1.1. Names of angels which are confirmed in the Qur’an or Sunnah
i. Jibril:
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "Say, “Whoever is an enemy to Jibril - it is none but he who has brought the Qur’an down upon your heart, O Muhammad, by permission of Allah, confirming that which was before it and as guidance and good tidings for the believers.” (al-Baqarah 2:97)

It was narrated that Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "The Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) was the most generous of people, and he was at his most generous in Ramadan, when Jibril would meet him. He would meet him every night in Ramadan and review the Qur’an with him." [18] Narrated in a lengthy hadith by al-Bukhari, 6; and Muslim, 2308.

Ibn Taymiyah said, “The angels are not the innate knowledge that humans have of what is good, as the philosophers say. Rather Jibril (peace be upon him) was an angel, distinct and separate from the Messenger. He would hear the words of Allah from Allah, and bring them down to the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him), as is indicated by the religious texts and the scholarly consensus of the Muslims.” [19] See: Minhaj al-Sunnah al-Nabawiyyah, 2/537.

ii. Mika’il
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Jibril and Mika’il - then indeed, Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers." (Al-Baqarah 2:98)

Ibn Kathir said, “And Jibril and Mika’il – this comes under the heading of mentioning something specific after referring to it in general terms, for they are included among the angels and are among the messengers in a broad sense, then they are singled out for mention because the verse was revealed to support Jibril, who is the ambassador between Allah and His prophets. Mika’il is mentioned alongside him because the Jews claimed that Jibril was their enemy and Mika’il was their ally. Therefore Allah told them that anyone who takes one of them as an enemy has taken the other one as an enemy, and has also taken Allah as an enemy.” [20] See: Tafsir Ibn Kathir, 1/342.

It was narrated that ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "When he the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) got up to pray at night, he would start his prayer with the words, “O Allah, Lord of Jibra’il, Mika’il and Israfil, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen…” [21] Narrated by Muslim, 770.

iii. Israfil
It was narrated that ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) said, "When he the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) got up to pray at night, he would start his prayer with the words: “O Allah, Lord of Jibra’il, Mika’il and Israfil, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen…” [22] Narrated by Muslim, 770.

Ibn al-Qayyim said regarding them, “Their leaders are the three angels: Jibril, Mika’il, and Israfil.” [23] Ighathat al-Lahfan, 2/843.

It is well known among the scholars that Israfil is the one who will blow the Trumpet. Some of them narrated that there is consensus on that, but that is not proven in any sahih report. [24] See 3.3. The angel who is appointed to blow the Trumpet, in 3. The actions of the angels, in this chapter.

iv. Malik
Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "And they will call, “O Malik, let your Lord put an end to us!” He will say, “Indeed, you will remain.”
(al-Zukhruf 43:77)

Ibn Jarir said, “Here Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, is saying that after He has admitted those evildoers to Hell, and there befalls them of torment what befalls them, they will call out to Malik, the keeper of Hell, 'O Malik, let your Lord put an end to us!'” [25] See: Tafsir Ibn Jarir, 20/649.

It was narrated that Samurah (may Allah be pleased with him) said, "The Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, 'Last night I saw in a dream two men coming to me. They said. 'The one who kindles the fire is Malik, the keeper of Hell, I am Jibril and this is Mika’il.'" [26] Narrated by al-Bukhari, 3236.

v. and vi. Munkar and Nakir:
They are the two angels in charge of the trial of the grave and the questioning of the individual about his Lord, his religion, and his Prophet. Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Messenger of Allah (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “When the deceased – or one of you – is buried, there come to him two black, blue-eyed angels, one of whom is called al-Munkar and the other al-Nakir. They say: ‘What did you say about this man?’ and he says what he used to say: ‘He is the slave of Allah and His Messenger. I bear witness that there is no god worthy of worship except Allah and that Muhammad is His slave and Messenger.’ They say: ‘We knew that you would say that.’ … But if he was a hypocrite he says: ‘I heard the people saying something so I said something like what they said. I do not know.’ They say: ‘We knew that you would say that.’” [27] Narrated in a lengthy hadith by at-Tirmidhi, 1071; al-Bazzar, 8462; and Ibn Hibban, 3117. It was classed as sahih by Ibn Hibban, and by Ibn Qutaybah in Ta’wil Mukhtalif al-Hadith, 294; classed as hasan by al-Albani in Sahih Sunan al-Tirmidhi, 1071; and by Shu‘ayb al-Arna’ut in Takhrij Sharh al-Sunnah, 5/416. Al-Tirmidhi said: It is hasan gharib.

