Anjel Jibreel II

The Prophetﷺ was asked how does the revelation come? He said when Allah desires to speak the words of revelation, there is a loud noise through the heavens. It’s like chains pulling over mount safa (imagine the severity of chains pulling over a mountain). He then said the angels of the heavens are overtaken by it and Allah speaks to Jibreel. When Allah is finished speaking the revelations to Jibreel, the angels regain themselves and as Jibreel starts to descend on the Prophetﷺ, the angels surround Jibreel and they ask what did your Lord say? Jibreel says Al haq, Al haq (the truth, the truth) He is the most high the most great and they all descend with Jibreel as the revelation is revealed to the Prophetﷺ.

The easiest way to get angels to surround you is to recite Quran because the angels have not been given the gift of the recitation of the Quran. Some of you are wondering what? The angels do not recite the Quran? Yes, they listen to it. Only a few angels that Allah swt has given the ability to recite the Quran and obviously Jibreel is one. So when you recite the quran in the time of fajr, the angels surround you and witness that because they love to hear it since they don’t recite it.

That’s the way the revelation comes down to the prophetﷺ and there are numerous ways Jibreel teaches the Prophetﷺ. The Prophetﷺ said in a hadith in Abu dawood that Jibreel came to him and told him to recite the quran in the recitation that’s been given to him. Prophetﷺ said I started to read and Jibreel was on my right side and Mikaeel was on my left side. Mikaeel said increase him, so Jibreel taught me another recitation. Mikaeel looked at Jibreel again and said increase him, so he taught me another recitation. Mikaeel said increase him until he said it seven times and the Prophet ﷺ was given 7 different modes of recitation of the Quran. That’s how it was taught to him and it’s truly magnificent that the Prophetﷺ was able to bear that and remember it by the grace of Allah swt.

What are the other ways that Jibreel used to come to the Prophetﷺ? He did not stop coming to him in his dreams. He sometimes comes to Prophetﷺ in his dreams with Mikaeel. They both took and showed him the punishment and rewards of the grave. Then Jibreel shows the Prophetﷺ  jannah and hellfire. The Prophetﷺ was shown his home in paradise and he said at that point I said to Jibreel and Mikaeel, leave me now to enter my house. I don’t want to go back and Jibreel A.S would put his hand on the arm of the Prophetﷺ and tell him you’ve still got some time in this world and then you’ll enter In Sha Allah.

In another dream the Prophetﷺ said I saw Jibreel and Mikaeel and Mikaeel said to Jibreel, give him an analogy. So Jibreel A.S said the analogy of the message that has been given to you ya Rasullalah is that of a king who conquered a land. When the king conquered that land, he built a house on that land and when he built that house he spread a table with food on it and he invited whoever wanted to come to that home. Jibreel A.S said: Allah is the King, the land is islam, the home is Jannah, the food is the food of al jannah and you o Muhammad is the messenger of Allah. Whoever responds to you has entered into Jannah and will eat whatever they desire. Jibreel and Mikaeel are both explaining to the prophetﷺ who he is and what his message represents.

Other times Jibreel comes to the Prophetﷺ with a command from Allah in his dream, so the Prophetﷺ saw an image of Aisha. Jibreel showed the prophetﷺ Aisha for three consecutive nights and he told the Prophetﷺ this is your wife in this world and the next. Aisha used to boast, she used to say Jibreel proposed on my behalf. Like who else has that distinction?

In real life what other way did Jibreel come to the Prophetﷺ other than revelation? Jibreel you have to understand taught the Prophetﷺ the sunnah. The Prophetﷺ doesn’t speak out of empty desire. Hassan narrated that Jibreel used to come to the prophetﷺ and teach him the sunnah the same way that he used to teach him the quran; so every authentic hadith that you hear is from Jibreel A.S teaching the Prophetﷺ. One time the Prophetﷺ was with the companions in the masjid, suddenly he took his shoes off to pray. Now realise the masjid of the prophetﷺ was dirt back then, so yes they wore their shoes to pray. So he took off his shoes and started to pray and when he finished praying, he realised that all the sahabas had taken their shoes off too. The Prophetﷺ said why did you all take off your shoes? They replied we saw you take your shoes off. So the Prophetﷺ said the only reason i did that is because right before the prayer, Jibreel came to me and told me I stepped on something impure. So Jibreel is with the Prophetﷺ on a frequent basis and even when the people ask the Prophetﷺ some questions, Jibreel answered those questions for the Prophetﷺ rapidly.

