Praise be to Allah, and peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah.
The majority of scholars hold that angels die when Allah wills, but there is no authentic, explicit text that explains the details of their death or the order in which they die. As for their sex, it is not correct to describe them as female, because the Qur’an refutes this claim. Nor should we definitively describe them as male, because there is no authentic text establishing this. Likewise, angels do not marry or reproduce.
The majority of scholars hold that angels are included among the creation that undergoes death and perishing when Allah wills.
Allah تعالى says:
“Everything will perish except His Face.”
[Al-Qasas: 88]
And He سبحانه وتعالى 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.”
[Az-Zumar: 68]
Shaykh al-Islam Ibn Taymiyyah stated that most people hold that all creation dies, including the angels, and that Allah is capable of causing them to die and then bringing them back to life, just as He causes humans and jinn to die and then resurrects them.
However, the details concerning the death of the angels, including the order in which Jibril, Mika’il, Israfil, the Angel of Death, and the Bearers of the Throne die, have not been established through any authentic hadith.
The well-known narration that describes these angels dying one after another is a weak and rejected narration. Therefore, it is not permissible to base matters of belief on its details.
There is no definitive text identifying everyone whom Allah excludes from being struck unconscious in His saying:
“Except whom Allah wills.”
Therefore, it is not appropriate to definitively name particular individuals without authentic evidence.
Likewise, we do not know precisely what happens to the angels who record a person’s deeds after that person dies, because the revealed texts have not explained this.
The Qur’an rejected the claim of the polytheists that the angels were female.
Allah تعالى says:
“And they have made the angels, who are servants of the Most Merciful, females. Did they witness their creation? Their testimony will be recorded, and they will be questioned.”
[Az-Zukhruf: 19]
And He سبحانه وتعالى says:
“Or did We create the angels as females while they were witnesses?”
[As-Saffat: 150]
Thus, it is not permissible to describe the angels as female.
As for describing them as male, there is no authentic text establishing this. Therefore, it is better not to use this description for them. Rather, we say that they are angels and honored servants, as Allah described them.
Allah تعالى says:
“Rather, they are honored servants. They do not precede Him in speech, and they act by His command.”
[Al-Anbiya: 26–27]
The scholars have stated that angels do not marry or reproduce.
Al-Razi reported scholarly agreement that they do not eat, drink, or marry; rather, they are servants of Allah who carry out what He commands them to do.
Therefore, it is not correct to conceive of angels in the same way as human beings with regard to marriage, male and female characteristics, and reproduction.
The majority of scholars hold that angels die when Allah wills, but the details of their death have not been established by authentic texts. Therefore, it is not correct to assert the popular stories concerning the order in which they die.
Likewise, angels are not female according to the Qur’an; describing them as male is not established by authentic evidence; and they do not marry or reproduce.
And Allah knows best.