Ahmad ibn al-Qasim said to Ahmad ibn Hanbal, “I said: O Abu ‘Abdillah, do you believe in Munkar and Nakir, and what is narrated about the punishment in the grave? He said: Yes, subhan-Allah! We believe in that and affirm it. I said: This phrase, Munkar and Nakir, do you say that, or do you say the two angels? He said: We say Munkar and Nakir, and they are two angels.” [28] See: Ibn Abi Ya‘la: Tabaqat al-Hanabilah, 1/55.

Ibn Abi ‘Asim said, “The reports about the questioning in the grave by Munkar and Nakir are proven reports which give us certainty about this matter. We hope that Allah will make us steadfast in our graves when we are questioned by Munkar and Nakir, with the word that stands firm, in the life of this world and in the hereafter.” [29] See: al-Sunnah, 2/419.

Ibn Taymiyah said, “As for the hadiths which speak of the punishment of the grave and the questioning by Munkar and Nakir, there are many such hadiths, which were narrated via tawatur from the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him).” [30] See: Majmu‘ al-Fatawa, 4/285.

vii. and viii. Harut and Marut
They – according to one scholarly view – are two angels who came down to earth as a test and trial by Allah of His slaves. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "And they followed instead what the devils had recited during the reign of Sulayman. It was not Sulayman who disbelieved, but the devils disbelieved, teaching people magic and that which was revealed to the two angels at Babylon, Harut and Marut. But the two angels do not teach anyone unless they say, “We are a trial, so do not disbelieve by practicing magic.” And yet they learn from them that by which they cause separation between a man and his wife. But they do not harm anyone through it except by permission of Allah. And the people learn what harms them and does not benefit them. But the Children of Israel certainly knew that whoever purchased the magic would not have in the Hereafter any share. And wretched is that for which they sold themselves, if they only knew." (Al-Baqarah: 102) "And if they had believed and feared Allah, then the reward from Allah would have been far better, if they only knew." (Al-Baqarah 2:103)

Ibn Kathir said, “Among the angels who are mentioned by name in the Qur’an are Harut and Marut, according to the view of many of the earlier generations. Many reports have been narrated regarding their story and about them, most of which are Isra’iliyyat (reports from Jewish sources).” [31] See: al-Bidayah wa’l-Nihayah, 1/109.

However, al-Qurtubi said, “In the phrase wa ma unzila ‘ala al-malakayn translated above as “and that which was revealed to the two angels”; however, according to al-Qurtubi’s view, it means “and magic was never revealed through the two angels Jibril and Mikal”, the particle ma is a negation, and the conjunction wa follows on from the phrase wa ma kafara Sulayman it was not Sulayman who disbelieved. That is because the Jews said that Allah had sent Jibril and Mika’il down with witchcraft, so Allah negated that. What it means, more simply, is: Sulayman did not disbelieve and witchcraft was not sent down to the two angels; rather the devils disbelieved and taught witchcraft to the people in Babylon, and their names were Harut and Marut; these are the names of those devils. This is the best way to interpret this verse, and is the most correct view concerning it; no attention should be paid to anything else.” [32] See: Tafsir al-Qurtubi, 2/50.

Ibn ‘Ashur said, “The phrase wa ma unzila is connected to the reign of Sulayman, so it follows on from the phrase wattaba‘u ma tatlu al-shayatinu ‘ala mulki Sulayman translated above as: “And they followed instead what the devils had recited during the reign of Sulayman”; however, according to Ibn ‘Ashur’s view, it means: “They follow what the devils relate of Sulayman’s kingdom”, meaning that the devils told lies about Sulayman’s reign. Thus what is meant is that their words, namely what the devils tell of lies about what was sent down to the two angels at Babylon, is not true. In other words, they falsely attributed some witchcraft to what was sent down at Babylon. Al-Fakhr said: This is the view favoured by Abu Muslim, who denied that witchcraft was sent down to the two angels, because it is not possible that Allah would command them to practice witchcraft. How could the angels teach witchcraft to people when it is disbelief and evildoing?

And it was said that the negation ma is connected to the phrase wa ma kafara Sulayman it was not Sulayman who disbelieved; in other words, Sulayman did not commit any act of disbelief by practising witchcraft, as those who practised it claimed, and witchcraft was not sent down to the two angels in Babylon.” [33] See: Tafsir Ibn ‘Ashur, 1/639.