Faith in the Angels

Angels, as the Qur'an informs us, are the servants of God, who carry out His commands. God has assigned them different duties. Gabriel, for instance, delivers the divine revelation to prophets. There are the angels on each side of a man, writing down whatever he does; angels welcoming people to Paradise, and those angels who are the guardians of the Hell; the angels that take back the souls of men, the angels who assist the believers, the angels who communicate to the messengers who among their rebellious people will receive God's punishment, the angels who give the good news of a newborn to the messengers. Angels are obedient beings, who are never arrogant, but who continually glorify God:

Everything in the heavens and every creature on the earth prostrates to God, as do the angels. They are not puffed up with pride. (Sura an-Nahl: 49)

Throughout history, angels have delivered God's messages to mankind. Angels appeared to many prophets, and, in some cases, to sincere believers, such as Mary, and communicated to them the commands and the divine wisdom of God. God informs us about faith in angels in the Qur'an, making it a prerequisite of faith in the Qur'an for Islam. In a verse of the Qur'an, it is stated that faith in angels is an attribute of a believer:

The Messenger has faith in what has been sent down to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. Each one has faith in God and His angels and His Books and His Messengers. We do not differentiate between any of His Messengers. They say, 'We hear and we obey. Forgive us, our Lord! You are our journey's end.' (Sura al-Baqara: 285)