Editing Azrael (section)

==Western reception==
[[File:Six-winged Seraph (Azrael). 1904.jpg|thumb|''A Six-Winged [[Seraphim|Seraph]] (Azrael)'' by [[Mikhail Vrubel]], 1904]]
The Islamic notion of Azrael, including some narratives such as the tale of [[Solomon in Islam|Solomon]] (a ''[[hadith]]'' reaching back to [[Ibn Hawshab|Shahr Ibn Hawshab]],<ref name="Al-Garrallah" />) was already known in the United States in the 18th century - as attested by Gregory Sharpe and [[James Harris (grammarian)|James Harris]].<ref name="Al-Garrallah">Al-Garrallah, Aiman Sanad. 2016. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/316475279_The_Islamic_tale_of_Solomon_and_the_angel_of_death_in_English_poetry_Origins_translations_and_adaptations "The Islamic tale of Solomon and the Angel of Death in English Poetry: Origins, Translations, and Adaptations"]. ''Forum for World Literature Studies'' 8(4):528–47. {{Issn|1949-8519}}. [http://www.fwls.org/Download/2017/0207/294.html Issue link].</ref>

Some Western adaptions extended the physical description of Azrael, hence the English poet [[Leigh Hunt]] depicted Azrael in 1850 as wearing a black-hooded cloak.<ref>
{{cite book
 |last1                = Hunt
 |first1               = Leigh
 |author-link1         = Leigh Hunt
 |editor-last1         = Ainsworth
 |editor-first1        = W. Harrison
 |editor-link1         = William Harrison Ainsworth
 |year                 = 1850
 |chapter              = The Inevitable
 |title                = The New Monthly Magazine and Humorist
 |url                  = https://books.google.com/books?id=xRncgX53trIC
 |series               = English literary periodicals, volumes 264-275
 |publication-place    = London
 |publisher            = Chapman and Hall
 |page                 = 2
 |access-date          = 9 March 2025
 |quote                = <br />He wore a cowl, from under which there shone,<br />Full on the guest, and on the guest alone,<br />A face, not of this earth, half veiled in gloom<br />And radiance, but with eyes like lamps of doom,<br />[...]
}}
</ref>
Although omitting the traditional [[scythe]], Hunt's portrayal nevertheless resembles the [[Grim Reaper]].<ref name="Al-Garrallah" /> [[Henry Wadsworth Longfellow]] mentions Azrael in "[[wikisource:Voices of the Night/The Reaper and the Flowers|The Reaper and the Flowers]]" as an angel of death, but he is not equated with [[Samael]], the angel of death in Jewish lore who appears as a [[fallen angel|fallen and malevolent angel]], instead.<ref>{{Cite journal |last =Davidson |first =Gustav |date =Fall 1968 |title =Longfellow's Angels |journal =[[Prairie Schooner]] |volume =42 |issue =3 |pages =235–243 |jstor =40630837}}</ref> Azrael also appears in [[G. K. Chesterton]]'s poem "[[Lepanto (poem)|Lepanto]]" (published in 1915) as one of the Islamic spirits commanded by "Mahound" ([[Muhammad]]) to resist [[John of Austria|Don John of Austria]]'s crusade. In ''[[The Smurfs]]'', the cat of the evil wizard [[Gargamel]] is called Azrael.

[[Philip Pullman]] uses a variant spelling of the name "Azrael" in the name of [[Lord Asriel]] in the ''[[His Dark Materials]]'' trilogy (1995-2000).

In [[Joy Williams (American writer)|Joy Williams]]'s 2024 novel ''Concerning the Future of Souls'', Azrael is a core character, although his responsibilities extend beyond serving as a [[psychopomp]] for humanity alone—he also collects the souls of other sentient beings on Earth, such as [[whales]] and [[apes]]. Williams' book includes ninety-nine story accounts of his duties and interactions with multiple souls, [[God]], [[Satan]] and countless others.