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Our remembrance of Azrael, and the generations who followed after him,
have become distorted by 2500 years of religious conflicts and war. Now, that which we all desire, the right to be
remembered for who we are, what we believed and everything we've accomplished, hangs in the balance. It is my hope that
by sharing these chronicles with you all, we can learn more about what took place so long ago that confused the meaning
of the name Help of God with that of Death.
Azrael's true record is a first person account that begins in ancient Babylon. Azra
( In the year 597 BC, the holy city of Jerusalem was destroyed by King Nebuchadnezzar of Chaldea who captured an estimated 10,000 Judean leaders and priests, and held them hostage in Babylon. They became known as the "Golah" (the exiled) and those who were allowed to remain were the "am ha'aretz" (the people of the land). This event is known in history as the Babylonian Exile or the Great Captivity.
As fate would have it, the Chaldeans of Babylon were defeated by the Persians in 538 BC,
and it was this event that gave Judeans a second chance. By special decree of King Cyrus,
they were freed from exile and could return to their
ancestral home.
Azra, one of the "bene Golah" (sons of the exiled), had been raised in the captivity. He had never seen the land of his fathers, but by virtue of his bloodline, he was educated in Jewish law and custom. He was taught, and he believed that the exile was a consequence of God's punishment for the sin of Avodah Zarah (idolatry and idol worship). Azra vowed to restore God's faith in his people by teaching them the Laws of God. Azra was well favored in the royal court of the Persian monarch, King Artaxerxes II. Not only was he granted permission to return to Jerusalem, he was also provided with funding from the king's treasury, a royal decree giving Azra the Power of Judgement over all his people, and the return of artifacts that were stolen from the first Temple. First Book of Azrael (aka: 1 Ezra 7:25, 26) ~ King Artaxerxes: And you Azra, appoint magistrate and judges that may judge all who are beyond the river, who know the laws of God, and teach ye those who know them not. And whosoever will not do the law of thy God, and the law of the king, let judgment be executed speedily upon him, whether it be unto death... Azra, having been blessed by both his God and the King, had gathered his people together by the riverside of Ahava, carefully recording all the names of those who came. This was the custom of his people, to keep these records for the Book of Generations. When this task was finished, they left the riverside and set off for their return to Jerusalem.
After he arrived in Jerusalem, he read the Book of Law to the people and within days he was told that
the very crimes that were said to be responsible for the destruction of the first Temple, were still being
practiced ~ the most powerful of these being, inter-marriage between
his own people, the "Zerah Kodesh" (Holy Seed), and the "
Am Ha'Aretz (the people of the lands). Inter-marriage was strictly forbidden,
even between the tribes of Israel. In fact, this was the first prenuptial agreement I know of that was recorded
in history.
However, since the days of Genesis, inter-marriage outside the Zerah Kodesh had become a known cause of war, especially when children were born into the unions. Parental conflicts surrounding how the children would be raised, what language they would speak and which God they serve, caused domestic disputes that travelled quickly from parents, to families and often spread throughout entire neighborhoods, creating dissent among the people. Jerusalem had just been reclaimed but she was still vulnerable. If Azra had any hope of restoring order, he had to address every known threat to her. He detailed these issues in his book. These are his own words:
First Book of Azrael (aka: 1 Ezra 9: 1, 2): It may interest you to know that this story had been re-told several hundred years later, but it somehow became twisted and speaks of angels who mated with human women, again, naming all those angels who were judged guilty. This was caused by a misinterpretation of the Hebrew words: Zerah Kodesh [Holy Seed], Bene Elohim [Sons of God], the Malakhim [Messengers] and the Am ha'Aretz [People of the Land]. We will be addressing many of these issues later, but getting back to the story, following a series of long hearings involving the accused men and their family elders, Azra recorded the names of those who were found guilty and they were ordered to divorce their wives or forfeit their claim to Jerusalem forever. By this ruling, the names of the men who refused to divorce were erased from the records.
First Book of Azrael (aka: 1 Ezra 10; 7, 8):
Contrary to popular belief, Azra was NOT the master-mind behind this decree. He recognized the
potential danger this could bring to the newly reformed community but he was not the one to suggest that
divorce was a solution. That came from one of the men who had married a foreign wife.
