Angels in the Form of Human-Beings

8-9-2003 | IslamWeb

Question:

When Allah Sends an Angel (Malek) to someone under a human form, or human image! Is it possible to meet this human form somewhere else? In other words can this human form be a known person or a friend?

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Answer:

All perfect praise be to Allah, The Lord of the Worlds. I testify that there is none worthy of worship except Allah, and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.

There is ample evidence to prove that Allah, The Almighty, may send angels in the form of human beings to some of Allah's servants.

In this context, Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said:

“Allah willed to test three Israelites who were a leper, a blind man, and a bald-headed man. So, he sent them an angel …etc” [Al-Bukhari and Muslim]

In another Hadeeth, Abu Hurayrah narrated that the Prophet said: “A man was going to visit a brother in another village. Allah has sent him an angel on his way. The angel asked the man: “Where are you going? …etc.”

There are so many Ahadeeth and other authentic stories in the Sunnah in this regard that the angel can be seen by the same person in different places by the Will of Allah, as in the case of the three Israelites, the blind man, the bald-headed man, and the leper referred to above.

The angel may be sent in the form of an unidentified or identified person. The angel Gabriel used to visit the Prophet disguised as Dihya al-Kalbi as mentioned in the Hadeeth reported by an-Nasaa'i and at-Tabaraani. By the way, Dihya al-Kalbi was a handsome man.

Allah knows best.