What do angels look like in Islam?

In Islam, angels are beings created from light, with wings, and their true form is huge and beautiful. The Quran says they have two, three or four wings, and some have far more. They are neither male nor female, and they don't look like the chubby babies of Western art.

Created from light

The Prophet ﷺ said: "The angels were created from light, the jinn from smokeless fire, and Adam from what has been described to you" (Sahih Muslim 2996). That's why angels are usually invisible to us. We don't know exactly what that light looks like, and Muslims don't try to draw or picture it in detail.

Wings, in pairs and beyond

The Quran opens Surah Fatir with a description of angels' wings:

ٱلْحَمْدُ لِلَّهِ فَاطِرِ ٱلسَّمَـٰوَٰتِ وَٱلْأَرْضِ جَاعِلِ ٱلْمَلَـٰٓئِكَةِ رُسُلًا أُو۟لِىٓ أَجْنِحَةٍ مَّثْنَىٰ وَثُلَـٰثَ وَرُبَـٰعَ ۚ يَزِيدُ فِى ٱلْخَلْقِ مَا يَشَآءُ ۚ إِنَّ ٱللَّهَ عَلَىٰ كُلِّ شَىْءٍ قَدِيرٌ "[All] praise is [due] to Allah, Creator of the heavens and the earth, [who] made the angels messengers having wings, two or three or four. He increases in creation what He wills. Indeed, Allah is over all things competent." Quran 35:1

"He increases in creation what He wills" points to angels with even more. Ibn Mas'ud reported that the Prophet ﷺ saw Jibril in his true form with six hundred wings (Sahih al-Bukhari 4856). Other reports describe him filling the horizon between sky and earth.

Vast in size

Scholars mention narrations about the angels who carry the Throne being so large that the distance from an earlobe to a shoulder is a journey of hundreds of years. The point isn't to calculate it but to feel how small we are and how great Allah is.

What angels don't look like

Not babies or cherubs. The winged-infant image comes from European art, not from Islam.
Not women, not men. The Quran rejects calling angels "daughters of Allah" (Quran 43:19), and they have no gender like ours.
Not ghosts of dead people. People don't become angels when they die.
Sometimes human-looking, but only when Allah sends them that way, like Jibril visiting Maryam.

Named angels you'll hear about

Jibril brings revelation, Mika'il is linked to rain and provision, Israfil will blow the Trumpet, and the Angel of Death takes souls. See Who is the Angel of Death in Islam? Two angels also record your deeds every day. See Do Muslims believe in guardian angels? And for why believing in angels is a pillar of faith, see Do Muslims believe in angels?

Key points

Angels are created from light (Sahih Muslim 2996).
They have wings: two, three, four or more (Quran 35:1).
Jibril was seen with 600 wings (Sahih al-Bukhari 4856).
They aren't cherubs, women or dead people.

Tip: If your kids loved angel pictures before you became Muslim, talk about angels through the Quran's words instead of drawings: "light", "wings", "never disobey Allah". It keeps the wonder without the cartoon.