Azrael

Azrael forms in Moslem Mythology, together with Gabriel, Michael, and Israfil, the group of four highest angelic beings who surround the throne of God. Called the 'Angel of Death,' it is he who 'separates men's souls and bodies,' and with his assistants either 'tears them asunder with violence, or draws them apart with gentleness.' He is sent by Allah, and executes his commissions, having been promoted to his high office for his faithfulness and fearlessness. No idea of degradation is attached to him in the Moslem mind—he seems rather to have been identified with Fate, without any special malignant quality inherent in his nature. The Jewish rabbins have added to this awful figure the attributes of an evil genius, and 'the king of terrors,' the last enemy of man, in their conceptions has become almost the supreme embodiment of evil.