One aspect of their exalted honor is evidenced by the ḥadith that has been soundly transmitted in the Ṣaḥīḥ collections, the Sunan, and the Musnads, through several Companions, in which the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Angels do not enter a house that contains an image, a dog, or a person in a state of major ritual impurity.”
In another wording, related by ʿĀṣim ibn Ḍamrah from ʿAlī, it adds: “…nor any urine.”
Rāfiʿ transmits from Abū Saʿīd, in a report raised to the Prophet:
“Angels do not enter a house that contains an image or a statue.”
Mujāhid narrates from Abū Hurayrah, likewise marfūʿ:
“Angels do not enter a house that contains a dog or a statue.”
In the narration of Dhakwān Abū Ṣāliḥ al-Sammān, from Abū Hurayrah, the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Angels do not accompany a travelling party with which there is a dog or a bell.”
Zurārah ibn Awfā also reported from him: “Angels do not accompany a travelling party with which there is a bell.”
Al-Bazzār relates: Isḥāq ibn Sulaymān al-Baghdādī, the money-changer who dealt in fulūs, told us; Bayān ibn Ḥimrān told us; Sallām told us; from Manṣūr ibn Zādhān, from Muḥammad ibn Sīrīn, from Abū Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Indeed, the angels of Allah recognize the children of Adam—and, I think he said, they recognize their deeds as well. When they see a servant engaged in obedience to Allah, they mention him among themselves, name him, and say, ‘So-and-so has succeeded tonight; so-and-so has been saved tonight.’ But when they see a servant committing disobedience to Allah, they likewise mention and name him, saying, ‘So-and-so has perished tonight.’”
He then remarked: Sallām—I believe he is Sallām al-Madāʾinī—is weak in ḥadīth.
Al-Bukhārī likewise recorded: Abū al-Yamān narrated to us; Shuʿayb narrated to us; Abū al-Zinād narrated to us from al-Aʿraj, from Abū Hurayrah, who said that the Messenger of Allah (peace and blessings be upon him) said:
“Angels take turns among you: angels of the night and angels of the day. They gather at the dawn prayer and at the afternoon prayer; then those who spent the night among you ascend to Him, and He asks them—though He knows best—saying: How …”