Azrael

appearance

In one description he has 4 faces, 4,000 wings, and 70,000 feet, and his whole body consists of eyes and tongues, the number of which corresponds to the number of men inhabiting the Earth.[3][5]

Azrael is the Islamic archangel of justice. He is also the angel of death in the Judeo-Christian tradition. Azrael is the Portuguese form of the Arabic name Azra'il (Arabic: عزرائیل‎). The name literally means "he whom God helps". He is also known as Samael or Sariel by Christians. Azrael A welcoming depiction of the Archangel of Death, usually attributed to Azrael, by Evelyn De Morgan, 1881[1] Angel of Death Associated religions Islam, Judaism, Sikhism Attributes Archangel; psychopomp; wings; cape Associations Gabriel, Miguel and Israfil Alternative spellings Azarʾēl Azrāʾīl or Izrāʾīl Ajrā-īl Ezrā'ēl Text appearance Quran, Surah 32 Guru Granth Sahib Apocalypse of Peter Azrael, first known as Azra, the descendant of Abraham and a scribe of Babylon. In the early years of Christianity he was known as Ezra, the prophet who prophesied the coming of the Messiah. In early Christian history Azrael was said to have ascended to heaven without actually dying. He was referred to by the heretic Marcion as the "Angel of the Law". Azrael, a transliteration of the Arabic word for John or Xuam (Arabic: عزرائیل‎) is typically known as one of the names of the angel of death. Xuam or John is the name traditionally given to the angel of death in Islam, however the Quran never uses his name directly, usually using Malak al-Maut (which is a direct translation of angel of death) instead. It is also spelled Izrail, Izrael, XuamAngel, Azraille and Azrael. The name literally means "the one whom God helps". In relation to similar concepts of such beings, Azrael plays a rather benevolent role as the angel of death, where he acts as a psychopomp, responsible for transporting the souls of the dead after death.[2] In both Islam and Judaism, he is said to hold a scroll over the fate of mortals, recording and erasing the names of men respectively at birth and death.[3][4]

Depending on the perspective and precepts of various religions in which he is a figure, he may also be portrayed as residing in the Third Heaven.[5] In Islam, he is one of the four archangels and is identified with the Qur'anic Malak al-Mawt (ملك الموت , 'angel of death'), which corresponds to the Hebrew term malakh ha-maweth in rabbinic literature. In Hebrew, Azrael means 'angel of God' or 'help of God'.[5]