3.1. The superiority of some of the angels over others
The angels vary in status and some of them are superior to others. The best of them are those who are close to Allah, of whom He says (interpretation of the meaning), "The Messiah would never disdain to be a slave to Allah, nor would the angels who are close to Him." (al-Nisa’ 4:172) Al-Razi said, “The words nor would the angels who are close to Him indicate that the angels vary in their rank, status, and virtue. The most prominent among them are Jibril, Mika’il, Israfil, ‘Izra’il and the bearers of the Throne.” [213] See: Tafsir al-Razi, 11/273.

It was narrated from ‘A’ishah (may Allah be pleased with her) that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) used to begin his prayer, when he got up to pray at night, with the words, “Allahumma Rabba Jibrila wa Mika’ila wa Israfil, fatir al-samawati wa’l-ard, ‘alim al-ghaybi wa’l-shahadah, anta tahkumu bayna ‘ibadika fima kanu fihi yakhtalifun, ihdini lima’khtulifa fihi min al-haqqi bi idhnik, innaka tahdi man tasha’u ila siratin mustaqim (O Allah, Lord of Jibril, Mika’il and Israfil, Originator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the seen, You judge between Your slaves concerning that wherein they differ. Guide me concerning that wherein they differ of the truth by Your leave, for You guide whomsoever You will to a straight path).” [214] Narrated by Muslim, 770.

Ibn al-Qayyim said, “Allah mentioned these three angels in particular because they are very special and are among those whom Allah chose and brought close to Him. How many are the other angels in the heavens, yet he mentioned only these three.” [215] See: Zad al-Ma‘ad, 1/44.

Allah singled out Jibril and Mika’il for mention in His Book, and mentioned them after having mentioned the angels in general terms, as He says (interpretation of the meaning), "Whoever is an enemy to Allah and His angels and His messengers and Jibril and Mikal - then indeed, Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers." (al-Baqarah 2: 98)
It was said that He only singled them out for mention by way of honouring them. [216] See: Tafsir al-Qurtubi, 2/36.

The best of the angels and the foremost among them is Jibril (peace be upon him). Allah mentioned him in His Book by several honourable names, and ascribed noble characteristics to him. Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "Say: The Pure Spirit has brought it the Qur’an down from your Lord in truth, to make steadfast in faith those who believe, and as guidance and glad tidings for the Muslims." (al-Nahl 16:102) So, He called him the Pure Spirit.

And He says (interpretation of the meaning), "The Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down." (al-Shu’ara’ 26:193) So He called him the Trustworthy Spirit. And He Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "Verily it the Qur’an is a word conveyed by a noble Messenger Jibreel, having power, of high rank before the Lord of the Throne, obeyed there by other angels and, moreover, trustworthy." (al-Takwir 81:19-20) Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him) narrated that the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, “When Allah loves a person, He calls out to Jibril, saying: O Jibril, indeed Allah loves So-and-so, so love him. So Jibril loves him and Jibril calls out to the inhabitants of heaven: Indeed Allah loves So-and-so, so love him. So the inhabitants of heaven love him, then he finds acceptance among the inhabitants of the earth.” [217] Narrated by al-Bukhari, 6040; Muslim, 2637.

Among the best of the angels are those who participated in the battle of Badr. It was narrated from Rifa‘ah ibn Rafi‘ (may Allah be pleased with him) that Jibril came to the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) and said, "How do you regard the people of Badr among you? He said: “We regard them as the best of the Muslims”– or words to that effect. Jibril said: And such are those angels who were present at Badr." [218] Narrated by al-Bukhari, 3992.

3.2. Who is superior, the angels or humankind?
The scholars differed regarding this issue, and there are several views, including the following [219] See: Abu’l-Hasan al-Ash‘ari: Maqalat al-Islamiyyin, 1/180, 2/326; al-Lalka’i: Sharh Usul I‘tiqad Ahl al-Sunnah, 7/1308; Ibn Hazm: al-Fasl, 5/14; Ibn Hajar: Fath al-Bari, 13/386; Ibn Abi’l-‘Izz: Sharh al-Tahhawiyyah, 2/410; Muhammad al-Shuzayfi: Mabahith al-Mufadalah fi’l-‘Aqidah, p. 354. :

i. The first view is that the Prophets and the righteous among humankind are superior to the angels.
This is the view of the majority of Ahl al-Sunnah wa’l-Jama‘ah. [220] See: Ibn Hajar: Fath al-Bari, 13/386.

