Angels, Predestination and Akhirah
Malaikah: Angels in Islam
Malaikah (singular: malak) are angels — spiritual beings created by Allah from light (nur). They have no free will; they exist only to obey Allah. The Qur’an describes angels as messengers “having wings, two or three or four” (Surah 35:1), and Jibril appeared to Maryam in the form of a man. Muslims do not, however, make pictures or statues of angels. Angels are part of the unseen world (al-ghayb).
Three angels are particularly significant in Islamic belief:
- Jibril (Gabriel): the angel of revelation, through whom Allah communicated the Qur’an to Muhammad. Surah 2:97–98 states: “Whoever is an enemy of Jibril — it is he who has brought the Qur’an down upon your heart.” Jibril also appeared to Maryam to announce the birth of Isa.
- Mika’il (Michael): the angel of sustenance and mercy, associated with rain, provision and natural phenomena that sustain life. Surah 2:98 mentions him alongside Jibril.
- Izra’il: the angel of death, who takes the soul at the moment of death. Surah 32:11 states: “The angel of death who has been entrusted with you will take you, and then you will be returned to your Lord.” Izra’il serves as a reminder that death is controlled by Allah, not by chance.
The Qur’an also names Kiraman Katibin — the two recording angels assigned to every person, noting their deeds. These records will be opened on the Day of Judgement.
Three named angels: Jibril (revelation, Surah 2:97–98), Mika’il (sustenance, Surah 2:98), Izra’il (death, Surah 32:11). All are created from light, have no free will, and carry out Allah’s commands perfectly.
Al-Qadr: Predestination
Al-Qadr is the Arabic term for divine decree or predestination. Muslims believe that Allah has complete foreknowledge of all events and that nothing falls outside his will. The hadith in Sahih al-Bukhari 78:685 relates the Prophet Muhammad’s teaching that every human being is created with their fate ‘written’ by an angel before birth, including their provision, lifespan, deeds and whether they will enter paradise or the fire.
This doctrine is one of the Six Beliefs of Sunni Islam. It teaches that human beings are not independent agents operating outside Allah’s knowledge, but it does not eliminate human moral responsibility: Muslims are still judged on the basis of their choices.
Sunni and Shi’a approaches to predestination differ in emphasis:
- Sunni Islam holds that al-Qadr is one of the Six Beliefs: Allah knows and decrees all things. Most Sunni theologians teach that both divine foreknowledge and genuine human free will coexist, though how this is possible remains a theological mystery. Human beings choose and are accountable; Allah knows those choices in advance.
- Shi’a Islam places greater emphasis on Adl (divine justice) as the governing principle. A just God would not predetermine a person’s actions and then punish them — therefore, humans must have genuine freedom. Shi’a theology generally stresses human free will more strongly than some Sunni accounts.
Akhirah: Life After Death
Akhirah means ‘the hereafter’ or ‘the afterlife.’ It encompasses the events that follow death: the intermediate state (barzakh), the resurrection, the Day of Judgement, and the final destinations of paradise (Jannah) or hell (Jahannam).
Surah 17:49–72 is a key Qur’anic passage on Akhirah. It describes sceptics asking how God could resurrect decomposed bones, to which the answer is: “Say: Be you stones or iron, or [any] creation of that which is great within your breasts. And they will say, ‘Who will restore us?’ Say, ‘He who created you the first time.’” Allah, who created from nothing, can certainly resurrect the dead.
The sequence of events in Islamic eschatology:
- Death and Barzakh: After death the soul enters a waiting state (barzakh — the ‘barrier’ between this world and the Day of Judgement).
- Resurrection: On the Last Day, all souls are resurrected bodily.
- Judgement: Each person’s deeds are weighed on scales (mizan). The recording angels’ books are opened. Allah’s mercy also plays a decisive role — he may forgive those whose deeds are insufficient.
- Jannah or Jahannam: The righteous enter Jannah (paradise) — a garden of eternal bliss in the presence of Allah. The unrighteous enter Jahannam (hell) — a place of fire and separation from God.
The comparison below highlights key differences between Islamic and Christian afterlife beliefs:
- Both traditions teach bodily resurrection, final judgement, paradise and a place of punishment. Both hold that earthly life shapes eternal destiny.
- Islam: no purgatory or intermediate purification state (other than barzakh as a waiting state). Judgement is based on the weighing of deeds. The role of a mediating figure (like Christ in Christianity) is absent — Allah alone judges, though his mercy is decisive.
- Christianity (Catholic): purgatory allows purification after death for those not fully ready for heaven. Salvation is achieved through faith in Christ, whose atoning death ‘pays’ for sin — a concept absent from Islam. Protestant Christianity rejects purgatory.
- Key difference: Islamic judgement is more explicitly deed-based with direct divine mercy; Catholic Christianity builds in an intermediate purification stage and grounds salvation in Christ’s atonement.
Islamic eschatology sequence: death → barzakh (waiting state) → resurrection → judgement (deeds weighed on mizan) → Jannah (paradise) or Jahannam (hell). Surah 17:49–72 is the key Qur’anic passage on resurrection.