“Had We made him an angel, We would have made him a man”

—as a distinction—among the messengers. He then established the truth of his message by affirming that he had seen Gabriel and was trustworthy concerning what he received from him. These two qualities thus established his mission in the most effective, complete, and fitting manner. They have also cited verses whose intended meanings have already been explained, describing the angels’ glorification of Allah, obedience, worship, and other qualities.

(The seventh argument:

The well-known, authentic hadith in which Allah, Almighty and Majestic, says:

“Whoever remembers Me within himself, I remember him within Myself; and whoever remembers Me in an assembly, I remember him in an assembly better than it.”

The assembly in which Allah mentions the one who remembers Him consists of:

(the angels. The hadith explicitly states that they are superior to, and better than, the assembly in which the servant remembers his Lord. Some have said: How many assemblies have there been in which Allah was remembered while the Messenger was present! Indeed, this occurred in the gatherings of all the messengers. How, then, can this authentic hadith be set aside?

The answer:

This hadith is authentic, and it is the best and strongest evidence they have cited. Two answers have been offered to it, one weaker than the other.

The weaker answer is that “better” may refer to the remembrance rather than to those among whom the mention is made. The intended meaning would then be: “I mention him with a remembrance better than his remembrance,” because Allah’s remembrance is His speech.

This argument has no merit, however, for khayr (“better”) is a genitive adjective qualifying “assembly.” Moreover, He attached to it the expression minhum (“than them”), not minhu (“than it”). Had that meaning not been intended, the wording would have been: “I mention him in an assembly with a remembrance better