He, Exalted be He, says:

“Whoever is an enemy to Allah, His angels, His messengers, Gabriel, or Michael—then surely Allah is the enemy of the disbelievers.” (al-Baqarah 2:98)

And He, the Most High, says:

“O you who believe, guard yourselves and your families from a Fire whose fuel is people and stones. Over it are angels, stern and mighty, who never disobey Allah in what He commands them and who carry out whatever they are ordered.” (al-Taḥrīm 66:6)

Verses that mention the angels are extremely numerous. Allah portrays them as strong in worship, formidable in constitution, of striking beauty, majestic in form, and able (1) to assume many different appearances. He says, for instance:

“When Our messengers came to Lot, he was distressed on their account and felt powerless. He said, ‘This is a grievous day.’ His people came rushing toward him, and before that they had been committing evil deeds. He said, ‘My people, these are my daughters—they are purer for you. So fear Allah and do not disgrace me regarding my guests. Is there not among you a right-minded man?’” (Hūd 11:77–78) and the following verses.

In the Tafsīr (2) we have cited the words of more than one scholar to the effect that the angels appeared to them as handsome young men as a trial and test, so that the proof would be established against the people of Lot; then Allah seized them with the grasp of the All-Mighty, the All-Powerful.

Likewise, Gabriel used to come to the Prophet ﷺ in various forms: sometimes in the likeness of Dihyah ibn Khalīfah al-Kalbī, sometimes as a Bedouin, and sometimes in the form in which he was created—having six hundred wings, the span between any two of which is like the distance between east and west. The Prophet saw him in this original form twice: once as he descended from heaven to earth, and once at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary, near which lies the Garden of Refuge.

Concerning this Allah says:

“He was taught by one mighty in power,
possessing steadfast vigor; then he rose
while he was in the highest horizon …” (al-Najm 53:5–8)

That is, Gabriel—as has been reported from several Companions, among them Ibn Masʿūd, Abū Hurayrah, Abū Dharr, and ʿĀʾishah.

“Then he drew near and came close,
until he was two bow-lengths away, or closer,
and He revealed to His servant what He revealed.” (al-Najm 53:9–10)

—that is, to Allah’s servant, Muhammad ﷺ.

Allah then says:

“And indeed he saw him another time,
at the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary,
near it is the Garden of Refuge,
when there covered the Lote Tree what covered it.
The eye did not swerve, nor did it transgress.” (al-Najm 53:13–17)

We have already mentioned, in the ḥadīths (3) of the Night Journey in Sūrat “Subḥān” (al-Isrāʾ), that the Lote Tree of the Utmost Boundary is in the seventh heaven; another report states it is in the sixth, meaning that its root is in the sixth while its branches are in the seventh.

“And when there covered the Lote Tree what covered it …”

It is said that the light of the Lord, Glorified be He, enveloped it; others say golden moths covered it; others say countless, multicolored hues shrouded it; others say the angels, like black crows, surrounded it; and others say it was veiled by something from Allah (4) such that no one can describe it, due to its surpassing beauty and splendor.