…he said, “Will you not eat?”
He felt a secret fear of them, but they said, “Do not be afraid,” and they gave him the glad tidings of a knowledgeable son.
Then his wife came forward with a loud cry, struck her face, and exclaimed, “A barren old woman!”
They replied, “So it shall be—your Lord has said it. He is the All-Wise, the All-Knowing.”
[Abraham] said, “And what is your mission, O messengers?”
They answered, “We have been sent to a sinful people, to shower upon them stones of clay, marked by your Lord for the prodigal. We brought out of the town everyone who believed; within it We found only a single household of those who had submitted, and We left in it a sign for those who fear the painful punishment.” (Q 51:27-37)

Allah thus relates that the angels entered upon Abraham, greeted him, and he returned their greeting, though he did not recognize them because of their extraordinary appearance. He served them a fat roasted calf in hospitality; but when he saw that they did not eat, he became uneasy. They reassured him, declared themselves to be messengers of Allah, and gave him the good news of a knowledgeable son—Isaac—despite his extreme old age and that of his wife, a marvel that breaks all customary norms. They also said, “We have been sent to a criminal people to hurl upon them stones of clay.” The angels rained those stones down from heaven upon the towns of the people of Lot. Allah recounts their story in several places in the Quran—in Surahs Hūd, al-Ḥijr, and al-ʿAnkabūt—and in each passage He highlights a different aspect of what occurred.

Allah, exalted is He, likewise informs us that He sent to Mary the virgin, the chaste one, an angel in human form. He says:

“Mention in the Book Mary: when she withdrew from her people to an eastern place and placed a screen between herself and them, We sent to her Our Spirit, who appeared to her as a well-proportioned man. She said, ‘I seek refuge with the Most Merciful from you, should you be God-fearing.’ He said, ‘I am only a messenger of your Lord, sent to grant you a pure boy.’ She said, ‘How shall I have a son when no man has touched me, nor have I been unchaste?’ He said, ‘So it shall be; your Lord has said, “It is easy for Me. We shall make him a sign for humankind and a mercy from Us; the matter is already decreed.”’ She conceived him, then withdrew with him to a distant place. The pains of childbirth drove her to the trunk of a palm-tree, and she said, ‘Would that I had died before this and been completely forgotten!’ Then he called to her from below, ‘Do not grieve; your Lord has placed a stream beneath you. Shake the trunk of the palm-tree toward yourself and fresh, ripe dates will fall upon you. So eat, drink, and be comforted; and if you see any human being, say, “I have vowed a fast to the Most Merciful and will not speak to anyone today.”’” (Q 19:16-26)