Angels · Angel of provision and rain
ميكائيل
Mikail (Michael)
Named beside Jibril in the Qur'an; steward of the rain and the measures of sustenance.
The account
Mika'il is one of only two angels the Qur'an names in a single breath, sealing the matter of anyone who would love one envoy of Allah and hate another: "Whoever is an enemy to Allah, His angels, His messengers, and Jibril and Mikal, then indeed Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers" (2:98). The verse descended when a party of the People of the Book claimed Jibril as their enemy and Mika'il as their friend; heaven refused the sorting.
The tradition assigns him the treasuries of mercy in their most material form: the rain, the wind that carries it, and the growth that follows, measures weighed and dispatched, not weather at random. In the Prophet's ﷺ opening du'a of the night prayer he is invoked by name: "O Allah, Lord of Jibril, Mika'il, and Israfil, Originator of the heavens and the earth." A report in the Musnad adds a portrait of his gravity: the Prophet asked Jibril why he never saw Mika'il laugh, and was told he had not laughed since the Fire was created. The angel who waters the world does not find it a light responsibility.
The facts
- Named inQur'an 2:98
- ChargeRain and provision, by measure
- InvokedIn the night-prayer opening
- GravityHas not laughed since the Fire (Ahmad)
The Qur'an on it
مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّلَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَجِبْرِيلَ وَمِيكَالَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَدُوٌّ لِّلْكَافِرِينَ
Whoever is an enemy to Allah, His angels, His messengers, and Jibril and Mikal, then Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers.
The narrations
O Allah, Lord of Jibril, Mika'il and Israfil, Originator of the heavens and the earth… guide me in what is disputed, by Your permission.
Muslim 770
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The Unseen