Azrael
Azrael (/ˈæzri.əl, -reɪ-/; Hebrew: עֲזַרְאֵל, romanized: ʿǍzarʾēl, 'God has helped'; Arabic: عزرائيل, romanized: ʿAzrāʾīl or ʿIzrāʾīl) is the angel of death in some Abrahamic religions, namely Islam and Christian popular culture.
| עֲזַרְאֵל عزرائيل | |
|---|---|
A welcoming depiction of the Archangel of Death (usually associated with Azrael), by Evelyn De Morgan, 1881 | |
| Angel of Death | |
| Associated religions | Islam and Judaism |
| Attributes | Archangel; psychopomp; wings; cloak. |
| Associations | Jibrāʾīl, Mīkāʾīl, and Isrāfīl (in Islam) |
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Relative to similar concepts of such beings, Azrael holds a benevolent role as God's angel of death; he acts as a psychopomp, responsible for transporting the souls of the deceased after their death. In Islam, he is said to hold a scroll concerning the fate of mortals, recording and erasing their names at their birth and death, similar to the role of the Malakh ha-Maveth (Angel of Death) in Judaism.: 234
Depending on the perspective and precepts of the various religions in which he is a figure, he may also be portrayed as a resident of the Third Heaven, a division of heaven in Judaism and Islam. In Islam, he is one of the four archangels, and is identified with the Quranic Malʾak al-Mawt (ملاك الموت, 'angel of death'), which corresponds with the Hebrew term Malʾakh ha-Maweth (מלאך המוות) in Rabbinic literature. In Hebrew, Azrael translates to "Angel of God" or "Help from God".