Raphael in Islam
Raphael is honored in Islam as one of the great archangels and is known more commonly as "Israfil" or "Israfel" in Islamic history.
According to the hadith, he is the angel responsible for signaling the coming of Judgment Day by blowing the trumpet (namely Sûr). According to tradition, the trumpet will be blown three times. The first blow of the trumpet will signal the beginning of Last Day and the second blow will signal the death of every living thing including angels, demons and humans and the third blow will signal the time when all the souls from all ages will be gathered for the Last Judgement. According to the Quran, an unnamed trumpet-angel, assumed to be Israfel, has been holding his breath, waiting for Allah's order to blow the Sûr.
Read more about this topic: Raphael (archangel)
Famous quotes containing the words raphael and/or islam:
“I take such men to be inspired. I fancy that this moment Shakespeare in heaven ranks with Gabriel Raphael and Michael. And if another Messiah ever comes twill be in Shakespeare’s person.”
—Herman Melville (1819–1891)
“During the first formative centuries of its existence, Christianity was separated from and indeed antagonistic to the state, with which it only later became involved. From the lifetime of its founder, Islam was the state, and the identity of religion and government is indelibly stamped on the memories and awareness of the faithful from their own sacred writings, history, and experience.”
—Bernard Lewis, U.S. Middle Eastern specialist. Islam and the West, ch. 8, Oxford University Press (1993)