Husayn ibn Salam (the Chief rabbi in Medina) comes to the Prophetﷺ with some questions. When the Prophetﷺ responded, he said Jibreel just gave me the answers. Which is why Allah tested the messengerﷺ with what in suratul khaf?  To teach him to say In Sha Allah (when Allah wills). When the Prophetﷺ became accustomed to getting asked a question, Jibreel would give him the answer. The Prophetﷺ was taught that it comes from Allahﷺ.

Abu Dharr R.A said we used to sit with the Prophetﷺ and when someone came from the outside, they did not know who from amongst us was the prophet of God why? He dressed like we dressed, he sat on the ground like we sat on the ground, he distinguished himself only by his manners. When the Prophetﷺ did the hijrah (migrated to medina), the Ansar did not know which one was the prophetﷺ, was it him or Abubakar? So Abubakar took a clothe and did something (helping them identify who the prophet was) so they all charged after the Prophetﷺ. Outsiders were expecting to see this powerful man, that’s sitting on a throne and everyone else is sitting on the ground but the Prophetﷺ is sitting with everyone else on the ground. So Abu Dharr says, we insisted that the Prophetﷺ sits on a chair but he refused. Then Abu Dharr says what we did instead was we pushed the dirt together until we made a mount, so that he’s still sitting on the ground but at least when someone comes from outside, they know who he is. He said the Prophetﷺ accepted that.

Abu Dharr said one day when we were sitting, we used to wait for when people would come and ask the Prophetﷺ some questions that we were too shy to ask him and we would listen to the answers. We are sitting and suddenly a man appears. He said his thobe was extremely white and not wrinkled. His hair was exceedingly black, he smelled amazing and the most perplexing thing about him was that he wasn’t a resident and he had no sign of travel on him. We had no idea who he is and Abu Dharr said he resembled Dihya. The man came and he stopped at the entrance and he said to the Prophetﷺ As Salam Alaykum Ya Muhammad (Peace be unto you o Muhammad). The Prophet replied walaykum Salam. He said do I have permission to come close to you O Muhammad? The Prophetﷺ said yes. The companions weren’t used to this as well because most of the people that came to ask the Prophetﷺ questions were bedouins; so they would just walk right in, stand in front of the prophetﷺ and ask questions. So the manners was also flawless.

Jibreel came close and he said should I come closer? The Prophetﷺ said yes until Jibreel was sitting right in front of the Prophetﷺ and he placed his hands on the knees of the Prophetﷺ. Abu Dharr said the sahabas hurdled around. What’s going to happen here? So Jibreel says to the prophetﷺ O Muhammad tell me about Islam. So the Prophetﷺ gave him the five pillars of islam; that you bear witness that there’s no God but Allah and Muhammed is the messenger of Allah, that you establish the prayer, that you pay the zakah, that you fast ramadan and do hajj if you are capable of doing hajj. Now here’s the thing the man said “you’ve told the truth”. Abu Dharr said we all looked around at each other and wondering who do you think you are to say you have spoken the truth to the Prophetﷺ? What arrogance and we thought this man had good manners. Then the man said tell me about Iman (faith)? The Prophetﷺ said to believe in Allah, the angels, the messengers, the day of judgement and the divine decree. He said you’ve told the truth. He then said tell me about Ihsan (excellence). The Prophetﷺ said to worship Allah as if you can see Him and when you realise you can’t see Him, you know that He sees you. He said you’ve told the truth. Then he asked the Prophetﷺ the frequently most asked question; when is the hour (the day of judgement)? The Prophetﷺ put his head down so Abu Dharr said we were confused. The man asked again Ya Muhammad tell me about the hour. The Prophetﷺ said nothing. He asked him a third time. The Prophetﷺ then said the one who is asking knows very well that the one being asked, knows no better than the one who is asking. The Prophetﷺ is like you don’t know, I don’t know, I don’t even know why you are asking me. Then Jibreel said well tell me about its signs. The Prophetﷺ mentioned two particular signs of the day of judgement: that a woman would give birth to her master and barefoot bedouins will start competing to build tall buildings and the man said you’ve told the truth. Abu Dharr said the man suddenly left so quickly that we were all confused. The Prophetﷺ said go see if you can find him, so all the sahabas took their horses and went around looking and couldn’t find him. They came back to the Prophetﷺ and said he’s nowhere. The Prophetﷺ do you know who that was? They said no. He said that was Jibreel coming to teach you your religion. He knows how much you guys pay attention, so he came to ask the most important questions.

