Paradise and perfume from Paradise; but if the dying person is among the people of the Fire, they descend with a shroud from the Fire and perfume from the Fire. They then sit beside the one whose appointed time has arrived and draw out his soul until it reaches the throat. When it reaches that point, the Angel of Death pulls it free, hands it to them, and they place it in the perfume and the shroud. Thus the angels are the ones who enshroud and perfume the soul, while human beings enshroud and perfume the body. Consider, then, Allah’s care for the child of Adam: angels wrap his soul, and people wrap his body.

For this reason Allah, exalted be He, says: “until, when death comes to one of you, Our messengers take him, and they never fall short” (al-Anʿām 6:61). They never fall short in guarding the soul, nor are they ever negligent with it.

Allah has granted the Angel of Death the ability to seize souls across the East and the West; he takes them even if they all die in the very same moment. Imagine a group struck by a single accident who all die at once—the Angel of Death captures their souls in that single instant. Do not find this strange, for angels cannot be measured against human beings. Allah has given them a power far greater than that of the jinn: the jinn are stronger than humans, and the angels are stronger than the jinn.

Reflect on the story of Solomon—peace be upon him—when he said, “O nobles, which of you can bring me her throne before they come to me in submission?” An ifrit from among the jinn—an ifrit being a mighty, powerful creature—replied, “I shall bring it to you before you rise from your seat; indeed, I am strong and trustworthy” (al-Naml 27:39). Solomon would customarily rise from his council at a set time, so the one who possessed knowledge of the Book said