Moses. As for the Quran, Gabriel brought it down to Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; Allah did not speak it to Muhammad without an intermediary.

Now, Gabriel brought it down from Allah, yet you say that there is no Gabriel here existing separately from the Prophet; rather, Gabriel is merely the luminous forms that he imagines within himself and that address him. On this account, anyone in whose soul these sounds were created directly would be someone to whom Allah had spoken directly, while anyone in whom they were created through this form would be someone to whom Gabriel had brought them down. Thus, the sounds that individuals hear within themselves would be greater than the Quran and more deserving of being called Allah’s speech, and the Torah would be greater than the Quran.

It is a self-evident tenet of the Muslim faith that Gabriel is a living angel who speaks and used to descend to the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, with revelation. He is not merely something imagined within the Prophet’s soul.

Allah Most High says:

“Indeed, it is the word of a noble messenger, * endowed with power, held in honour with the Lord of the Throne, * obeyed there and trustworthy,”

continuing to His words:

“And he certainly saw him on the clear horizon.”

[al-Takwīr: 19–23]

He thus states that Gabriel is a noble messenger, endowed with power and held in honour with the Lord of the Throne, and that he is obeyed there and trustworthy.

It is well known that the images within human souls cannot be described in these terms. Allah Most High also says:

“He was taught by one mighty in power, * endowed with strength, who appeared in his true form * while on the highest horizon. * Then he drew near and descended, * until he was two bow-lengths away or nearer. * Then He revealed to His servant what He revealed. * The heart did not deny what it saw. * Will you then dispute with him about what he sees? *