First Book of Azrael (aka: 1 Ezra 10: 2, 3):
This highly controversial decree had allowed Judaism to thrive and grow in number, but this also
produced enemies from within their own people. Those who kept their wives had left harboring bitter
resentments against Azra and the Temple.
But for his efforts to reclaim and restore the holy city of Jerusalem, his name was held in the
highest honor. His legacy became a legend, and he was soon looked upon as the second Moses,
because Azra had led his people out of the Babylonian exile just as Moses had done in Egypt
before him. Judaism not only survived but it exists to this day because of him.
Sanhedrin 21b:
There have even been several debates as to whether or not Azra may have been the author of the
Torah. However, we have not been able to find any evidence to support such an impressive claim.
None the less, the statement appears here and there:
Kolel: The Torah - Who Wrote It? Madam Blavatsky claims that Azra not only wrote the Torah, but she accuses him of stealing the original story from the Babylonians. This has a grain of truth to it so I would like to take a moment here to explain why people feel this way. The Judeans are fortunate because they were honest about their history. The reason the stories seem similar is because the Judeans were Babylonians! Abraham, their ancestor, left Babylon. If anyone wanted to review the records of the Jewish ancestors, that pre-date their Exodus from Egypt into the land we now know as Israel, they would see that these records came from Babylon. Madam Blavatsky's accusation is based on a trivial misunderstanding since no Jewish record attempts to deny this:
Book of Nehemiah, Chapter 9;7:
Some scholars believe that Azra was the inventor of the Ashuri script, which is still used today. This comes out of a dispute between the Jews and the Samaritans who accuse Azra as follows:
Epiphanius: Another critisism of Ezra can be found in Temurah 15b which questions whether or not the offering that was made to atone for the sin of Avodah Zarah, was even lawful. In plain terms, the offering was intended for the people who commited this sin during the time of the first Temple. They had to be at least 13 years of age back then, so it was assumed that, by the time Ezra returned and the second Temple was built, that generation had already died. To assume the whole generation had died is almost as dangerous as accusing Ezra of breaking the very laws he gave back to his people. There were, of course, elders from that generation who lived and the atonement was made on their behalf:
The First Book of Azrael (aka: 1 Ezra) Chapter 3: 12 and 13:
In Jewish history Azra is remembered as the Father of Judaism and his book appears in the Old Testament of the bible. His name is translated differently. The most notable are: Ezra (Hebrew to English), Esdras (Hebrew to Greek), and Uzayr (Hebrew to Arabic). The names Ezraeil & Azrael were not used until after 600 AD and there are no Judean records that name Azrael (Azriel) as an Angel of Death and Judgement.
During the early Christian period two more books were discovered purporting to be his and carried his name into the holy scripture of the time. The first book was known as 1 Esdras and was basically a Greek translation of the Jewish records of Ezra and Nehemiah, but the second book, 2 Esdras, was a haunting piece:
Charles L. Souvay: This book has created so many problems, I honestly don't know where to begin! It opens with the same introduction as the first Book of Azra in which he provides his entire geneology, all the way back to Aaron, so one would assume this was written by Azra's own hand. However, let us take a closer look at some of the problems I've been trying to resolve:
1) Not all versions are the same, but the differences are so subtle they are easy for most people to
miss. One difference reveals who the author of this book really was. This can be
found in Chapter 3:
In the NIV, this passage reads:
2) The name "Salathiel" is the Greek (70) version of the Hebrew name, Sheiltiel, the father of Zarubabbel - a respected name that Azra knew, and as a scribe he even recorded the name, but he never took this name for himself. Also, as far as I know, the Greek influence did not exist in Jerusalem during the time Azra lived, so I find it hard to believe this book was written by Azra's own hand. 3) The NIV version admits that the author of this book believed he was both these people during the time the book was written. A condition that implies a spiritual collaboration (necromancy: communication with the dead). This alone can explain a motive for why certain church publishers have elected to edit this line and remove both names. 2 Esdras builds from Azra's original record by adding a divine dialogue in which, by the help of the angel Uriel, God reveals to Azra that he will disown the Jewish people because of their disobedience and send his son (Messiah) to bless a new nation. Instead of Babylon, they've named themselves and their intention becomes crystal clear. In this story, Azra was not just a scribe, but a prophet who bears witness to the coming of Christ. In the end he is taken to heaven alive, without tasting death, in the same tradition told in the book of Enoch. I believe this book existed before the time of Jesus because it doesn't name the Messiah. But it does establish the foundation for the movement. While this book was cherished by the early Christians, it's authenticity is heavily questioned, and as such it was excluded from a place in the Jewish bible. However, it did associate the name of Azra with End Times, and the book is more commonly known as the Apocalypse of Azra. It was from this book, ascribed to Azra, the Requiem Aeternam became part of Christian burial rites, furthering an association of his name with death and burial.
