المعنى الاصطلاحي :

Creatures whom Allah created from light. He created them to serve and worship Him and granted them the ability to transform in shape and move quickly. They never disobey Him and always do what they are commanded to do.

الشرح المختصر :

"Malā’ikah" (angels) are creatures of Allah who constitute part of the unseen world. They have illuminated bodies that are able to transform into any shape or good appearance. They possess great power and are so big in numbers that nobody knows their actual number save Allah, the Almighty. Allah has chosen them to worship Him and has appointed them as His ambassadors and messengers to His creation. They never disobey Allah and do exactly what they are commanded to do. They do not possess any materialistic inclinations or desires, and they are sinless. They cannot be described as masculine or feminine. Acts that Allah has assigned to the "malā’ikah" are of two types: 1. General acts that all angels participate in: such as worshiping and glorifying Allah all the time, without tiredness or boredom. 2. Specific acts that are assigned by Allah to specific "malā’ikah": some are responsible for conveying the messages and revelations of Allah to His prophets, some carry the throne of Allah, some are responsible for paradise and preparing bliss for its residents, and some are responsible for preparing Hellfire for the evil-doers. These are known as the guards of Hellfire, and they are headed by 19 "malā’ikah". The main guard is called Mālik. Some other angels protect humans in this world, others write and record the deeds of humans, others are responsible for the affairs of the wombs and semen, etc.

التعريف اللغوي المختصر :

"Malā’ikah" (sing. malak): angels. Derived from "alookah", which means message.