Now how does Jibreel act throughout the seerah? The role that he played in supporting and helping the Prophetﷺ cannot be exaggerated. It’s so important. He protected the Prophetﷺ physically such as when Abu Jahl said if this man (the Prophetﷺ) puts his face on the ground again in front of us, in front of the kaaba, he swore by the idols that i’m going to step on his neck and kill him and it will be the end of the Prophetﷺ. The Prophetﷺ comes out and he starts to pray in front of the kaaba and Abu Jahl starts walking towards the Prophetﷺ, suddenly he puts his hands on his face and he screams and runs. They asked Abu Jahl what happened? He starts saying there was a ditch of fire; there was something between me and him. When the Prophetﷺ finished his salat, the companions came to him and asked what happened? He said if he would have tried that, Jibreel would have killed him.

He also protected the Prophetﷺ emotionally. Not only did he protect the Prophetﷺ emotionally, he protected his family. Remember Khadija R.A? The Prophetﷺ when they were living in the boycott, he lost everything. Khadija lost her money, he lost his money, they lost their status and were being ridiculed in society, food was not reaching them properly; they were barely surviving and Khadija was an older woman. Jibreel enters upon the Prophetﷺ as Khadija is making whatever food they had left, and Jibreel says that’s Khadija. She is about to come to you with a tray of food. When she does, give her salam from Allah and give her my salam as well, and give her glad tidings of a home in jannah that is made of pearls, in which there is no fatigue and noise whatsoever; a place that far outdoes anything that she’s sacrificed in this world. So when Khadija arrived, the Prophetﷺ said here is Jibreel giving you salam from Allah and from himself and he brings glad tidings of a house made of pearls where there is no fatigue and noise whatsoever. Khadija R.A demonstrates her spiritual maturity and said as for Allah, Allah is Peace. As for Jibreel, alayhis salam (peace be upon him) and In sha Allah we will be patient. Khadija R.A died shortly after that incident took place.

The prophetﷺ was devastated and when Abu Talib (uncle of the Prophetﷺ that used to protect him) died also, he was ridiculed far harsher and hit far harsher. Anas ibn Malik narrated that once the Prophetﷺ was hit on the face with an object and there was blood running down his face and the Prophetﷺ just sat down grieving. So Jibreel came to him and said Ya Muhammad what’s wrong? He said look at what my people are doing to me. Jibreel A.S says do you want me to show you an ayah (a sign)? The Prophetﷺ said na’am (yes). Jibreel said call that tree to come towards you. The Prophetﷺ calls the tree and the tree comes to him. Jibreel said now tell it to go back. The Prophetﷺ tells it to go back. Jibreel says are you happy now? The Prophetﷺ said yes that’s enough.

What’s important is that Jibreel comes to the Prophetﷺ in his lowest moment and his highest. What was the Prophet’sﷺ lowest moment? The worst day of his life in his own words? It was the last day of Ta’if. After two weeks of being humiliated and rejected in the worst possible way, mocked and slandered, he’s made to walk for 30 km (that’s 18 miles) through a narrow road of people, children, people that had mental issues and they were hitting the Prophetﷺ, cursing him and the blood was running down his body and the stones were in his sandals. The Prophetﷺ did not know where he was after that and he calls upon Allah swt complaining to Allah. Who does Allah send? Jibreel. Jibreel comes to the Prophetﷺ and he had with him malaikah jibal (an angel that can move mountains) and Jibreel says Muhammad we have heard your complaints, with me is an angel than can move these mountains. The angel says assalam alaykum Ya rasulallah (peace be unto you oh messenger of Allah), you tell me what you want me to do. The angel started to suggest to him that if you want I can take these two mountains and crush them all. The Prophetﷺ said no, that maybe there will be from their children people that will worship none other than Allah. Maybe their children will be different; subhanallah the children that just stoned him, maybe their children will be different? As a result Allah gifted the Prophetﷺ the children of his enemies; Abu Jahl’s son (Ikramah), Amr ibn al As. Some of the greatest companions, their fathers were one of the greatest enemies of islam. Allah gifted him with those people because the Prophetﷺ never lost hope in his people. That was what the Prophetﷺ called the lowest moment of his life.

