Who Is Rūmān, and What Is His Role?

**Rūmān, the examiner of the graves**

Rūmān is the examiner of the people in their graves. He is the chief of the group of grave examiners.

The grave examiners are four angels: Munkar, Nakīr, Nākūr and Rūmān, whose leader is Rūmān.

Rūmān enters the grave before Munkar and Nakīr, and his face shines like the sun.

Rūmān is the interrogator and special agent charged with recording the good and bad deeds of the deceased. He has them record their own deeds and hang the record around their necks.

In some reports, Rūmān is identified as the angel responsible for the ebb and flow of the seas.

I have not found the angel called “Rūmān, examiner of the graves”—the one who tests and interrogates the dead—in any reliable Shi‘i report apart from this supplication. He is, however, mentioned in the reports of those outside the Shi‘i tradition. In *Zahrat al-Riyāḍ*, it is related from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām that he asked the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, about the first angel to enter the grave before Munkar and Nakīr. He replied: “O son of Salām, there is an angel whose face shines like the sun, named Rūmān. He comes to the grave and sits the deceased upright, then says to him: ‘Write down your good and bad deeds.’ He uses his finger instead of a pen, his saliva instead of ink, and a piece of his shroud instead of paper, and writes down his deeds.

“When he reaches his bad deeds, he feels ashamed. The angel says: ‘You who have sinned, were you not ashamed before God in this world, when you committed them? And now you are ashamed?’ He has him write down all his good and bad deeds, then tells him to fold up the record and seal it. The deceased says: ‘I have no seal.’ The angel replies: ‘Seal it with your finger, then hang it around your neck until the Day of Resurrection,’ as God says: ‘And every human being—We have fastened his record to his neck,’ to the end of the verse. Then Munkar and Nakīr arrive.”

*The Heavens and the World* (translation of *Kitāb al-Samāʾ wa-l-ʿĀlam* from *Biḥār al-Anwār*, vol. 54), vol. 3, p. 195

Abū al-Ḥasan al-Qaṭṭān, in his extensive works, relates from Ḍamrah: “The examiners of the graves are four: Munkar, Nakīr, Nākūr, and their leader, Rūmān.”⁴

Al-Jalāl al-Suyūṭī mentions this in *al-Ḥabāʾik*.⁵

According to a report from ʿAbd Allāh ibn Salām, he said: “I asked the Messenger of God, may God bless him and his family, about the first angel to enter the grave and approach the deceased before Munkar and Nakīr. The Messenger of God replied: ‘An angel whose face shines like the sun, named Rūmān, enters and says to the deceased: “Write down the good and bad you have done.” The deceased asks: “What shall I write with? Where are my pen, inkwell and ink?” He replies: “Your saliva is your ink, and your finger is your pen.” The deceased asks: “What shall I write on? I have no sheet of paper.” He replies: “Your shroud is your sheet; write on it.” So the deceased writes down the good he did in this world. When he comes to his sins, he is ashamed. The angel says: “You who have sinned, were you not ashamed of your Creator when you committed them in this world? Why are you ashamed now?” The angel raises a staff to strike him. The deceased says: “Hold back from me until I have written them down.” He writes all his good and bad deeds, then the angel tells him to fold up the record and seal it. The deceased asks: “What shall I seal it with? I have no ring.” The angel replies: “Seal it with your fingernail, and hang it around your neck until the Day of Resurrection,” as God Most High says: “And every human being—We have fastened his record to his neck, and on the Day of Resurrection We shall bring forth for him a book that he will find spread open before him.”’”¹

*Fattān* is an intensive form derived from *fitnah*.

*Riyāḍ al-Sālikīn fī Sharḥ Ṣaḥīfat Sayyid al-Sājidīn*, vol. 2, p. 67

He was also asked about the tides: “What are they?” He replied: “They are caused by an angel of God, Mighty and Exalted, who is charged with the seas. He is called Rūmān. When he places his feet in the sea, the water rises; when he withdraws them, it recedes.”

*ʿUyūn Akhbār al-Riḍā*, vol. 1, p. 242

**Al-Isrāʾ 17:13**

وَكُلَّ إِنسَانٍ أَلْزَمْنَاهُ طَائِرَهُ فِي عُنُقِهِ وَنُخْرِجُ لَهُ يَوْمَ الْقِيَامَةِ كِتَابًا يَلْقَاهُ مَنشُورًا

“And every human being—we have fastened his record to his neck, and on the Day of Resurrection We shall bring forth for him a book that he will find spread open before him.” This is his record of deeds.