Judaism The
Jewish angelic hierarchy is established in the
Hebrew Bible,
Talmud,
Rabbinic literature, and traditional
Jewish liturgy. They are categorized in different hierarchies proposed by various theologians. For example,
Maimonides, in his
Mishneh Torah or
Yad ha-Chazakah: Yesodei ha-Torah, counts ten ranks of
angels. The
Zohar, in
Exodus 43a, also lists ten ranks of angels. Jacob Nazir, in his
Maseket Atzilut, also listed ten ranks of angels. • Highest orders • :
Seraphim • :
Cherubim (
chayot) • :
Thrones (
ophanim,
erelim) • Middle orders • :
Dominions (
hashmallim) • :Virtues (
malakim, tarshishim) • :Powers • Lowest orders • :Principalities • :
Archangels • :
Angels '' by
Francesco Botticini (1475–77) at the National Gallery London, shows three hierarchies and nine orders of angels, each with different characteristics. During the
Middle Ages, various schemes were proposed, some drawing on and expanding on Pseudo-Dionysius, others suggesting completely different classifications. Pseudo-Dionysius (
On the Celestial Hierarchy) and
Thomas Aquinas (
Summa Theologiae) drew on passages from the
New Testament, specifically
Ephesians and
Colossians 1:16, to develop a schema of three Hierarchies, Spheres or Triads of angels, with each Hierarchy containing three Orders or Choirs.
Bonaventure summarized their nine offices as follows: announcing, declaring, and leading; regulating, enforcing, and commanding; receiving, revealing, and anointing. Thomas agreed with
Jerome's commentary on that every living human possesses a
guardian angel. Of the angelic orders, he asserted that only the lowest five are sent by God to manifest themselves in the corporeal world, while the four highest remain in
Heaven at His presence. The
Chaplet of Saint Michael the archangel, a Catholic devotion also called the rosary of the angels, approved by Pope Pius IX, includes prayers and specific invocations for each of the nine choirs of angels.
Islam There is no standard hierarchical organization in Islam that parallels the Christian division into different "choirs" or spheres, and the topic is not directly addressed in the
Quran. However, it is clear that there is a set order or hierarchy that exists between angels, defined by the assigned jobs and various tasks to which angels are commanded by God. Some scholars suggest that Islamic angels can be grouped into fourteen categories, with some of the higher orders being considered
archangels.
Qazwini describes an angelic hierarchy in his ''
Aja'ib al-makhluqat'' with
Ruh on the head of all angels, surrounded by the four archangelic cherubim. Below them are the seven angels of the seven heavens.
Fakhr al-Din al-Razi (d. 1209) divided the angels into eight groups, which shows some resemblance to Christian angelology: •
Hamalat al-'Arsh, those who carry the (
Throne of God), comparable to the Christian
Seraphim. •
Muqarrabun (Cherubim), who surround the throne of God, constantly praising God (
tasbīḥ) •
Archangels, such as
Jibrāʾīl,
Mīkhā'īl,
Isrāfīl, and
'Azrā'īl •
Angels of Heaven, such as Riḍwan. •
Angels of Hell,
Mālik and
Zabānīya •
Guardian angels, who are assigned to individuals to protect them •
The angels who record the actions of people •
Angels entrusted with the affairs of the world, like the angel of thunder. ==Zoroastrian==