Now here is the thing, Allah said in suratul ash sharh “Indeed, with every hardship comes ease”

Right after the lowest moment of his life, the Prophetﷺ said Jibreel came to me wearing green garments, with rubies hanging from those green garments. Once again Jibreel opens my chest, took my heart and put it in a vessel of zam zam and he poured into it, wal Iman and wal hikmah (more faith and more wisdom), renewing and increasing the Prophetﷺ. He put his heart back and he sewed it up again. Jibreel A.S told the Prophetﷺ to mount al buraq (a particular animal from jannah; no particular animal that we see or know). It was narrated that al buraq was shy of the Prophetﷺ and Jibreel told al buraq look there is no greater person that has ever mounted you than this man, accept it. After mounting al buraq, Jibreel took the Prophetﷺ to medina. They got to a spot and Jibreel told him to descend from the animal and pray. The Prophetﷺ did just that. Then Jibreel asked the Prophetﷺ do you know where you’ve prayed? Prophetﷺ said no. He said this is at tur; the place where Allah spoke directly to Moses. Jibreel asked him to mount the animal again and they reached another place. Jibreel asked him to pray and after he was done he asked do you know where you’ve prayed? Prophetﷺ said no. Jibreel said Bethlehem; the place where Isa (Jesus) was born. Then the Prophetﷺ said finally we arrived at al aqsa (the place where there isn’t a handspan except and angel or a prophet has prayed there). Rasullalah said the ambiya (all the prophets) were gathered for him and they were in rows waiting for salat. Subhanallah. Then Jibreel grabbed the hands of the prophetﷺ and pulled him in front and said ya rasulallah lead them in salat (prayer). He led them in salat. Then Jibreel took the hands of the Prophetﷺ and they started to ascend. He said every time they got to one of the gates of heaven, there was an angel at the gate who would say who is it? Jibreel will answer Jibreel. The angel would ask who is with you? Jibreel would say Rasulallahﷺ. The angel would say has he been sent for? Jibreel would say na’am. Then the angel would say welcome to you o righteous Prophet. Subhanallah this was right after the incident of Ta’if. They continued to ascend the heavens and then suddenly Jibreel had two glasses in his hands; one of wine and one of milk and presented them to the Prophetﷺ. Now is wine halal? No. If Jibreel is presenting wine to the Prophetﷺ is it halal? Yes. But did the Prophetﷺ say well since it’s Jibreel giving it to me I’ll take the wine? No, he chose the milk and drank it. Jibreel made a comment and said All praises be to Allah who guided you in natural goodness. If you would have drank the wine, the nation would have gone astray. Jibreel was happy for us as an ummah, that the messengerﷺ chose the pure drink; what his fitrah led him to and that was a good sign for the ummah of the Prophetﷺ. They also saw al kawthar; the fountain in which the Prophetﷺ will serve his followers on the day of judgement. May Allah makes us from among them. Amin. Now they got to al Baitul Ma’mur (The frequently visited house). The Prophet asked Jibreel what is this? Jibreel said this is al Baitul Ma’mur, it’s the equivalent of the Ka’baa on earth where 70,000 angels enter everyday and do tawaf and they never return. They continued to ascend till they reached sidrat al-muntaha.

Allah said in suratul najm “So will you dispute with him over what he saw? And he certainly saw him in another descent at the Lote Tree of the utmost boundary” (53:12-14)

Who was Allah talking about? Jibreel. Aisha was very harsh with anyone that tried to say otherwise that the Prophetﷺ didn’t truly see what he was saying and that Jibreel was never there. The place of Sidrat al muntaha will be the second time the Prophetﷺ would see Jibreel in his full angelic form at the lote tree.

The Lote Tree is the boundary between jannah and the rest of the heavens in the earth; meaning no one goes beyond the Lote tree. When they got there, the Prophetﷺ saw jibreel in his full form (this time from top to bottom, the other time it was from bottom to top) and the Prophetﷺ said the colours of that Lote tree were indescribable. As they were walking the Prophetﷺ said jibreel was like a flattened rug out of his awe of Allah swt; knowing the closeness they were to Allah at Sidrat al muntaha. As he entered the place, Allah swt spoke to him directly and gave him the same order that he gave to Musa; to establish the prayer.

