Explanation of the words of Imam al-Nawawi (may Allah have mercy on him) regarding what he quoted: "… and His angels …"

The Shaykh : Praise be to Allah, Lord of the worlds, and I send prayers and peace upon our Prophet Muhammad, the Seal of the Prophets and the Imam of the righteous, and upon his family and his Companions, and those who follow them with excellence until the Day of Judgment. As for what follows:
We have spoken, as Allah pleased, about the saying of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) The Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) said The angels are a hidden realm created by Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) from light, and He assigned them specific duties. Every person acts according to what Allah has commanded him. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said regarding the angels of the Fire They do not have arrogance toward the command, nor are they incapable of it; they do what they are commanded and are able to do it, unlike humans. Humans may become arrogant toward the command or be incapable of it, but the angels were created to execute the command of Allah, whether in acts of worship related to them or in the interests of creation. For example, Jibril is the noblest of the angels, entrusted with the revelation, bringing it down from Allah to His messengers and prophets. He is entrusted with the noblest thing that benefits creation and the servants, and he is one of strength, trustworthy and obeyed. He is obeyed among the angels, and for this reason he is the noblest of the angels, just as Muhammad (peace and blessings be upon him) is the noblest of the messengers. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) said meaning He taught the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) the Qur'an meaning one of intense strength, and he is Jibril meaning one of a good form meaning He perfected and elevated him, and he is at the highest horizon. And He (Mighty and Majestic) said meaning Jibril
Among them are also those entrusted with the interests of creation from another aspect, in the life of the earth and plants, such as Mikail. Mikail is entrusted with the rain, meaning the rain and plants, in which lies the life of bodies, the life of people and the life of beasts. The first is Jibril, entrusted with what gives life to the hearts, which is the revelation, and this one is entrusted with what gives life to the bodies, which is the rain and plants.
Among them is Israfil. Israfil is one of the great bearers of the Throne, and he is entrusted with blowing the Trumpet. The Trumpet is a great horn, its circumference is like the space between the heavens and the earth. Israfil blows into it, and when people hear it, they hear a sound they have never known before, a disturbing sound, and they are terrified, then they are struck with a swoon and die from the intensity of this sound. Then he blows into it a second time, and behold, they stand up looking. The souls fly out of this horn, from this Trumpet, then each soul returns to the body that it inhabited in this world, not missing a single hair. Glory be to Allah, by the command of Allah (Mighty and Majestic). These are three, all entrusted with what contains life. The first is Jibril, entrusted with what gives life to the hearts; the second is Mikail, with what gives life to plants and the earth; and the third is Israfil, with what gives life to the bodies.
For this reason, the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) would praise Allah with His lordship over these three angels in the opening of the night prayer, saying in the opening of the night prayer instead of "Subhanak Allahumma wa bihamdika": "O Allah, Lord of Jibril, Mikail, and Israfil, Creator of the heavens and the earth, Knower of the unseen and the witnessed, You judge between Your servants in that in which they differ. Guide me to the truth in that in which they differ, for You guide whom You will to a straight path"
Among them is the one entrusted with taking the souls, the Angel of Death, and he has helpers who assist him in that. They descend with the shroud and the spices for the soul that exits the body, if it is from the people of faith. And I ask Allah to make me and you among them.
The student: Amen.

The Shaykh : They descend with a shroud from Paradise and spices from Paradise. And if, may Allah protect us, it is from the people of the Fire, they descend with spices from the Fire and a shroud from the Fire. Then they sit with the dying person whose term has come, and they extract his soul until it reaches the throat. When it reaches the throat, the Angel of Death takes it, then he gives it to them, and they place it in the spices and the shroud. The angels shroud and apply spices to the soul, and humans shroud and apply spices to the body. What is the care from Allah? The care from Allah for the human being: angels shroud his soul, and humans shroud his body. For this reason, Allah the Exalted said They do not neglect its preservation, nor do they neglect it.
The Angel of Death, Allah the Exalted gave him the ability to take souls in the east and west of the earth. He takes them even if they die in a single moment. If it were assumed that a group were struck by an accident and died at the same time, the Angel of Death would take all these souls. Do not be surprised, for the angels are not measured by humans. Allah (Glorified and Exalted is He) gave the angels a great power, stronger than the jinn. The jinn are stronger than humans, and the angels are stronger than the jinn. Look at the story of Sulayman a giant, meaning strong and severe Where is the location of the Throne? In Yemen, and Sulayman was in the Levant, a month's journey. He said, "I will bring it to you before you rise from your place, and indeed he is strong and trustworthy." And it was his habit to rise from his place at a specific time. Which is faster? The second, without doubt. Meaning, "Cast your gaze; you will not see it until it has come to you." Immediately, he saw it settled before him. The scholars said that this one who had knowledge of the Book called upon Allah by His Greatest Name, so the angels carried the Throne from Yemen to the Levant in that moment. So the angels are stronger than the jinn. Do not be surprised that people die in the east and west of the earth and that one angel takes their souls, as He the Exalted said If Allah says to this angel, "Take the soul of everyone who died," is it possible for him to say no? Yes, it is not possible. For this reason, when Allah said to the Pen, "Write, write what is to be until the Day of Resurrection," the Pen is inanimate, did it write or not? It wrote what is to be until the Day of Resurrection. So when Allah (Mighty and Majestic) commands a matter, it cannot be disobeyed, except by the rebellious among the jinn or among the children of Adam. As for the angels, they do not disobey Allah in any case. These are four of the angels.
The fifth is Malik. Malik is the one entrusted with the Fire; he is its keeper. Allah the Exalted mentioned him in His statement about the people of the Fire What does mean? It means to torment us, destroy us, and drive us away from what we are in. He said
The sixth is the keeper of Paradise, and it was mentioned in some narrations that his name is Ridwan. Ridwan is entrusted with Paradise, just as Malik is entrusted with the Fire. Whoever knows the name of the angels, we believe in him by his name. And whoever does not know his name, we believe in him in a general sense; we believe in his work that we know, and in his description, and in all that came in the Book and the Sunnah regarding the descriptions of these angels.
Now, we said that the angels are a hidden realm. Is it possible for them to be seen? The answer is yes, they may be seen, either in the form in which they were created, or in the form of whoever Allah wills them to take. Jibril was seen by the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) in the form in which Allah created him in two places: on the earth and in the sky. On the earth, in the Cave of Hira near Mecca, and in the sky at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary Do you know how he saw him? He saw him with six hundred wings, having filled the horizon, filling the entire horizon, and he had six hundred wings, and none knows their extent except Allah (Mighty and Majestic). But if something is high and fills the horizon, it means it is very vast. This is what the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) saw in his form twice. Sometimes he comes in the form of a man, as in the hadith we are discussing now. He came in the form of a man with very black hair and very white clothes, with no trace of travel on him, and the Companions did not recognize him. He came in the form of a human being, and Allah is able to do all things. He (Glorified and Exalted is He) gave them the ability to take the form of humans, either by their choice or by the will of Allah, commanding them to be in this form. Allah knows best. This is the state of the angels (peace be upon them), and the details of what came regarding them are mentioned in the Book of Allah and in the Sunnah of the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him). But it is upon us to believe in these angels and that they are strong and severe. Allah the Exalted said to them in the Battle of Badr So they fought with the Companions in Badr.