'IZRA'IL

in Islam, the angel of death who separates souls from their bodies; he is one of the four archangels (with Jibril, Mikal, and Israfil). 'Izra'il is of cosmic size: with his 4,000 wings and a body formed by as many eyes and tongues as there are living human beings, he stands with one foot in the fourth (or seventh) heaven, the other on the razor-sharp bridge that divides paradise and hell. Before the creation of man, 'Izra'il proved to be the only angel brave enough to go down to Earth and face the hordes of Iblis, the devil, in order to bring God the materials needed to make man. For this service he was made the angel of death and given a register of all mankind. While 'Izra'il can recognize the name of the blessed (circled in light) and the damned (circled in darkness), he does not know when anyone will die until the tree beneath God's throne drops a leaf bearing the man's name. He must then separate the body and soul after 40 days. Man has several means for forestalling death. By reciting a dhikr (ritual prayer), he prevents the angel of death from entering the throat to take his spirit. When he is distributing sadaqah (alms), the angel cannot take him by the hand. But when, after all protests, the angel returns with an apple from paradise inscribed with the basmalah (the invocation In the name of God, the merciful, the compassionate) or writes God's name in his palm, the spirit must leave. The souls of believers are then gently drawn out and carried to the seventh heaven, but the souls of unbelievers are ripped out of their bodies and hurled down to Earth before they can reach the gates of heaven.