Azrael

This article is about the angel of death. For other uses, see Azriel.

Not to be confused with Sir Azreal, a Knights of the Round Table.

Artistic depiction of Azrael, the Angel of Death.

Azrael is the Islamic Archangel of Death. He is also the Angel of Death in Judeo-Christian extrabiblical tradition and folklore. It is an English form of the Arabic name Azra'il (عزرائيل) or Azra'eil (عزرایل), the name traditionally attributed to the angel of death in Islam (though it should be stressed that there is no Qur`anic verse or authentic hadeeth to prove this) and some Hebrew lore. The Qur'an never uses this name, referring instead to Malak al-Maut (which translates directly as angel of death). It is also spelled Izrail, Izrael, Azrail, Ezraeil, Azraille, Azryel, or Ozryel. Chambers English dictionary uses the spelling Azrael. The name literally means Whom God Helps.

Background

Although some sources have speculated about a connection between Azrael and the human priest Ezra, he is generally depicted as an archangel whose history long predates this figure. Rather than merely representing death personified, Azrael is usually described in Islamic sources as subordinate to the will of God "with the most profound reverence." In Jewish mysticism he is identified as the embodiment of evil, not necessarily or specifically evil itself. Depending on the outlook and precepts of various religions in which he is a figure, Azrael may be portrayed as residing in the Third Heaven. In one of his forms, he has four faces and four thousand wings, and his whole body consists of eyes and tongues, the number of which corresponds to the number of people inhabiting the Earth. He will be the last to die, recording and erasing constantly in a large book the names of men at birth and death, respectively. Riffian (Berber) men of Morocco had the custom of shaving the head but leaving a single lock of hair on either the crown, left, or right side of the head, so that the angel Azrael is able "...to pull them up to heaven of the Last Day."

Commentary

There has been much confusion over true identity of Azrael. The historical documentation provided by scribes in the Islamic tradition, provide a conflicting and inconclusive narrative.

If, according to Islamic tradition, Azrael is Malik-al-Mawt, then this bears only passing similarities to the account given by the Apostle John following his encounter with the one who identifies himself as "the first and the last":

"When I (John) saw Him, I fell at His feet like a dead man. And He placed His right hand on me, saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last" (Revelation 1:17, NASB)

.

Notwithstanding the phonetic similarities between the Arabic Azrael and the Hebraic Israel, it is in the latter that we are given to understand the full significance of the covenantal encounter that transforms Jacob, patriarch of the twelve tribes of Israel (Heb. Ya'aqobh, lit. "one that takes by the heel"), into Israel (Heb. Yisra'el "he that striveth with God).

In the Koran (as in suras xxxii. 11 and lxxix. 1), Azrael is sometimes depicted as an angel of destruction,

In art and literature

Azrael, as both a character or a more abstract concept has been adopted by many different artists, musicians, poets, and authors over the centuries to express or evoke a variety of different meanings or emotions in the reader – often drawing on the cultural resonance of the name for effect.

Depiction of Azrael by Mikhail Vrubel.

In literature, Azrael has been featured by a variety of authors, across a broad range of styles and countries.

• Recently in the West, he has been written about by Terry Pratchett in both Reaper Man and Good Omens, the latter coauthored by Neil Gaiman
• He appears as the main character in Anne Rice's "Servant of the Bones."
• He forms part of the underworld pantheon in the Dragon King series by Stephen Lawhead.
• Philip Pullman's Lord Asriel from His Dark Materials might also be an allegory for Azrael.
• The playwright Arthur Miller wrote in Azrael as a character in "The Creation of Life and Other Business",
• American poet Florence Earle Coates (1850-1927) writes of 'wan-visaged Azrael' in her war poem, "Their Victory Won," published in the December 1918 issue of Harper's Monthly Magazine.
• The Mexican poet Amado Nervo wrote a poem entitled Azrael.
• Appears in the French graphic novel "Poulet aux prunes".
• writer Marc Guggenheim wrote Azrael as the warrior/angel of death whom Wolverine has to fight every time he suffers a lethal wound in order to save his soul, which is returned to his physical body if he is victorious..
• Mimi Force, one of the teen vampires in the Blue Bloods series by Melissa de la Cruz, is supposed to be the reincarnated version of Azrael.
• He appeared as a character played by Jason Lee in the Kevin Smith movie Dogma though in a vastly different interpretation, as a fallen muse and demon, rather an angelic assassin.
• In music, Azrael has been written about in both songs and albums by such varied acts as Demons & Wizards, Coil, The Nice, Crimson Glory and VNV Nation –
• Asrael is a symphony by Czech composer Josef Suk, dating from 1906.
• Azrael is also the name of the Wizard Gargamel's cat in the cartoon The Smurfs
• Also the name of the leader of the fictional chapter of Space Marines from Games Workshop known as the Dark Angels.
• The Swedish black metal band Marduk named one of their songs Azrael, on their album La Grande Danse Macabre.
• The name was also featured in the 1996 PC game Azrael's Tear; the game also featured a specific Biblical quote relating to Azrael's function as Angel of Death.
• The song Cyanide by heavy metal band Metallica is said to be conceptually inspired by Azrael.
• Also, in the Playstation 2 game 'Chaos Legion', Azrael is the second to last boss fought after Victor and before a possessed version of Selia, being the final boss.
• In John C. Wright's Mists of Everness, Azrael plays the part of an evil sorcerer.

See also

• Death (personification)
• Sariel
• Angels in Islam
• Thanatos - The personification of Death in Greek Mythology
• Azrael- Nation of Gods and Earths

External links

• Song of Azrael - An online study of the Jewish, Christian and Muslim records of Azrael.
• The Teaching. Teaching about the purpose of human life, written by Kathleen Long, who claims that she had a personal contact to Azrael.