned one of his archangels by name Pravuil, whose knowledge was quicker in wisdom than the other archangels, who wrote all the deeds of the Lord..."
In Islam the two recording angels are called Raqib and Atid that record human speech: each records faithful or blasphemous speeches, and also records a human's deeds. They are considered as the Kiraman Katibin angels, the two angels, believed by many Muslims, who record a person's good and bad deeds.
To a degree, the recording angel overlaps with the Guardian angel in Christian theology. The guardian angel serves as an individual's recording angel.