They quoted several texts as evidence for that, including the following:
a. The verse in which Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "And We certainly chose them by knowledge over all the worlds." (al-Dukhan 44:32)

b. The verse in which Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "Indeed, Allah chose Adam and Nuh and the family of Ibrahim and the family of 'Imran over the worlds." (Al ‘Imran 3:33) Ibn al-Qayyim said, “He Ibn Taymiyah was asked about the righteous among the sons of Adam and the angels: which of them is superior? He replied that the righteous among humankind are superior, if we base our verdict on their perfect end, and the angels are superior if we base our verdict on how they are at present. For at present, the angels are with those on high, and do not go through the circumstances that the children of Adam go through, and they are completely devoted to worshipping the Lord, so undoubtedly their situation at present is more perfect than that of humankind. But on the Day of Resurrection, after people are admitted to Paradise, the condition of the righteous of humankind will become more perfect than that of the angels. Based on the above discussion, we see how they may differ in superiority, and the evidence of the two scholarly groups may be reconciled, and the argument of each group will receive due recognition.” [221] See: Bada’i‘ al-Fawa’id, 3/1104.

c. Another text about the righteous of humankind is the verse in which Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "Verily, those who believe and do righteous deeds – it is they who are the best of beings." (al-Bayyinah 98:7) Ibn al-Qayyim said, “The human has an advantage which no other beings have, for Allah created his father Adam with His own hand, breathed into him the soul which He had created for him, made His angels prostrate to him, taught him the names of all things, and demonstrated his superiority over the angels and those who are lower than them of all beings, whereas he expelled Iblis after he had been close to Him and sent him far away, because he did not prostrate to Adam with those who prostrated, so Allah took him as an enemy. Thus the human believer is the best of all beings, and the one whom Allah chose from among all the worlds.” [222] See: Madarij al-Salikin, 1/227.

ii. The second view is that the angels are superior to humans in all cases.
Among those who held this view were Ibn Hazm and others. [223] See: al-Fasl, 5/15, 18; al-Muhalla, 1/14; Ibn Hajar: Fath al-Bari, 13/386.

They quoted several texts as evidence for that, including the following:
a. The verse in which Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says (interpretation of the meaning), "Say O Muhammad: I do not tell you that I possess the treasuries of Allah or that I know the unseen, nor do I tell you that I am an angel." (al-An‘am 6:50) Ibn Hazm said: “If the Messenger was of higher status than the angel, or of equal status, Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, would not have commanded His Messenger (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) to say this to them, which he only said to demonstrate humility and affirm that he was not of such a high status that he could be thought of as possessing the treasuries of Allah or having knowledge of the unseen. And he did not claim that he was an angel who had been sent down, and that he was of the same level as the angels; rather his level was undoubtedly beneath all of that. He could not have said that if he was above that level.” [224] Al-Fasl, 5/15.

b. The hadith of Abu Hurayrah (may Allah be pleased with him), according to which the Prophet (blessings and peace of Allah be upon him) said, "Allah, may He be glorified and exalted, says: ‘I am as My slave thinks I am, and I am with him when he remembers Me. If he remembers Me to himself, I remember him to Myself; if he remembers Me in a gathering, I remember him in a gathering better than it.’” [225] Narrated in a lengthy hadith by al-Bukhari, 7405; Muslim, 2675.

Ibn Hajar said, “Ibn Battal said: This is a hadith which states that the angels are superior to the children of Adam. This is the view of the majority of scholars, and there is corroborating evidence for that from the Qur’an, such as the verse (interpretation of the meaning), "He Shaytan said: Your Lord only forbade this tree to you, lest you become angels or become immortal." (al-A‘raf 7:20) And the one who is immortal is better than the one who is mortal, so the angels are better than the sons of Adam. [226] See: Sharh Sahih al-Bukhari, 10/429.  However, what is well known among the majority of Ahl al-Sunnah is that the righteous among the sons of Adam are superior to all other types of beings.” [227] See: Fath al-Bari, 13/386.