Allah sends angels to protect and support righteous people

Allah may send angels to protect some of His righteous slaves other than the Prophets and Messengers. This may be what happened to a man whose story is told by Ibn Katheer. In Tafseer Ibn Katheer, in the commentary on the aayah –

Is not He (better than your gods) who responds to distressed one, when he calls on Him, and He removes the evil (Qur'an 27:62)

- He said:

Al-Haafiz ibn ‘Asaakir mentioned the story of a man of whom Abu Bakr Muhammad ibn Dawood ad-Daynoori, who was known as Ad-Daqqi as-Soofi. This man said:

I used to transport people and their goods with a mule that belonged to me, from Damascus to Balad az-Zabadaani. One day a man rode with me, and for part of the way we were traveling off the beaten track. He said to me, “Take this path, it is shorter”, I said, “That’s no good. “He said “But it is shorter”

So we took the path, and it reached a place where it was very difficult to go, and there was deep valley in which there were many dead bodies. He said, “Hold the mule’s head, so I can dismount.” So he dismounted, then he rolled up his sleeves and gathered his garments. Then he pulled out a knife and came towards me. I ran away from him and he followed me. I implored him by Allah, and said, “Take the mule and all the baggage on it. He said they are mine anyway but I am going to kill you. I tried to scare him by reminding him of Allah and the punishment, but he paid no heed to that."

So I surrendered to him, and said “let me pray two rakah” He said hurry up then. So I stood up to pray , but the words of the Qur’an would not come to me. I could not remember even a single letter. I remained standing, confused and he was saying “Come on! get on with it” Then Allah enabled me to recite this Ayah

Is not He (better than your gods) who responds to distressed one, when he calls on Him, and He removes the evil (Qur'an 27:62)

Suddenly I saw a horseman who had come from the mouth of the valley with a spear on his hand. He threw the spear at the man, and it did not miss his heart. The man fell dead, and I clung to the horseman and said, “By Allah, who are you” He said "I am a messenger of the One who responds to the distressed one when he calls on Him, and Who removes the evil” Then I took the mule and the baggage and I returned safe and sound.

Similarly, Allah sent Jibreel to help the mother of Ismaa’eel in Makkah. In Saheeh al-Bukhaari it is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas from the Prophet (Peace be upon him), in the story of Ibraaheem’s migration with Ismaa’eel and his mother Haajir to the land of Makkah – which is a long story – that the mother of Ismaa’eel ran like a distressed person between As-Safa’ and Al-Marwah seven times, looking for water.

“When she looked out from Al-Marwah, she heard a voice, and she kept quiet and listened attentively. She heard the voice again and said,

“O (whoever you may be)! You have made me hear your voice; have you got something to help me?”

And she saw an angel at the place of Zamzam, digging the earth with his heel (or his wing), till water flowed from that place...

The angel said to her,

‘Don’t be afraid of being neglected, for this is the House of Allah which will be built by this boy and his father, and Allah never neglects His people.’”

(Bukhaari, 6/397, hadith no. 3364)

This angel who came to her was Jibreel. In Al-Musnad it is narrated from Ibn ‘Abbaas that Ubayy ibn Ka’b said:

“When Jibreel dug Zamzam with his heel, the mother of Ismaa’eel started to scoop up the earth around it.

The Prophet (Peace be upon him) said:

‘May Allah have mercy on Ismaa’eel’s mother! Had she left Zamzam alone (flowing without trying to control it), Zamzam would have been a stream flowing on the surface of the earth.’”

(Musnad Ahmad, 5/121)

Source: The World of the Noble Angels In the Light of the Qur'an and Sunnah : Islamic Creed Series Volume 2 by Umar S. al-Ashqar