until he came forward and sat down in front of the Prophet—peace and blessings be upon him. That man was none other than Gabriel—peace be upon him—one of the greatest of the angels, indeed the most eminent of them so far as we know, because of the honor of his assignment: he conveys revelation from Allah to the messengers, peace be upon them. He is, therefore, a magnificent angel. The Prophet—peace be upon him—beheld him in the form in which he was created on two occasions: once on earth and once in heaven.

The first was on earth when the Prophet was in the Cave of Ḥirā’. He saw Gabriel with six hundred wings that filled the entire horizon so completely that the Messenger—peace be upon him—could no longer see the sky above him; the angel had blocked the whole vista with his six hundred wings. Glory be to Allah! For Allah says about the angels, “…who made the angels messengers, each possessing wings…” (Qur’an 35:1). They have wings with which they fly at incredible speed.

The second vision was at the Sidrat al-Muntahā, the Lote Tree at the Farthest Boundary. The Blessed and Exalted says: “It is but a revelation that is revealed, taught to him by one mighty in power, who stood poised while he was in the highest horizon; then he drew near and came down until he was two bow-lengths away, or even closer” (Qur’an 53:4–9). That was on earth: Gabriel descended from above and came so close to Muhammad—peace be upon him—that he conveyed to Allah’s servant and Messenger whatever revelation he had been charged to deliver. About the second encounter He also says: “And indeed he saw him another time, by the Lote Tree at the Farthest Boundary” (Qur’an 53:13–14).

Such is Gabriel. Yet Allah has granted the angels the ability to assume forms other than their original ones, and on this occasion he arrived in the guise of that man.

As for the narrator’s words, “until he sat down facing the Prophet—peace be upon him—and set his knees against his,” this means that he pressed