the angelic Messenger, Gabriel—peace be upon him. In another passage, Allah—Exalted is He—made clear and swore that this Quran is the word of a noble human Messenger. He Most High said:

﴾I swear by what you see and what you do not see! Indeed, this is the word of a noble Messenger. It is not the word of a poet.﴿ [Al-Hāqqah: 38–41]

Thus, the messenger here in Sūrat al-Takwīr is an angelic messenger—namely, Gabriel—peace be upon him—whereas the messenger there is a human messenger—namely, Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him. The evidence for this is clear. Here Allah says:

﴾Indeed, it is the word of a noble Messenger, endowed with power and held in honor by the Lord of the Throne.﴿

This description applies to Gabriel, for he is the one who is in Allah’s presence, whereas Muhammad—peace and blessings be upon him—is on earth. There Allah says:

﴾I swear by what you see and what you do not see! Indeed, this is the word of a noble Messenger. It is not the word of a poet.﴿

This refutes the disbelievers’ claim that Muhammad was a poet. Allah also says, ﴾Nor is it the word of a soothsayer.﴿ Which, then, is the greater oath:

﴾I swear by the retreating stars, those that run their courses and disappear; by the night as it recedes, and by the dawn as it breathes. Indeed, this is the word of a noble Messenger, endowed with power﴿

or:

﴾I swear by what you see and what you do not see! Indeed, this is the word of a noble Messenger﴿?

The second is greater, for nothing is more comprehensive than ﴾what you see and what you do not see﴿. Everything either falls within our sight or does not. Allah therefore swore by everything. Here, however, He swore by celestial signs upon the horizon:

﴾I swear by the retreating stars, those that run their courses and disappear; by the night as it recedes, and by the dawn as it breathes.﴿

These lofty signs upon the horizon correspond to the Messenger by whose word the Quran is sworn to be—namely, Gabriel—because Gabriel is in Allah’s presence.

If someone asks, “How can Allah describe the Quran as the word of both the human Messenger and the angelic Messenger?”

We reply: Yes, the angelic Messenger conveyed it to the human Messenger, and the human Messenger conveyed it to the Muslim nation. It therefore came to be attributed to each of them as his word by virtue of his conveying it: the word of Gabriel by conveyance