About Angels: Do they have a family, are they male or female, what Religion they follow, where do they live ?

Question

Does the Almighty allot two angels for every human being on earth, what is the criteria of allotment ?

Answer 1

Angel are consider genderless in about every religion I have come across.

Answer 2

No, they have no free will and have no gender. Everything in this World submits to God willingly or unwillingly, the Angels are no different.  

Answer 3

Angels follow the commands of God and don't disobey Him in any matter:

003.018 There is no god but He: That is the witness of Allah, His angels, and those endued with knowledge, standing firm on justice. There is no god but He, the Exalted in Power, the Wise.

Al-Qur'an, 003.018 (Aal-E-Imran [The Family of Imran])

There is no religion for angels. They follow what God commands them to do. They don't disobey Him. The Qur'an tells us how people ascribe characteristics and genders to angels and condemns such acts:

043.019 And they make into females angels who themselves serve Allah. Did they witness their creation? Their evidence will be recorded, and they will be called to account!

Al-Qur'an, 043.019 (Az-Zukhruf [Ornaments of Gold, Luxury])

037.150 Or that We created the angels female, and they are witnesses (thereto)?

Al-Qur'an, 037.150 (As-Saaffat [Those who set the Ranks, Drawn Up in Ranks])

Angels may have different functions. The guardian of h**l is an angel called "Malik":

043.077 They will cry: "O Malik! would that thy Lord put an end to us!" He will say, "Nay, but ye shall abide!"

Al-Qur'an, 043.077 (Az-Zukhruf [Ornaments of Gold, Luxury])

And watching over h**l are angels described in the following verse:

066.006 O ye who believe! save yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is Men and Stones, over which are (appointed) angels stern (and) severe, who flinch not (from executing) the Commands they receive from Allah, but do (precisely) what they are commanded.

Al-Qur'an, 066.006 (At-Tahrim [Banning, Prohibition])

To sum up, we don't really know much of the nature of angels but that which Allah has told us. Angels too, don't know everything:

002.031 And He taught Adam the names of all things; then He placed them before the angels, and said: "Tell me the names of these if ye are right."

002.032 They said: "Glory to Thee, of knowledge We have none, save what Thou Hast taught us: In truth it is Thou Who art perfect in knowledge and wisdom."

Al-Qur'an, 002.031-032 (Al-Baqara [The Cow])

ADDITION:

It is reported that the prophet (pbuh) mentioned that the archangel Jubra'eel (Gabriel) has six hundred wings:

There are three consecutive Ahadith in Sahih Muslim:

Book 001, Hadith Number 0330.

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Chapter : Concerning Sidrat-ul-Muntabi (remotest Lote tree).

Al-Shaibini reported to us: I asked Zirr b. Hubaish about the words of Allah (the Mighty and Great): "So he was (at a distance) of two bows or nearer" (al-Qur'an, liii 8). He said: Ibn Mas'ud informed me that, verily, the Apostle of Allah (may peace be upon him) saw Gabriel and he had six hundred wings.

Book 001, Hadith Number 0331.

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Chapter : Concerning Sidrat-ul-Muntabi (remotest Lote tree).

Al-Shaibani narrated on the authority of Zirr who narrated it on this authority of Abdullah that the (words of Allah): "The heart belied not what he saw" (al Qur'an, liii. 11) imply that he saw Gabriel (peace be upon him) and he had six hundred wings.

Book 001, Hadith Number 0332.

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Chapter : Concerning Sidrat-ul-Muntabi (remotest Lote tree).

Zirr b. Hubaish narrated it on the authority of 'Abdullah (that the words of Allah): "Certainly he saw of the greatest signs of Allah" (al-Qur'an, liii. 18) imply that he saw Gabriel in his (original) form and he had six hundred wings.

ADDITION:

There indeed are two angels appointed for every person. One of them recording the good deeds and the other recording the bad deeds. There are Ahadith on this issue but I will just quote the following one:

Sahih Muslim, Book 042, Hadith Number 7079.

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Chapter : Piety and Softening of Hearts.

Anas b. Malik reported: We were in the company of Allah's Messenger (way peace be upon him) that he smiled and said: Do you know why I laughed? We said: Allah and His Messenger, know best. Thereupon he said: It was because of the (fact that there came to my mind the) talk which the servant would have with his Lord. (on the Day of judgment).He would say: My Lord, have you not guaranteed me protection against injustice? He would say: Yes. Then the servant would say: I do not deem valid any witness against me but my own self, and He would say: Well, enough would he the witness of your self against you and that of the two angels who had been appointed to record your deeds. Then the seal would be set upon his mouth and it would be said to his hands and feet to speak and they would speak of his deeds. Then the mouth would be made free to talk, he would say (to the bands and feet): Be away, let there be curse of Allah upon you. It was for your safety that I contended.