The Prophetﷺ on his way down, saw one more sight. He said suddenly I saw a nation of people and they were standing behind their prophets. Some prophets only had 2, 3, 4, 100 people, some had more people standing behind them and some had none. I just saw all of these nations. He said then suddenly I saw this huge nation. Now realise that at this point in the Prophets life he had just a few amount of followers; this is before medina, before hijrah. So he saw this huge nation and he asks jibreel, Jibreel is that mine? Jibreel said no. He said Jibreel took him and he turned him around and the Prophetﷺ said I saw a nation that is far bigger than that one, that engulfed that nation and Jibreel said that is your ummah. Subhanallah can you imagine if we were standing on that day, when Jibreel shows the Prophetﷺ billions of people and says that’s your ummah; the amount of people you are going to have that are going to follow you.

The Prophetﷺ said they returned and Jibreel visited him the next day in his human form at the time of dhur; the command of prayer has already been given to him. Jibreel led him in prayer and he prayed behind him. Jibreel came during asr again and did the same thing and during magrib and isha and fajr; establishing the five daily prayers. Then the Prophetﷺ said Jibreel came the next day and led him in prayer at the end of those times, and told him the window of time for salat is between those two times we prayed together. Jibreel taught him the prayer step by step, the same way he thought him how to do hajj.

Now after 13 years in Mecca you can imagine the kind of relationship The Prophetﷺ had with Jibreel. When the Prophetﷺ made hijrah (migration from mecca to medina), there’s a particular man called Hassan ibn thabit R.A. Hassan was a poet and he actually used to get paid for his poetry. You know why? Because his poetry was to diss people. This man was a professional disser; he gets paid by people to put you down with words on behalf of someone else. Hassan is from medina and they hired him to go and see the Prophetﷺ as he arrives into medina. So all the Ansaar are waiting for him to arrive and Hassan is just standing there waiting as well.

So when the Prophetﷺ entered into Medina instead of saying anything bad about him, Hassan is like I’ve got nothing. He authored one of the most beautiful poems about the Prophetﷺ in history and he becomes muslim on the spot. Now here’s the thing, the Prophetﷺ also had people in Medina that would mock and challenge him but the Prophetﷺ was kind and humble. Hassan ibn thabit took it upon himself to defend the Prophetﷺ against anybody that said anything about him. So when a person comes to the masjid and disrespects the Prophetﷺ, Hassan stands up and goes off on him. The sahaba loved it to a point that they built him a pulpit in the mosque to stand and respond to such people. So Hassan stands for the first time on that pulpit and the Prophetﷺ looks at him and his eyes get really big. So they come to the Prophetﷺ and ask Ya rasulallah what is it? He said Jibreel is standing with Hassan right now. Anytime a mushrik said something, the Prophetﷺ would say respond to them oh Hassan, Jibreel is with you right now and as Hassan is about to stand up and speak, the Prophetﷺ says oh Allah support him with the holy spirit Jibreel A.S. Hassan is standing there and Jibreel automatically helps him to respond to the things that are being said about the Prophetﷺ. You know what’s amazing about that? Imam Al Qaim said when anyone responds to insults on behalf of the Prophet (by intellectually defending the Prophetﷺ, removing the doubts about his character) Jibreel A.S would support him.

Banu Qurayza is the name of the tribe that sent Hassan ibn Thabit to diss the Prophet and they hated him before he arrived to Medina. Why? They had been expecting a messenger and he didn’t turn out to be a person from their people. Banu Qurayza happens to be a jewish tribe. There is this idea that there is enmity between the muslims and the jewish and this is utterly untrue. In fact the neighbour of the Prophetﷺ was a Jew and Rasulallahﷺ would visit the man and his family, as well as when his son became sick and before the son died, the son took shahadah (became muslim) on the approval of his father. There were large groups of jews that accepted islam.

This tribe banu qurayza came to ask the Prophetﷺ some questions and he answered all of the questions and they recognized that someone was giving him the answers. So they said at the end of that conversation, tell us who your guardian is from the angels as a result of that we would either follow you or we will leave you. The Prophetﷺ said my guardian from the angels is Jibreel. You know what their response was? They said are you talking about that one who comes down with death and destruction? They insulted Jibreel. They said had you said Mikaeel, we would have followed you but we want nothing to do with you or Jibreel. Subhanallah Allah defended Jibreel A.S. in the Quran.

