Can I Call Someone an “Angel” as a Compliment?
Answered by Mawlana Ilyas Patel
Question
Is it permissible to call someone an “angel” as a way of praising their good character or kind heart?
Answer
In the Name of Allah, the Most Merciful and Compassionate.
Yes, it is generally permissible to call someone an “angel” metaphorically to praise their good character, as long as you do not mean it literally (i.e., you do not believe they are actually an angel created by Allah).
When the women of Egypt saw Prophet Yusuf (peace be upon him), they were so bewildered that they cut their hands. When cutting their fruit, they saw this object of wonder, the knife unconsciously ran over their hand, as it occasionally happens when one’s thought is diverted to something else, and said:
مَا هَـٰذَا بَشَرًا إِنْ هَـٰذَا إِلَّا مَلَكٌ كَرِيمٌ
“Oh God! He is no human being. He is but a noble angel.”
By which they meant that one exuding such light can only be an angel. [Shafi, Ma‘arif al-Quran]
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I pray this helps with your question.
Wassalam,
[Mawlana] Ilyas Patel
Checked and Approved by Shaykh Faraz Rabbani
Mawlana Ilyas Patel has received a traditional education in various countries. He started his schooling in the UK and completed his hifz of the Quran in India. After that, he joined an Islamic seminary in the UK, where he studied secular and Aalimiyya sciences. Later, he traveled to Karachi, Pakistan, and other Middle Eastern countries to further his education. Mawlana has served as an Imam in the Republic of Ireland for several years and taught the Quran and other Islamic sciences to both children and adults. He also worked as a teacher and librarian at a local Islamic seminary in the UK for 12 years. Currently, he resides in the UK with his wife and is interested in reading and gardening.