Allah knows best.

Peace be unto you.

Answer 4

They are made out of light, they dont have family, they dont have gender, they follow Islam.They live in space,earth (wherever God has appointed them to work)

Answer 5

The belief in Angels (al-Mala’kah) is the second article of faith in Islam. Allah says:

"The Messenger believes in what has been revealed to him from his Lord, and so do the believers. All believe in Allah, His Angels and His Messengers."

(Qur’an 2:285)

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The Nature of Angels

Angels are beings created from light.

A’shah (ra) narrated that the Prophet (saws) said:

"Angels were created from light, jinn were created from smokeless fire, and Adam was created from that which has been described to you (in the Qur’an and Sunnah)."

(Muslim)

They do not have desires of their own, neither do they eat or drink. They are honoured servants of Allah, and never disobey Him.

They are perpetually in service, in prostration, in a standing posture, or through various other forms of worship.

Allah says:

"Those who are before him are not scornful of worshipping Him, nor do they tire or get bored. They glorify Him night and Day: they do not halt."

(Qur’an 21:19-20)

And also:

"They are honoured servants, who do not precede Him in speech, and they act according to His command. He knows what is ahead of them, and they do not intercede, except for those whom He approves."

(Qur’an 21:26-27)

Angels are also described as having wings:

"Praise be to Allah, the Originator of the Heavens and the Earth, the creator of angels having wings - two, three and four."

(Qur’an 35:1)

However, we should not try to guess the nature or form of these wings. Certainly, there is no basis in Islam, for the corrupt notion, prevalent in the west, that angels are like beautiful little girls with a pair of wings on their backs. We should also be careful that our children are not exposed to those books which contain such misleading pictures, so that they don’t grow up with an incorrect concept of angels.

The angels do not have a gender. They do not procreate, Allah has denounced those who regard them as female. Indeed to do so is the way of the disbelievers.

"Those who do not believe in the Hereafter, surely name the angels with female names."

(Qur’an 53:27)

The pagan Arabs, for example, called the angels; daughters of Allah, despite the fact that they themselves were disdainful of female offspring, and were so ashamed of them that they were inclined to bury their daughters alive. Allah (swt) thus condemns these ignorant beliefs and practices:

"Or has He (Allah) taken, out of that which He created, daughters, and honoured you with sons ? And, when one of them receives tidings of that which He sets up as a likeness to Allah Most Gracious (i.e. of a girl) his face becomes dark and gloomy and fill of grief....And they consider the angels, who are worshippers of Allah, to be females. Did they witness their creation ? Their testimony shall be recorded, and they will be asked."

(Qur’an 43:16,17,19)

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Can Angels be Seen??

Prophets can see angels in their natural form. Al-Bukhari recorded that A’ishah (ra) narrated that the Prophet (saws) saw the Angel Jibreel (as) twice in his natural form. However, ordinary people (i.e. non-Prophets) cannot see them unless they (angels) take on a visible form. Angels can indeed take a material form, such as that of handsome man.

An example of this is found in the Qur’an where Allah sent angels to give Prophet Ibrahim (as) glad tidings of a son, and then to assist the Prophet Lut (as). Lut’s (as) people, being homosexuals, lusted after these angels, but Allah destroyed the depraved sinners.

Allah says:

"And verily, there came our Messengers to Ibrahim with glad tidings. They said ‘salaam’ (i.e. greetings of peace). He answered, "salaam..."

Qur’an: Hud 11:69-83

Also, in the Qur’an, there is the incident in which the angel Jibreel (as) came to Maryam the mother of Isa (as) to inform her that she would miraculously give birth to Isa (as).

Allah says:

"Then we sent to her our Spirit (angel Jibreel) and he appeared before her in the form of a man in all respects..."

(Qur’an 19:17-21)

Lastly there is the famous "Hadith Jibreel" related by Muslim, in which angel Jibreel came to the Prophet (saws) in the form of a man, and asked him about Islam, Iman and Ihsan. This was done in public view, and its purpose was to teach the people about their religion.

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The Duties of Angels

Angels have various duties, with each having a well defined role.

The Qur’an says:

"And there is not any among us, except that has a known position. And we are indeed the ones who glorify Allah."

(Qur’an 37:164-166)

Angels thus teach us the benefits of specialization. So, in the Islamic society, some members must specialize in the Qur’an and its sciences, others in medicine, still others in agriculture and so on and so forth, so that the Muslim community becomes efficient and well balanced. Similarly, in the home, the responsibilities are divided. While the man is responsible primarily for supporting the family financially, the woman has an important role in the upbringing of the children, although she is by no means confined to only this task.

Only Allah knows all the details and roles of all the angels:

"...And none know the hosts of your Lord except He..."

(Qur’an 74:31)

Nevertheless, He has told us about some of these angels through the Qur’an and the Sunnah.