Bismillahi rahmani raheem, assalamu laikum
“Whatsoever is on it (the earth) will perish. And the Face of your Lord full of Majesty and Honour will remain forever” [al-Rahman 55:26-27]
“Everyone shall taste death. Then unto Us you shall be returned” [al-‘Ankaboot 29:57]
“But those who believe (in the Oneness of Allaah — Islamic Monotheism) and do deeds of righteousness, We shall admit them to Gardens under which rivers flow (Paradise), abiding therein forever. Therein they shall have Azwaajun Mutahharatun (purified mates or wives), and We shall admit them to shades wide and ever deepening (Paradise)” [al-Nisa’ 4:57]
It was narrated that Abu Sa’eed al-Khudri (may Allaah be pleased with him) said: The Messenger of Allaah (peace and blessings of Allaah be upon him) said: “Death will be brought forth in the form of a black and white speckled ram, and a caller will cry out, ‘O people of Paradise!’ They will crane their necks and look, and he will say, ‘Do you recognize this?’ They will say, ‘Yes, it is death,’ and all of them will have seen it. Then he will cry out, ‘O people of Hell!’ They will crane their necks and look, and he will say, ‘Do you recognize this?’ They will say, ‘Yes, it is death,’ and all of them will have seen it. Then the ram will be slaughtered, and he (the caller) will say, ‘O people of Paradise, it is eternal and there will be no death; O people of Hell, it is eternal and there will be no death.’” Then he recited (interpretation of the meaning): “And warn them (O Muhammad) of the Day of grief and regrets, when the case has been decided, while (now) they are in a state of carelessness, and they believe not” [Maryam 19:39]
According to the version narrated from Ibn ‘Umar in Muslim (2850): “And the joy of the people of Paradise will be increased, and the grief of the people of Hell will be increased.”
Death in the hadith above is the force in the universe that brings about death, and not the Angels responsible for using it. If death will no longer exist what Happens to the Mala’ika Allah created solely for this purpose, their role in life now will no longer exist, so what will they do in the next life.
The primary role of every Angel is to learn about life and Allah from the perspective (Place/ station/ rank/ maqam) He has placed them in, this process began at the beginning of time when He created them and will end at the end of time when Allah will end the universe, so they have the most complete picture of life of any creature regarding each perspective (Maqam).
“There is not one of us (angels) but has his known place (or position); we are ranged in ranks. And indeed, we are those who exalt Allah.” (37:164-167)
The Angels of Death don’t just know about death, they know about life and its end, how each person lived their life, and every kind of end every single life has received. With that go the lessons, parables, wisdom, Allah taught through each life, this is their unique perspective on life, they are the primary Angels in this world who witness all of life from its beginning to end while other types of Angels will come and go.
Other Angels are preoccupied with what Allah tasked them with and their perfection means they are completely dedicated to it and wont leave it unless Allah changes something. This is what we meant when we said Allah placed the Angels of death at the end of the path and they know it all while other Angels are placed elsewhere and know only up to their place.
The only Angels that know more than them for the exact same reasons as them are the Angels of Jahanam, and the Angels of Jannah, because they will receive people after the judgment and know that result already so they can prepare for peoples arrival, while the Angels of death don’t have the exact details of how the judgment will occur.
But what sets the Angels of death apart from the Angels of Jannah and Jahanam is that the Angels of death witnessed all of this first hand, they live on earth with us while the Angels of Jannah live in Jannah, and the Angels of Jahanam live in Jahanam, and at the heart of knowing, maarifah and the spiritual path is knowledge from direct experience.
Because of this the Angels of Jahanam will stay in Jahanm in the next life and the Angels of Jannah will help us from a relative distance, because neither witnessed the details of life as it occurred.
Insha Allah some of you have already understood the place of these Angels from what we have described, since there is no death in the next life, Allah will ask the Angels of death to share their wisdom knowledge and experiences from what they learned about the lives of man, with mankind as they live in Jannah and they will accompany each person helping him live his life in Ihsan, which can only be achieved with wisdom.
Allah grants wisdom to people, you can’t learn it, because it requires having a sixth sense about things to know how to apply it correctly and that comes from the Angels;
“He gives wisdom to whom He wills, and whoever has been given wisdom has certainly been given much good. And none will remember except those of understanding.” (2:269)
The Angels of death will become guides for mankind in Jannah, their maarifah filling in the gap for the Angels of Jannah so they can do their work in a more complete way with all the details and experience the Angels of death gained from witnessing how we lived our lives.
Shaykh Rami Al Rifai.