Angels in Islam in the context of "Islam and blasphemy"

In Islam, Muhammad (Arabic: مُحَمَّد) is venerated as the Seal of the Prophets who transmitted the eternal word of God (Qur'ān) from the angel Gabriel (Jibrīl) to humans and jinn. Muslims believe that the Quran, the central religious text of Islam, was revealed to Muhammad by God, and that Muhammad was sent to guide people to Islam, which is believed not to be a separate religion, but the unaltered original faith of mankind (fiṭrah), and believed to have been shared by previous prophets including Adam, Abraham, Moses, and Jesus. The religious, social, and political tenets that Muhammad established with the Quran became the foundation of Islam and the Muslim world.

According to Muslim tradition, Muhammad was sent to the Arabic community to deliver them from their immorality. Receiving his first revelation at age 40 in a cave called Hira in Mecca, he started to preach the oneness of God in order to stamp out idolatry of pre-Islamic Arabia. This led to opposition by the Meccans, with Abu Lahab and Abu Jahl as the most famous enemies of Muhammad in Islamic tradition. This led to persecution of Muhammad and his Muslim followers who fled to Medina, an event known as the Hijrah, until Muhammad returned to fight the idolaters of Mecca, culminating in the semi-legendary Battle of Badr, conceived in Islamic tradition not only to be a battle between the Muslims and pre-Islamic polytheists, but also between the angels on Muhammad's side against the jinn and false deities siding with the Meccans. After victory, Muhammad is believed to have cleansed Arabia from polytheism and advised his followers to renounce idolatry for the sake of the unity of God.

In Islamic belief, Laylat al-Qadr (in Arabic: لیلة القدر) or Night of Power is an Islamic festival in memory of the night when Muslims believe the Quran was first sent down from heaven to the world, the first revelation the Islamic prophet Muhammad received from the angel Gabriel. The Night of Power belongs to one of the five Kandil Nights.

In the Quran, it is said this night is better than 1,000 months (approximately 83.3 years). According to various hadiths, the exact date of the night is uncertain, though it is believed to fall on one of the odd-numbered nights during the last ten days of Ramadan, the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. Since that time, Muslims have regarded the last ten nights of Ramadan as being especially blessed. Muslims believe the Night comes again every year, with blessings and mercy of God in abundance. The surah al-Qadr is named after this Night, and the chapter’s purpose is to describe the greatness of the occasion.

In Sufism, karamat (Arabic: کرامات, romanized: karāmāt, singular Arabic: کرامة, romanized: karāma) refers to supernatural wonders performed by Muslim saints. In the technical vocabulary of Islamic religious sciences, the singular form karamat has a sense similar to charism, a favor or spiritual gift freely bestowed by God. The marvels ascribed to Muslim saints have included supernatural physical actions, predictions of the future, "interpretation of the secrets of hearts", and walking on water.

The concept is closely related to that of Barakah (divine blessing) which endows the individual with such abilities. Another characteristic of miraculous powers is that the saint's prayers are answered immediately. These prayers must never be for material gain, but are requests for helping or punishing others, if seen befitting. The prayers of saints may also grant them power over the fate of angels, as in mystical hagiography, a saint may pray for forgiveness of a fallen angel and restore their place in the angelic hierarchy.

Rūḥ or The Spirit (Arabic: الروح, al-rūḥ) is mentioned twenty one times in the Quran, where it is described as issuing from command of God. The spirit acts as an agent of divine action or communication.

The Quran describes the rūḥ in various ways. It refers to ruh as (Arabic: الروح القدس al-rūḥ al-qudus), which means 'the holy spirit' and ar-rūḥ al-amin, which means 'the faithful' or 'trustworthy spirit', terms that are commonly understood to be references to the archangel Gabriel. The Quran also refers to ruh as God's own spirit ("My/His Spirit"), which was blown into Adam, and which is considered the source of human life. Most commentators interpret the phrase "My/His (God's) Spirit" in 15:29, 32:9 and 38:72 figuratively as God's power and way of honoring Adam, with some taking a more literal view. This spirit leaves the human body at death, and continues to exist in the afterlife. Further, ruh appears to be a metaphysical being, such as an angel.

A dervish, darvesh, or darwīsh (from Persian: درویش, romanized: Darvīsh) is a Muslim who seeks salvation through ascetic practices and meditations. It can refer to an individual or to a member of a Sufi order (tariqah). Their focus is on the universal values of love and service, deserting the illusions of ego (nafs) to reach God. This is usually done by performing a lifestyle which decreases bodily function to a minimum in order to attain what would be called "esoteric knowledge" in Western terminology. In most Sufi orders, a dervish is known to practice dhikr through physical exertions or religious practices to attain the ecstatic trance to reach God. Their most popular practice is Sama, which is associated with the 13th-century mystic Rumi.

For centuries, this was an individual practice, but in the 12th century, it began to be mostly practiced in fraternities. The oldest historical fraternity is the Qadiriyya order, founded by Abdul Qadir Gilani. According to Islamic beliefs, each order derives their history from the Prophet Muhammad and are authorized by God (Allah) and taught by the angel Gabriel. The theology of such fraternities is always based on Sufism and can vary from quietism to anti-nomianism. Those adhering to law are called ba-shar and those who do not follow law are called bi-shar. In folklore, dervishes are often credited with the ability to perform miracles and ascribed supernatural powers.

In Sufism, karamat (Arabic: کرامات, romanized: karāmāt, singular Arabic: کرامة, romanized: karāma) refers to supernatural wonders performed by Muslim saints. In the technical vocabulary of Islamic religious sciences, the singular form karamat has a sense similar to charism, a favor or spiritual gift freely bestowed by God or gift received by the one who practiced austerities or contemplation. The marvels ascribed to Muslim saints have included teleportation, supernatural physical actions, predictions of the future, "interpretation of the secrets of hearts", and walking on water.

The concept is closely related to that of Barakah (divine blessing) which endows the individual with such abilities. Another characteristic of miraculous powers is that the saint's prayers are answered immediately. These prayers must never be for material gain, but are requests for helping or punishing others, if seen befitting. The prayers of saints may also grant them power over the fate of angels, as in mystical hagiography, a saint may pray for forgiveness of a fallen angel and restore their place in the angelic hierarchy.