Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
There is no authentic evidence that children possess a special ability to see angels. The basic principle is that ordinary people do not see angels in their true form. However, a person may see an angel when the angel takes the form of a human being, by Allah’s permission. Children are no different from other people in this regard.
It is established in the Qur’an and Sunnah that angels may take the form of human beings, and when they do so, people may see them.
Allah تعالى said concerning Jibril (Gabriel), peace be upon him, when he was sent to Maryam:
“Then We sent to her Our Spirit, and it appeared before her as a well-formed man.”
[Maryam: 17]
The angels also came to Ibrahim (Abraham) and Lut (Lot), peace be upon them, in the form of men, and at first they did not know that they were angels.
In the famous hadith of Jibril, Jibril, peace be upon him, appeared before the Companions in the form of a man with extremely white clothing and extremely black hair. After he departed, the Prophet ﷺ informed them that it was Jibril, who had come to teach them their religion.
According to the fatwa, it has not been established that the general population of this Ummah can see angels in their original form. Rather, this has been established for the Prophet ﷺ when he saw Jibril, peace be upon him, in the form in which Allah created him.
Allah تعالى said:
“And they said, ‘Why has an angel not been sent down to him?’ But if We had sent down an angel, the matter would have been settled, and they would not have been given any respite. And if We had made him an angel, We would have made him appear as a man.”
[Al-An‘am: 8–9]
Some scholars have mentioned that human beings ordinarily cannot bear seeing an angel in its original form. Therefore, when an angel is sent to them in a form they can see, it appears in the form of a human being.
There is no authentic evidence in the Qur’an or Sunnah indicating that children see angels in their true form or possess a special ability that differs from adults.
Children are like other people in this regard. If an angel takes the form of a human being and Allah wills for someone to see it, that person may see it, whether young or old.
As for believing that a child sees angels simply because he or she is a child, there is no evidence for this.
Not necessarily.
When angels appeared in human form, people did not always recognize their true identity. Ibrahim and Lut, peace be upon them, did not initially know that their guests were angels.
Therefore, a person today cannot assert with certainty that someone he saw was an angel unless there is evidence from revelation. Revelation, however, ended with the death of the Prophet ﷺ.
There is no evidence that children have a special ability to see angels. People in general do not see angels in their original form, but a person may see an angel if it takes the form of a human being by Allah’s permission.
Therefore, children and adults are alike in this matter, and it is not correct to assert without evidence that what a child sees of people or images is an angel.
And Allah knows best.