Candles are lit all round the coffin and they should
be allowed to burn, at least during the continuance
of the Office, Mass, and Absolutions. Throughout
the Office of the Dead each psalm is ended with the
Requiem aeternam (Eternal rest give unto them Oh
Lord, and let perpetual light shine upon them).
There is one more verse in this book that is worthy of mention since it's connected
to the Islamic Angel of Death literature that followed this record. In some Islamic folk
traditions, Azrael is the Angel of Death that separates the souls from their bodies. We'll be studying
the Islamic history later on, but this verse offers you a unique insight as to how Azrael
may have first learned the technique.
There are several reasons for why this book was not accepted by Jewish scholars. Let's just go over
some of the reasons why:
I believe that this book was written by a man named Salathiel during the early Christian period and that he wanted to be like Azra ~ a scribe. After comparing the book, 2 Esdras, with the Book of Tobit and the Book of Enoch, I have concluded these were all written by the same person. For instance, the book, 2 Esdras, and the Book of Tobit each describe a groom who dies on his wedding night. The Book of Enoch and the Book of 2 Esdras each include dialogues with an angel named, Uriel. The books are written in the same style, share the same unique personality, repeat scenes and are inspired by Christian philosophy, but draw your own conclusions.
Shortly after this time, the Christian heretic Marcion, in an attempt to convince the church
to produce their own testament, apart from the Jewish bible, wrote an interesting tale that
claimed the Angel of Law had gathered the dust and created Adam and because of this, mankind
was not a divine creation of God and was in need of redemption by him.
Marcion's story challenged the Jewish view that creation was the perfect work of God, as
told in the story of Genesis. I believe this tale was intended as a metaphor designed to
pit Azra (Jewish Law) against Jesus (Christian Salvation). This contest between the two
had been acknowledged by Muhammed himself (see Islamic History of Azrael).
The advent of Islam came in the 6th century AD and, by that time, Jerusalem had fallen and the Temple was destoyed, this second time around by the Roman armies. Though the Judeans were not taken captive, they were dispersed all throughout the surrounding lands. Without Jerusalem and their Temple, their sense of identity rested once again in the pages of their book, and so Islamic records refer to the Judeans as "the people of the book." Not surprizingly, it was during this period of history that the legends surrounding Azra the Scribe took on gigantic proportions. The most powerful record was made by Muhammed himself and it accuses the Judeans of declaring Azra to be the son of God. In this section Azra is named under the Arabic rendering, Uzayr.
The Quran: Surah 9, verse 30:
This passage has been interpreted as hostile by Jewish scholars because it condemns (and curses) them for using
the title, ben Elohim (son of God). This is a very small misunderstanding concerning words and meanings. This title was
not uncommon and had never meant to imply a sole son of God, at least not by the Judeans, or the Christians during the time of Jesus for that
matter. We offer the following passages as proof:
Considering the existence of these two passages, I can certainly understand why the Jewish scholars would find fault with
the passage in the Quran. Both of these passages address the bene elohim (sons of God) as men - note the plural form of the title in
both passages? So how could there be fault found with anyone who used this title in correct context? Well, before I consider that, I
want to have a closer look at one portion of that Quranic verse that I find most intriguing:
Just who are these non-believers of old? Well, I found one clue in the passage itself.
