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Are angels harmed by what harms humans, and are they affected by smells such as garlic, onions, and musk? Does this mean they have noses?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

Belief in angels is part of belief in the unseen (al-ghaib), and one must adhere to the sacred texts regarding it. Allah the Almighty has enabled humans to perceive scent with their noses, and He is capable of enabling angels to perceive scent with noses or otherwise, just as He made the stone speak. It has been authentically reported that the Companions heard food glorifying Allah and stones speaking. We must not delve deeply into matters of the unseen but rather accept the apparent meaning of what is stated in the sacred texts, for questioning the 'how' of matters of the unseen is an innovation (bid'ah).

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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