—the very message that Muhammad conveyed. For this reason Allah, exalted is He, says:

“Allah chooses messengers from among the angels and from among mankind.” ⦗al-Ḥajj 22:75⦘

Thus Allah selected Gabriel from the angels and selected Muhammad from humankind. Consequently, the utterance that is the Quran is at times attributed to the speech of one of them and at times to the speech of the other, as He, majestic and exalted, says:

“Indeed, it is the word of a noble messenger—one possessed of power, held in honor by the Lord of the Throne, obeyed there, trustworthy.” ⦗al-Takwīr 81:19-21⦘

Here, the “messenger” is Gabriel.

In another verse He says:

“Indeed, it is truly the word of a noble messenger; it is not the speech of a poet—little do you believe—nor the speech of a soothsayer—little do you take heed. It is a revelation from the Lord of the worlds.” ⦗al-Ḥāqqah 69:40-43⦘

In this verse the “messenger” is Muhammad. The discourse is ascribed to each of them with the term “messenger” because the title itself indicates that he is conveying it on behalf of the One who sent him. The Quran does not say, “It is the word of an angel,” nor “the word of a prophet”; rather, it declares unbelief upon anyone who claims that it is the word of mere humans, as has already been noted.