If the Jews and the Christians were both being compared to this mysterious people because they used the title, son of God, then these
"non-believers of old" must have used this title as well. I had to expand my search and, as far as I can tell, the Persians
were the only people, prior to Christianity, to claim the existence of the only son of God, Mithras. According to legend, Mithras was:
Was there a mix up? If so, how were the Persian records blended with the Christian ones? It seems that Constantine had merged the records of Jesus with those of Sol Invictus, a Roman name for the Persian god, Mithras. Constantine worshipped Sol Invictus until he later converted to Christianity. When he failed to discover the actual date of the birth of Jesus, he simply blended the two traditions in an effort to celebrate the birth of Jesus in a fitting manner. Creativity in worship was common for his time and place, but this seems to have caused a lot confusion later on. It is this "confusion" that Allah, through his prophet, Muhammed, intended to remove. If there was to be any true recognition of monotheism, it centers itself upon one law: God has no partner. To claim otherwise is incorrect and that was the whole purpose of Surah 9:30 ~ to address the cause of the confusion. It is to reprimand the Christians for confusing the meaning of the title and a reprimand to the Judeans for creating a title that could be confused - and this was not the first time this matter had been addressed. In Jewish records, Allah made this very same point, through his prophet, Jeremiah.
After Muhammed's death, another round of stories began to circulate that added further confusion. This story began circulating during that time; Ezra Sleeps for 100 Years.
This story claims that Azra was on his way to his farm when he happened upon a ruined village. He saw
the skeletal remains of the people and asked: "How will Allah ever bring them back?" So, Allah
killed him. After one hundred years had passed, Azra was brought back to life and he returned
home, to the astonishment of his children, who by that time were very old men. He then healed a
blind woman and re-wrote the Torah. The story implies that the only son of God would be resurrected from death to become a sign to his people, This was the written account that so named Jesus Christ, the Son of God. What most of you weren't told, however, is that the story of the Resurrection wasn't exclusive. Azra was resurrected from death also, to heal the blind and write the Torah. But oddly enough, the story that claims Azra had been resurrected from death didn't come from any Jewish sources. It came from a collection of highly questionable Islamic records (Hadith). These records appear to describe Azra, using the same tradition found Christian/Greek book, 2 Esdras. . I believe this story was created as an attempt to explain how Azra could have written two different books at two different times. 2 Esdras was not written during Ezra's own time and offers dates for events that are off by 100 years, which just happens to be the period of time that Allah supposedly took his life in these particular Muslim records. The story itself is a cocktail of sorts. It blends the Jewish version of Azra with the Christian version of Esdras, shadowed with a touch of Ezekiel and capped off with a touch of Enoch. It was presented on the authority of Abdullah ibn Abbas, who was a Muslim scholar and, conincidentally, a student of Kaab al Ahbar. It also happens to be the only other book I know of that records the story of the resurrection. So far, we have shared the Jewish history of Azra, the Christian history of Esdras and the Islamic history of Uzayr and from this we can see how wild the tales had grown, but so far, Azra had never been called an Angel of Death. So, you might ask... how did it happen? Kaab al Ahbar had named the Angel of Death & Judgement, Azrael. Kaab was a Yemenite Judean who had converted to Islam, and was the oldest authority for Jewish traditions among the Muslims, or so he had claimed. I ad my doubts, but even I did not consider him to be a learned Jewish scholar, it's still safe to assume that he knew how to read and write in Hebrew. I had always wondered how the Islamic Angel of Death was given a Hebrew name and while this certainly explains the point... it leads to an even greater mystery. Because it's not just a Hebrew name, but the name of the Father of Judaism himself! Kaab al Ahbar had simply added the "el" (angelic suffix) to Azra's name. This, by the way, was a highly questionable thing to do, in light of the recent controversy over the other divine title that was added to Azra's name. So, my question is this. If Kaab al Ahbar was sincere when he converted to Islam, why did he teach the Muslims that the name the Angel of Death was Azra'el? Kaab knew who Azra was and he obviously knew how to spell the name, so there can be no mistaken identity. But the Muslims didn't understand Hebrew, and only knew of Azra by the Arabic rendering, Uzayr. Because of this, they didn't see the obvious connection between the names. But why would he do this, or even risk it?
