Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Scholars have differed concerning whether the angels die when the Hour is established. Most of them held that they do die, while others held that they do not. There is no authentic, explicit hadith that decisively settles the issue in all its details. Those who maintain that the angels die have relied mainly on general Qur’anic texts. As for the well-known story describing in detail the deaths of Jibril, Mika’il, Israfil, and the Angel of Death, it is not authentic, and the hadith from which these details are narrated is weak and objectionable. Therefore, it is better to adhere to what has been authentically established and not to assert details concerning the unseen for which there is no sound evidence.
Most scholars held that the angels die, citing the words of Allah Almighty:
“Everything will perish except His Face.”
[Al-Qasas 28:88]
They said that the general meaning of this verse includes created beings, among them the angels. This view has been reported from a number of scholars, and some even reported consensus on it, although the issue is, in fact, a matter of scholarly disagreement.
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah (may Allah have mercy on him) stated that the view held by most people is that all created beings die, including the angels and the Angel of Death.
There is no authentic and explicit hadith establishing this.
There is a lengthy narration known as the Hadith of the Trumpet, which mentions the death of the bearers of the Throne, followed by Jibril and Mika’il, and then the Angel of Death. However, this hadith is weak and defective.
A number of leading hadith scholars declared it weak. It has been reported that al-Bukhari said concerning the Hadith of the Trumpet:
“It is not authentic.”
It was also weakened by Ahmad, al-Daraqutni, al-Bayhaqi, Ibn Hajar, and others, while al-Albani classified it as objectionable (munkar).
Therefore, a detailed belief concerning the death of the angels should not be based on this narration.
The commonly circulated story states that the Angel of Death first goes to Jibril and takes his soul, then to Mika’il, then Israfil, and afterward Allah commands the Angel of Death himself to die between Paradise and Hell. It also contains descriptions of their weeping, the agonies of their deaths, and their cries. These details are not authentically established.
In fact, the commonly circulated wording of this story has not been narrated with a known chain of transmission. Ibn al-Jawzi mentioned it in Bustan al-Wa‘izin without a chain of narration, while the original Hadith of the Trumpet itself is not authentic.
Therefore, this story should not be circulated as a hadith or as an established fact concerning the Day of Resurrection.
Allah Almighty says:
“And the Trumpet will be blown, and whoever is in the heavens and whoever is on the earth will fall unconscious, except whom Allah wills. Then it will be blown again, and at once they will be standing, looking on.”
[Az-Zumar 39:68]
Some scholars used this verse as evidence that certain angels may be exempted from the overwhelming blast.
However, this does not decisively settle the question of whether they die, because being exempted from that blast does not necessarily mean that they will not die afterward. Therefore, the issue remained a matter of disagreement among scholars.
Ibn Hazm and some Qur’anic commentators held that the angels do not die.
Among the evidence they cited is the hadith of Ibn ‘Abbas (may Allah be pleased with them both), in which the Prophet ﷺ used to say:
“I seek refuge in Your Might—there is no deity worthy of worship except You—the One who does not die, while the jinn and mankind die.”
[Narrated by al-Bukhari and Muslim]
Some scholars argued that specifically mentioning the jinn and mankind indicates that the angels do not die.
However, the majority responded that the hadith does not indicate that everything other than jinn and mankind does not die. Therefore, it is not a decisive text on the issue.
Because this issue belongs to the realm of the unseen, and the unseen cannot be known through speculation, but only through revelation.
Allah Almighty says:
“Do not pursue that of which you have no knowledge. Indeed, the hearing, the sight, and the heart—all of these will be questioned.”
[Al-Isra 17:36]
The fatwa explains that the disagreement concerning the death of the angels is a recognized scholarly disagreement and that the matter does not affect any practical obligation or fundamental principle of the religion. Had knowledge of it been necessary, clear and authentic texts would have decisively explained it.
We should not assert details that revelation has not informed us about.
For example, there is no text explaining in detail what happens to the two angels assigned to record a person’s deeds after that person dies—whether those angels then die or remain alive, or where they go.
The Permanent Committee therefore stated that the circumstances of the angels belong to matters of the unseen that can only be known through revealed texts, and whatever has not been established by evidence should be left to the knowledge of Allah Almighty.
Scholars have differed concerning whether the angels die. Most scholars held that they do die, while others held that they do not. There is no authentic and explicit hadith that decisively settles the details of this issue.
As for the famous story describing the death of Jibril, followed by Mika’il, then Israfil, and finally the Angel of Death, including the words of each of them and the agonies of their deaths, it is not authentic and must not be attributed to the Prophet ﷺ as an established hadith.
In matters of the unseen such as this, the better approach is to believe in what has been established in the Qur’an and authentic Sunnah and to refrain from asserting what has not been authentically established. Knowledge of these details is not something upon which a Muslim’s faith or deeds depend.
And Allah knows best.