Jibril (Gabriel)

Jibril (Gabriel) is the greatest of angels, charged with the highest mission: transmitting God's Revelation to His prophets. It was he who brought the Quran to the Prophet Muhammad ﷺ, from the first word 'Read!' in the Cave of Hira'. The Quran names him explicitly and calls him 'the Faithful Spirit,' 'the Holy Spirit,' 'a noble Messenger.' The Prophet ﷺ saw him twice in his true form: a being of immense size, with 600 wings filling the horizon.

HIS RANK — Jibril is the most eminent of angels, chief of those brought close to God. His function is the noblest that exists: to carry God's word to His messengers. The Quran honours him with several titles: 'the Faithful Spirit' (ar-Ruh al-Amin, 26:193), 'the Holy Spirit' (Ruh al-Qudus, 2:87), and 'a noble Messenger, endowed with power, of high standing with the Lord of the Throne, obeyed in heaven and trustworthy' (81:19-21).

HIS PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION — He is one of the rare beings whose texts give a precise description. The Prophet ﷺ saw Jibril in his true form, the one in which God created him: HIS WINGS: from Ibn Mas'ud, 'the Prophet ﷺ saw Jibril, he had 600 wings' (Bukhari, Muslim). Each wing was so vast it 'blocked the horizon' — the space between east and west. From his wings fell pearls and rubies of all colours, in a quantity only God knows (Ahmad, authentic). HIS SIZE: the Prophet ﷺ said: 'I saw him descend from the sky, and his immense body filled the space between sky and earth' (Muslim).

THE TWO VISIONS — The Prophet ﷺ only saw Jibril in his true form TWICE (the rest of the time, the angel came in human appearance). These two visions are evoked in the Quran: 'While he was standing at the highest horizon' (53:7) — the first vision. 'He saw him a second time, near the Lotus of the Uttermost Boundary (Sidrat al-Muntaha)' (53:13-14) — during the Ascension (al-Mi'raj). Aisha reports that the Prophet ﷺ confirmed: 'It was Jibril. I only saw him in the form in which Allah created him on these two occasions' (Muslim).

IN HUMAN FORM — Most often, Jibril came to the Prophet ﷺ in the appearance of a man. Sometimes in the features of the Companion Dihya al-Kalbi, renowned for his beauty. The famous 'hadith of Jibril' (Muslim) recounts that he once came in the form of a man with brilliantly white clothes and very black hair, with no trace of travel, to question the Prophet ﷺ on Islam, faith (iman) and excellence (ihsan) — then the Prophet ﷺ said: 'That was Jibril; he came to teach you your religion.'

The name 'Gabriel' is in the Quran (2:97-98, 66:4); the physical description (600 wings, immense size) comes from authentic hadiths of Bukhari, Muslim and Ahmad — this is solid ground. The exact number of wings and the pearls are reported as such in these collections. Note: the Quran describes in 53:1-18 and 81:19-25 'the noble Messenger' the Prophet ﷺ saw at the horizon; exegetes recognise Jibril in him.

Jibril embodies perfect faithfulness in transmission: he carries God's word without adding or subtracting anything. His immense greatness recalls the majesty of God's creation — and yet this colossal being is only an obedient servant who 'does not consider himself too great to worship' (21:19-20). The mightiest of angels is also the most humble before his Lord.

Dis : « Que celui qui est l'ennemi de l'ange Gabriel sache que c'est lui qui, sur ordre d'Allah, a fait descendre dans ton cœur ce Livre... »

2:97

voilà des paroles transmises par un noble Messager, d'une force inouïe et en honneur auprès du Maître du Trône

81:19

Il l'a pourtant vu une autre fois, à proximité du Lotus de la limite

53:13