—may Allah be pleased with her—when she said, ‘Abū ʿĀ’ishah, there are three things: whoever asserts any one of them has uttered a monstrous falsehood against Allah.’ I asked, ‘What are they?’ She replied, ‘Whoever claims that Muhammad saw his Lord has uttered a monstrous falsehood against Allah.’”

He continued: “I was reclining, so I sat up and said, ‘Mother of the Believers, give me a moment, and do not be hasty with me. Did not Allah, Mighty and Majestic, say, “And indeed he saw him a second time” (13) [al-Najm 13]?’ She replied, ‘I was the first of this community to ask the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, about that. He said, “It was only Gabriel. He did not see him in the form in which he was created except on these two occasions. He saw him descending from heaven, his vast form filling the space between heaven and earth.”’” The hadith continues.

In the two authentic collections, ʿAbd Allāh ibn Masʿūd said concerning the words, “He certainly saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord” (18) [al-Najm 18]: “He saw Gabriel in his own form, with six hundred wings.”