This question is one of many surrounding Kaab al Ahbar and he soon became the subject of fierce dispute between the Shiite
and Sunni scholars. The Shiites have accused him of several acts of treachury, one claiming he was involved in the murder of
the Caliph Umar, an event which Kaab had predicted three days prior to the assasination that took the Caliph's life. The second
claims he forged Isra'iliyat (Judeo-Christian traditions) into the Muslim records. These are serious accusations, so we needed
official confirmation concerning them. Song of Azrael inquired with the office of the Grand Ayatollah Ali al Sistani in Iraq, and
we thank them for their response:
Based on an intensive examination of the arguments recorded, Song of Azrael upholds the Shiite complaint. We do not
believe the Sunni scholars were aware of the issue concerning Kaab's choice of name for the Angel of Death
(originally rendered as Ezra'eil) or it's association with Azra (Ezra, Uzayr). We also have an ancient Persian (Farsi) version of his
story, suggesting that he may indeed have had ties with the Persians of his period.
If any of our Shiite or Sunni viewers have reason to believe the translation we've provided here is not correct, please contact us with the correction. Also, if any scholar has reason to believe that the use of the name Azrael for the Angel of Death, pre-dates Qisas al' Anbiya, please provide a proof.
Consider all we have presented so far:
Because of these and other issues concerning Kaab al Ahbar's credibility, the following Muslim scholars
have come to an official decision, concerning the name Azrael for the Angel of Death:
A new direction in literature followed the events I have presented here and we will continue to present these stories as they were written in the chronology as well as address some problems that confused Azrael with a few other angels, Azael, Asrael and Azazel. This next section will also reveal several issues of plagiarism and other forms of scribal manipulation that have continued to this day.
In this 12th century book of verse, Tales From Masnavi, you will find a story called, "The Obedience of the Angel of Death". This claims that the angel Azrael collected the dust from the Earth for the creation of Adam. As a reward for his obedience to God's command, he is made the executioner of all that would be created from it. This story is what you read on most websites that identify Azrael as the Angel of Death. Incidentally, Azrael was titled the "Captain of the Divine Decree" and was in charge of the keeping of the "Laws of God" [Compare with Azra]. The problem is that some people have accepted this story as inspired literature. Few knew the work was borrowed from Marcion (see Christian History) and even fewer still knew that Rumi wrote two different versions of this story. In the Book, The Illustrated Rumi: A Treasury of Wisdom from the Poet of the Soul, you will find a story entitled "The Creation of Adam" which claims that Azrael fails in his mission to collect the dust from the Earth for the creation of Adam. God had to gather the dust himself in the end. Rumi wrote two different versions of his story to satisfy two separate audiences. The mystics would appreciate "The Obedience of the Angel of Death" but the early Christians had believed in Marcion's account which claims that the angel who gathered the dust to create Adam was evil and they equated him with Azazel or Satan, so they prefered the version "The Creation of Adam" which was in keeping with their beliefs that God alone created mankind.
We are going to leave you for now to consider one of the most popular legends of all concerning Azrael as an angel. It is written: The angel Azrael is forever writing and erasing what he writes. What he writes are the names of those who are born. What he erases are the names of those who have died.
I will now compare this statement against what we know of Azra (Ezra):
names of those they descended from (were born to). mourned their loss and "made an end" with them. (their names were erased from the city register). Other similarities between the Angel Azrael and the scribe Azra [Ezra]:
What happened to Azrael's name and reputation is sad, but I can learn to live with that. The fact that these issues
could not be resolved by the scholars who had charge of the records, is sad, but I can live with that too. What I will
not live with is the fact that people have died in wars that were caused by disputes surrounding these records. To
fully understand the damage that has been caused I will remind you that "Water" does not mean "Fire"
and when you pray for the "Help of God" you are not praying for "Death".
If any of our viewers have questions, comments, or information you feel should be included in our study of the origin of the name, Azrael, please let us know. 
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),
whose name means Help in biblical Hebrew, was one of the descendants of the
powerful priests of Aaron. He was born into a time of great upheaval but also one of great promise.