In suratul baqarah Allah said ” Say, whoever is an enemy to Gabriel it is [none but] he who has brought the Qur’an down upon your heart, [O Muhammad], by permission of Allah , confirming that which was before it and as guidance and good tidings for the believers.” (2:97)

The battle of badr was a great day for the muslims and it was also a sad day because Ruqqayah died. Ruqayyah was the daughter of the Prophetﷺ and the wife of Uthman R.A. Uthman was extremely sad. Ruqayyah and Uthman were what you would call today relationship goals; they were the ideal couple. Husbands used to tell their wives I love you like Uthman loves Ruqayyah. That was the amount of love he had for Ruqayyah so he was crushed and he avoided people for some time after badr. The Prophetﷺ found Uthman one day standing alone and he said Ya Uthman talk to me what is going on? Uthman R.A said the death of Ruqayyah and something else. The Prophetﷺ said what is it? He said my connection to you has been severed by her death. I am no longer your son-in-law. As soon as Uthman said that, The Prophetﷺ said Ya Uthman Jibreel is with me and he just said marry to him your other daughter Umm kulthum with the same dowry and that you should treat her the same way that you treated Ruqayyah. Jibreel particularly loved Uthman, for Jibreel is very modest and Uthman was the most modest of the companions. The Prophetﷺ used to act a different way in front of Uthman in a way he wouldn’t even act to Abubakar and Umar. He would sit up straight and straighten his clothes and other things. Aisha asked him Ya Rasulallah why do you do that? The Prophetﷺ responded shouldn’t I be shy of a man that the angels are shy of? Jibreel is shy around that man of course I am shy around him.

Now moving on to my favourite bits. Abdullah ibn Abass narrated that during ramadan the Prophetﷺ is extremely generous but when Jibreel would meet him, he would be more generous than a blowing wind and that what motivated the Prophetﷺ was seeing the righteous people. That was the kind of effect Jibreel had on the Prophetﷺ personally. What about the Prophetﷺ to Jibreel? Rasulallahﷺ asked Jibreel you know Allah said in the Quran we have not sent you but as a mercy to all of mankind. Did any of my mercy reach you? Jibreel A.S responded, I swear by Allah you are the most beloved of the Prophets to me. I’ve never been sent to someone that I loved more than I love you. Jibreel said it was through you, that I gained security. What does he mean by that? He said I used to wonder about my faith until Allah revealed to you that he is established in his position with the honour of the throne. Before that was revealed, Jibreel used to wonder what would happen to the Prophet at the end of us all. When Allah revealed that to the Prophetﷺ, Jibreel felt the rahma (mercy) of the Prophetﷺ.

The Prophetﷺ was reassured that he is safe and the believers were safe. Who was the Prophetﷺ worried about next? Us (those that come after). He cries Ummati Ummati (my nation, my nation) and Allah sends him Jibreel. Jibreel says Ya Muhammad we will please you with your nation. We will not disappoint you. Your ummah will be okay.

The most profound of their conversations is when Jibreel is giving advice to the Prophetﷺ. The chief of the angels giving advice to the chief of mankind. We are blessed to have access to those conversations because it applies to all of us. The Prophetﷺ was seen going over and over to his neighbours house (the jew) and the sahaba said Ya rasulallah we noticed that you keep going over to your neighbours house. The Prophetﷺ said Jibreel was coming to me and advising me “take care of your neighbour, take care of your neighbour, take care of your neighbour” until I thought Jibreel was going to say now you must assign inheritance to them. This is a part of our faith and in accordance with every religion; love thy neighbour.

The prophetﷺ was also seen saying ameen ameen, the sahaba asked ya Rasulallah why are you saying ameen? He said well Jibreel was making dua against three people. The one whose parents reach old age and he doesn’t honour them, may he be humiliated. The one who ramadan comes and goes and he is not forgiven by his creator. The one who hears the name of Rasulallahﷺ and doesn’t say ﷺ; Jibreel A.S found that offensive.

This next advise was given towards the end of the life of the Prophetﷺ. It happened when the Prophetﷺ is established and successful; everything is done. People are coming into the religion. Jibreel comes to the Prophetﷺ and he says Ya Muhammad. Now does Allah refer to the Prophetﷺ as Muhammad in the quran? No, it’s always messenger of Allah. So what gives Jibreel the audacity to call him Muhammad? When Jibreel uses Ya Muhammad, it is to show that this is outside the capacity of revelation. What I’m about to say to you is from me Jibreel to you Muhammad; that’s the only time he doesn’t say Ya Rasulallah.

