| Azrael | |
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Other Names |
Azrael, Azazel, Ăzarʾēl,ʿAzrāʾīl,ʿIzrāʾīl, Ajrā-īl, Ezrā’ël |
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First Appearance |
Islamic Theology |
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Created by |
Islamic Theology |
Origin[]
Azrael is the canonical angel of death in Islam, and appears in the apocryphal text Apocalypse of Peter.
Relative to similar concepts of such beings, Azrael holds a benevolent role as God's angel of death; he acts as a psychopomp, responsible for transporting the souls of the deceased after their death. In Islam, he is said to hold a scroll concerning the fate of mortals, recording and erasing their names at their birth and death, similar to the role of the malakh ha-mavet (Angel of Death) in Judaism.
The Hebrew Bible does not mention an angel by the name Azrael, nor does it appear in the rabbinic literature of the Talmud or Midrashim. No such angel is treated as canonical in traditional Rabbinic Judaism.
After the emergence of Islam, the name Azrael became popular among both Christian and Islamic literature and folklore. The name spelled as Ezrā’ël appears in the Classical Ethiopic version of Apocalypse of Peter (dating to the 16th century) as an angel of hell, who avenges those who had been wronged during life.
Along with Gabriel, Michael, and Israfil; Azrael is one of the four major archangels in Islam. He is responsible for taking the souls of the deceased away from the body. Azrael does not act independently, but is only informed by God when the time is up to take a soul.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
All Published appearances of Azrael from before January 1, 1929 are public domain in the US.
Some notable appearances are listed below:
- The Quran
- Apocalypse of Peter
Public Domain Comic Appearances[]
- Jumbo Comics #90:Drew Murdoch investigates a pair of mystic glasses predicting doom – and their mysterious owner, a certain “Azrael”.
- Ghost Comics #3: Story from Jumbo Comics #90 reprinted.
Notes[]
- Azrael is an alias used by multiple fictional characters appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. Both iterations are Christian vigilantes and assassins created by the Order of St. Dumas and/or its derivatives (i.e the Order of Purity), secretive religious organizations seeking to restore justice to Gotham City through religious extremism.