They answered, “You are our leader; you speak to him.” He said, “We do know that he is the Messenger of Allah.”

I asked, “Then how have you ruined yourselves? If you know that he is the Messenger of Allah, why do you not follow him?”

They replied, “We have an enemy among the angels and a friend among the angels. Our enemy is Gabriel, the angel of harshness and severity; our friend is Michael, the angel of mercy and gentleness.”

I said, “I bear witness that it is not permissible for Gabriel to be hostile toward the ally of Michael, nor for Michael to be hostile toward the ally of Gabriel, nor for that ally to side with his enemy.”

Then I got up, and the Messenger of Allah ﷺ met me and said, “Shall I not recite to you verses that have just been revealed to me?” He then recited: “Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel—it is he who has brought it down upon your heart by Allah’s leave …” [al-Baqarah 2:97].

I said, “By Him who sent you with the truth, I came only to inform you of what the Jews are saying.” ʿUmar added, “Indeed, I found myself in the religion of Allah firmer than stone.” (1)

Abū Nuʿaym also narrated, on the authority of ʿAmr ibn ʿAbasah, who said: “In the pre-Islamic days I turned away from the idols of my people, knowing they were false—stones that could neither harm nor benefit. I met a man from the People of the Scripture and asked him, ‘Which religion is best?’ He replied, ‘A man will emerge from Mecca who will renounce the idols of his people and will bring the finest religion. When …’