Allah, may He be Exalted, has told us that the angels, peace be upon them, do not disobey Allah in what He commands them to do, and they do what they are commanded. Allah has honoured them and made the slaves of His whom He has honoured and bestowed His mercy upon them, because of what He singled them out for of virtues and purified them of all bad attributes. They observe the utmost etiquette with Allah and comply with His commands.
Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{And they say, “The Most Merciful has taken a son.” Exalted is He! Rather, they are [but] honored servants.
They do not speak until He has spoken, and they act by His command.
He knows what was before them and what will be after them, and they cannot intercede except on behalf of one whom He approves. And they are filled with reverent awe of Him.
And whoever of them should say, “Indeed, I am a god besides Him” - that one We would requite with Hell. Thus do We requite the wrongdoers} [Al-Anbiya’ 21:26-29].
So they do not say anything that has to do with the affairs of His dominion until Allah speaks, because of their perfect etiquette and their awareness of the perfect nature of His wisdom and knowledge. Whatever He commands them to do, they comply with His command; no matter what task He gives them, they do it. They do not disobey Him for even an instant, and they do not do anything on the basis of what they themselves desire; rather they do only what Allah commands.
Moreover, Allah has encompassed them with His knowledge for He knows what was before them and what will be after them; that is, their past and future affairs, so they cannot escape His knowledge, just as they cannot escape His command and control.
They cannot intercede for anyone without His permission and consent. If He gives them permission and is pleased with the one for whom they seek to intercede, then they will intercede for him. They are filled with reverent awe of Him – that is, they fear Him and are in awe of Him. They have submitted to His Majesty and their faces are humbled before His glory and beauty.(Tafsir as-Sa`di, p. 521).
Their state does not change, whether before the creation of Adam (peace be upon him) or after this world comes to an end, or on the Day of Resurrection, when all people will be gathered, brought to account and requited for their deeds, or after the people are divided into two groups on the Day of Resurrection: one group who will be in Paradise and another group who will be in the blazing Fire.
Throughout all of that, the angels of Allah do not disobey Him in what He commands them to do, and they do what they are commanded.
They are not among those who are accountable, and they will face no reckoning on the Day of Resurrection; rather their actions and roles in the hereafter will be in accordance with this principle: perfect obedience and submission to Allah, the Lord of the Worlds.
Some of them are bearers of the Throne. Allah, may He be Exalted, says: {And there will bear the Throne of your Lord above them, that Day, eight [of them]} [Al-Haaqqah 69:17].
Some of them surround the Throne, glorifying and praising their Lord. Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{And you will see the angels surrounding the Throne, exalting [Allah] with praise of their Lord} [Az-Zumar 39:73].
Some of them are appointed in charge of the people of paradise. Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{Gardens of perpetual residence; they will enter them with whoever were righteous among their fathers, their spouses and their descendants. And the angels will enter unto them from every gate, [saying]
“Peace be upon you for what you patiently endured. And excellent is the final home}[Al-Ra`d 13:23].
And He, may He be Exalted, says:
{But those who feared their Lord will be driven to Paradise in groups until, when they reach it while its gates have been opened and its keepers say, “Peace be upon you; you have become pure; so enter it to abide eternally therein,” [they will enter]}[Al-Zumar 39:73].
Some of the angels are appointed in charge of the people of Hell. Allah, may He be Exalted, says:
{We have appointed none but angels as keepers of the fire}[Al-Muddaththir 74:31].
{O you who have believed, protect yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones, over which are [appointed] angels, harsh and severe; they do not disobey Allah in what He commands them but do what they are commanded}[At-Tahrim 66:6].
{And those who disbelieved will be driven to Hell in groups until, when they reach it, its gates are opened and its keepers will say, “Did there not come to you messengers from yourselves, reciting to you the verses of your Lord and warning you of the meeting of this Day of yours?” They will say, “Yes, but the word of punishment has come into effect upon the disbelievers”}[Az-Zumar 39:71].
{And those in the Fire will say to the keepers (angels) of Hell: “Call upon your Lord to lighten for us the torment for a day!”}[Ghafir 40:49].
And some of the angels have tasks other than that, knowledge of which belongs only to Allah, the Knower of the unseen. Allah, may He be Glorified and Exalted, says:
{And none can know the hosts of your Lord but He HK} [Al-Muddaththir 74:31].
As-Saffar – one of the Hanafi scholars – was asked: Will the angels be in Paradise? He said: Yes, for they testify to the oneness of Allah. Some of them surround the Throne, glorifying and praising their Lord, and some of them convey greetings of salaam from Allah, may He be Exalted, to the believers, as He says:
{And the angels will enter unto them from every gate, [saying]
“Peace be upon you for what you patiently endured. And excellent is the final home.”}[Al-Ra’d 13:23].
Al-Haba’ik fi Akhbar al-Mala’ik by as-Suyuti, p. 88.
The scholars of the Permanent Committee were asked:
We believe that on the Day of Resurrection, Allah, may He be Exalted, will admit to Paradise everyone among the two races (humanity and the jinn) who believed in Him, and He will admit to Hell everyone who disbelieved in Him. But what will happen to the angels?
They replied: Allah, may He be Glorified, has told us that the angels are: {are [but] honored servants. They do not speak until He has spoken, and they act by His command} [Al-Anbiya’ 21:26-27].
Thus they are honoured and favoured by Allah, and are subject to His control and command. Some of them are appointed in charge of the people of Paradise and some are appointed in charge of the people of Hell; some of them are bearers of the Throne, and some of them surround the Throne. And Allah knows best about what the rest of them do in detail.(Fatawa al-Lajnah ad-Da’imah, 3/468-469).
And Allah knows best.
See also the answer to question no. 121242.