So Jibreel says Ya Muhammad, 5 advices here. Live as you will but know that one day you are going to die. Love whom you will but know that one day you will be separated from that person. Do as you will and know that you will be compensated and rewarded accordingly (meaning keep doing what you do and know that the rewards will come in the hereafter). Know that the nobility of the believer is standing up in prayer at night (its not in being a ruler or having thousands of followers or having this or that). Lastly, as for his dignity it’s in he being independent of people (financially, emotionally, mentally, physically). Try to absorb yourself in needing people in anyway whatsoever. Subhanallah that is profound life advice right there.

The next detail is Jibreel giving advice in a very subtle way but it’s still very profound. The Prophetﷺ said in an authentic hadith that I was sitting with Jibreel A.S and all of a sudden the sky split and an angel came down, and he started to come close to us. When Jibreel saw this angel, he became smaller and he held himself like he was bracing for something. The angel came to the Prophetﷺ and said Oh messenger of Allah, I am a messenger that has been sent to you from God and I am giving you a choice. Either you are a prophet who lives as a king or a prophet who lives like a humble slave. What’s a quick example of a prophet that lived like a king? Sulaiman A.S (Solomon) and Dawud A.S (David). The angel said you’ll live very comfortably as a king and have the riches of this and you will still have the hereafter. This or you continue living like a humble slave of Allah. Now understand that the prophetﷺ used to go the nights in hunger and with stones tied to his stomach to give the impression of a full stomach. He suffered from poverty even after success. So the angel tells him you have a choice now. The Prophetﷺ said I looked at Jibreel and Jibreel gestured with his hands (in a similar way you would tell someone to calm or slow down). The Prophetﷺ said I’ll choose to be a prophet that lives like a humble slave. So the angel left and I looked at Jibreel A.S. this was very strange. Jibreel A.S said this angel has never been down before this day. The Prophetﷺ asked why is it that you got smaller and were afraid? He said I swear by Allah I did not think he came down except to announce the day of judgement. Who was that angel? Israfeel. When Jibreel saw Israfeel, he thought it was all over.

The Prophet’s ﷺ health starts to disintegrate further and further. His fever got worse, his mobility was reduced and he couldn’t stand in prayer. Anas ibn Malik narrated we were praying in the masjid and the Prophetﷺ moved his curtain and he smiled and he laughed. At what? At seeing a few hundred people praying. He recognised the accomplishment there. Subhanallah imagine now there are 2 billion people praying. The Prophetﷺ was happy, I did what I had to do. Anas ibn Malik said we looked at the Prophetﷺ and we started to get excited in our prayer because we thought he was going to come out. Then the Prophetﷺ signalled to us to keep praying and he drew his curtains closed and that was the last time we saw the Prophetﷺ.

Inside his home, everyone was crying because they knew the prophetﷺ time was nearing its end. Fatima R.A (the prophet’s daughter) was deeply saddened and she was with her father the whole time. The Prophetﷺ even though he couldn’t talk, signalled for her to come close. He whispered something in her ear and it caused her to cry even more. Then the Prophetﷺ told her come back and he whispered something else in her ear, and she bursts into laughter. Aisha R.A was watching all of this and was perplexed by it. Why did you cry and then laugh so suddenly? So she kept pushing Fatima what did he tell you? Fatima eventually gave in and said the first time, he told me that Jibreel usually reviews the Quran with me once in ramadan, this year he did it twice (solidifying the revelation) so I don’t think I’m going to make it past this sickness. Second time, the Prophetﷺ said to me you will be the first one to join me. He just told a young lady in her twenties that you are going to die soon and she bursts out in hysterical laughter. She knows that means being with the Prophetﷺ, it was enough for her.

The Prophetﷺ was leaning back on Aisha and immediately he finished using a siwak, Jibreel entered upon them. Aisha said she looked at the Prophetﷺ and his face lit up with a huge smile. Looking back 23 years before this incident how traumatised was the Prophetﷺ at the sight of Jibreel? He didn’t even know who Allah was and what Allah wanted from him. Jibreel said to the Prophetﷺ I’m here to give you a choice. Either you choose to remain amongst your companions and live well or you can have the companionship of the most high, Allah. The Prophetﷺ responded I want the companionship of the most high. Aisha said the Prophetﷺ soul left his body as he was saying I want the companionship of the most high Allah. His hands fell and the Prophetﷺ died. Aisha screamed and when everyone heard her scream they knew the Prophetﷺ passed away. Fatima R.A got sick out of nowhere and died four months later, fulfilling the prophecy of the prophetﷺ.

