as such, but I have classed it as a spiritual function because death makes both the believers and unbelievers enter a new life. It may be added here that the Ḥadīth mentions an angel of birth, that is an angel appointed for every man when he quickens in the mother’s womb (Bu. 59:6). There are, however, verses in the Holy Qur’ān which show that the angelic hosts have some sort of connection with the physical world. The most important of these verses are those which speak of the creation of man (Adam). When God wished to create man, He communicated His wish to the angels (2:30; 15:28; 38:71). This shows that the angels were there before man was created, and, therefore, must have had some sort of connection with the physical world and with the forces which brought about the creation of man. Unless they are treated as intermediaries carrying out the Divine will, the communication to them of the Divine will to create man is meaningless. These verses, therefore, lead us to the conclusion that the laws of nature find expression through angels. It is due to this function of theirs that they are called messengers (rusul) (22:75; 35:1). Expression of the Divine will is a Divine message, and the angels as bearers of that message carry it into execution. Their description as bearers of the Throne (‘Arsh) of the Lord (40:7; 69:17) leads to the same conclusion for, as already stated, the ‘Arsh stands for the Divine control of the universe, and the angels, the bearers of that control, are in fact the intermediaries through whom that control is exercised.
Vastly greater importance is, however, attached to the angelic function in the spiritual world, because it is primarily with the spiritual development of man that the Holy Qur’ān is concerned. To put it briefly, the function of the angel in the spiritual world is the same as his function in the physical world — to serve as an intermediary in carrying out the Divine will which, in the latter case, is to bring about the evolution of creation, and in the former, the evolution of man. According to the teachings of Islām, the angel has a close connection with the life of man from his birth, even from the time he is in the mother’s womb till his death, and even after death, in his spiritual progress in Paradise and his spiritual treatment in Hell. The different functions of the angel in connection with the spiritual life of man may be broadly divided into seven classes which