…are living, articulate beings who at times come to the prophets with the information and commands Allah entrusts to them, and at other times support the prophets and fight alongside them. On occasion the angels would appear in human form, plainly visible to those who were present. Allah has related many different accounts of the angels in His Book, all of which refute the claim that an angel is nothing more than an imaginary image impressed upon the common perception, or that angels are simply intellects or souls.

Mutawātir (mass-transmitted) reports affirming that angels may come in human form:

Allah the Exalted says:

“taught to him by one mighty in power, one endowed with tremendous strength. He rose to his full stature while he was on the highest horizon; then he drew near and came down, until he was two bow-lengths away, or even closer, and He revealed to His servant what He revealed. The heart did not lie about what it saw. Will you then dispute with him concerning what he saw? Indeed he saw him yet another time, by the Lote Tree of the farthest boundary, near which lies the Garden of Refuge, when the Lote Tree was covered by that which covered it. The sight did not swerve, nor did it exceed the limit. He certainly saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord.” (Q 53:5–18)

In the two Ṣaḥīḥs it is narrated from Masrūq, who said:

“I was reclining with ʿĀʾishah—may Allah be pleased with her—when she said, ‘O Abū ʿĀʾishah, there are three statements; whoever utters any one of them has forged a tremendous calumny against Allah.’ I asked, ‘What are they?’ She replied, ‘Whoever claims that Muḥammad saw his Lord has forged a tremendous calumny against Allah; whoever claims that he knows what will happen tomorrow has forged a tremendous calumny against Allah; and whoever claims that he concealed anything of what was revealed to him has forged a tremendous calumny against Allah.’

He continued, ‘I had been reclining, but I sat up and said, “O Mother of the Believers, think carefully and do not rush. Did not Allah say,

And indeed he saw him on the clear horizon (Q 81:23),

and

And indeed he saw him another time (Q 53:13)?”

She answered, “I was the first of this community to ask the Messenger of Allah—may Allah bless him and grant him peace—about that. He said, ‘It was only Gabriel. I saw him in the form in which he was created on two occasions. I saw him descending from heaven, his immense size filling the space between heaven and earth.’”

In another wording he said, ‘So I asked, “How then do you explain the words of the Almighty:

Then he drew near and came down, until he was two bow-lengths away, or even closer; and He revealed to His servant what He revealed? (Q 53:8–10)…”’