Foremost among them is Gabriel, upon him be peace, the custodian of revelation. Allah the Exalted says, “Indeed, this is a revelation from the Lord of all beings; the Trustworthy Spirit has brought it down upon your heart so that you may be one of the warners, in a clear Arabic tongue.” ⦗1⦘ And He says, “Say: The Holy Spirit has brought it down from your Lord in truth.” ⦗2⦘

Allah has endowed the angels with the ability to assume different forms. They came to Abraham and Lot—upon them be peace—in the likeness of guests. Gabriel would visit the Prophet—Allah bless him and grant him peace—in various appearances: at times in the likeness of Dihyah al-Kalbi, at times as a Bedouin, and at times in the very form in which he was created—this last occurred twice—because human beings are unable to see an angel in his original form. When the idolaters demanded that Allah send down an angel, He said, “Even if We were to send down an angel, the matter would be concluded, and they would then be given no respite. And if We had made him an angel, We would surely have made him appear as a man, and thus We would have confused them about what they are now confusing.” ⦗3⦘ That is, had We sent to mankind an angelic messenger in human guise, they could have spoken with him and benefited from receiving knowledge from him, for every species is comfortable with its own kind and recoils from what is alien.

Allah alone grants success.