“Possessed of strength, held in high rank by the Lord of the Throne (20), obeyed there and trustworthy (21). Your companion is not mad (22). And he certainly saw him on the clear horizon (23).”

“Possessed of strength”: among the manifestations of his strength was that he uprooted the towns of the people of Lot from the black water, carried them upon one of his wings, raised them to the sky, and then overturned them; that he saw Iblis speaking to Jesus upon one of the mountain heights of the Holy Land, whereupon he blew him away with a blast from his wing and cast him onto the [furthest] (1) mountain in India; that he cried out against Thamud with a single cry, and they became fallen lifeless; and that he descends from heaven to earth and ascends more swiftly than [birds] (2).

“Held in high rank by the Lord of the Throne”: that is, high in rank. “Obeyed there”: that is, in the [heavens] (3), where the angels obey him. Part of the angels’ obedience to him was that, on the Night Journey and Ascension, they opened the gates of the heavens at his instruction for the Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace; and the keepers of Paradise opened its gates at his instruction. “Trustworthy”: entrusted with Allah’s revelation and His messages to His prophets.

“Your companion is not mad”: He says to the people of Mecca, “Your companion”—meaning Muhammad, may Allah bless him and grant him peace—“is not mad.” This too is part of the response to the oath: Allah swore that the Quran was brought down by Gabriel, and that Muhammad was not as the people of Mecca claimed him to be. For they said that he was mad, and that what he spoke came from himself.

“And he certainly saw him”: that is, the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw Gabriel, peace be upon him, in his true form, “on the clear horizon,” which is the highest horizon in the direction of the east. This was stated by Mujahid and Qatadah.

Ahmad ibn Ibrahim al-Shurayhi informed us; Ahmad ibn Muhammad ibn Ibrahim al-Tha‘labi informed us; Ibn Fanjawayh informed me; Muhammad ibn Ja‘far narrated to us; al-Hasan ibn ‘Ulaywah narrated to us; Isma‘il ibn ‘Isa narrated to us; Ishaq ibn Bishr narrated to us; Ibn Jurayj informed us, from ‘Ikrimah [and Muqatil] (4), from Ibn ‘Abbas, who said: The Messenger of Allah, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, said to Gabriel, “I would like to see you in the form in which you are in heaven.” He said, “You will not be able to bear that.” He said, “Indeed I will.” He said, “Then where would you like me to appear to you?” He said, “At al-Abtah.” He said, “It cannot contain me.” He said, “Then here?” He said, “It cannot contain me.” He said, “Then at ‘Arafat?” He said, “That is more likely to contain me.” So he appointed a time for him.

The Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, went out at the appointed time, and Gabriel was approaching from the mountains of ‘Arafat amid a rustling and rumbling, filling all that lay between east and west, with his head in the sky and his feet upon the earth. When the Prophet, may Allah bless him and grant him peace, saw him, he proclaimed, “Allah is Most Great,” and fell unconscious. Gabriel then changed his form and drew him close to his—