The Prophetﷺ said everyone will die, including Jibreel. After the horn is blown, the only ones left standing will be the ones Allah willed. The four angels that apportion the command of Allah will remain. Allah asks the angel of death who remains? He replies O Allah your noble face, you are here, me, your servant jibreel, your servant Mikaeel and Israfeel. Allah commands him to take the soul of Mikaeel and he does just that. Allah asks who remains? The angel of death says Ya Allah you, me, Jibreel and Israfeel. Allah commands him to take the soul of Israfeel and he does just that. Allah asks who remains? He says your noble face o Allah, me this servant of yours and your servant Jibreel. Allah commands him to take the soul of Jibreel. Jibreel’s soul is taken and he lands on his face with his wings spread out glorifying Allah. Allah asks who remains? The angel of death says Ya Allah it’s just you and me and Allah says to the angel of death die, and the angel of death dies. Allah says every single person perishes and only the noble face of your Lord remains. Then Allah swt will ask Himself, to whom belongs the dominion today? Where are the oppressors? The dictators? Those who used to kill innocent people on the earth? Those that had pride in this world? Those that thought they owned things and were kings and had unquestionable authority? Where are they today? Allah says to whom belongs the dominion today? Allah says to himself; to Allah, the one, the subduer.

On the day of judgement the Prophetﷺ said as we all come back, the earth is flattened in obedience to Allah and each and every person will not be able to move from the spot in which they are standing. He said I would be the first to be called to Allah and I will fall into prostration, and I would raise my head and suddenly I will see Jibreel on the right side of the most merciful. Subhanallah Jibreel says I swear by Allah I never saw Him before that day; Jibreel has never seen Allah swt. The vision of Allah cannot be grasped. On the day of judgement that will be the first time that Jibreel will actually be able to look at Allah swt. So when the Prophetﷺ sees Jibreel he points to him and says Ya rabb this one told me that you sent him to me. Allah says you’ve told the truth.  Why does the Prophetﷺ choose to do that on the day of judgement? Why does he feel that inclination? Because on the day of judgement every messenger is being asked whether he delivered the message or not. The Prophetﷺ vouches for Jibreel before he was even asked. The Prophetﷺ will say You sent him to me, he did his job.

What’s our relationship with Jibreel right now? You can actually interact with jibreel right now. You know how? Anas ibn Malik narrates that one time The Prophetﷺ all of his face was full of joy so he said to him Ya rasulallah what is it? May Allah keep you happy. He says Jibreel just came to me and said aren’t you pleased oh Muhammad that no one says ﷺ (salla Allaahu alayhi wa salaam) except that I send salawat upon them ten times. So if you want Jibreel A.S to say your name right now, just say ﷺ.

What about now, has he stopped coming to the earth? Muawiyya says we were all sitting down in the masjid talking and suddenly the Prophetﷺ came out to us and he said what are you talking about?  They say Ya rasulallah we were just talking about how blessed we are to be guided into islam. The Prophetﷺ said is that all you were talking about? They said Ya rasulallah all we were talking about were our days of ignorance and how we are blessed to be guided into islam. The Prophetﷺ said don’t worry, I just wanted to come to you because Jibreel came to me just now and he said those companions of yours that are sitting out in the masjid, Allah is bragging about them to the angels right now. When Allah loves someone he says o Jibreel I love so and so, love that person as well. Jibreel will love you and he doesn’t need to know anything else about you. So Jibreel goes and calls all the angels and says Ya malaikah Allah loves this person, so love him as well. Just think about how many likes that is; trillions of angels that love you. They don’t just love you, Allah places acceptance of that person in the hearts of other people. Jibreel continues to come down to the gatherings of those who remember Allah swt. During Ramadan Allah says all of the angels come down and none other than Jibreel is amongst them. So who knows when you were praying on the night of laylatul qadr, Jibreel might have visited you in your room and you had no idea he was witnessing your prayer.

That concludes the things I have to say about Jibreel A.S. I hope you were able to gain one or two things from it and along the way you developed a new found love and respect for this magnificent creation of Allah.

Thanks for your patience and may Allah reward you all.

See you in my next post In Sha Allah ^.^