Surah Al-Baqarah — Verse 98
Whoever stands against Allah, His angels and His prophets, and against His two angels Gabriel and Michael, then certainly Allah is a rival to the disbelievers from among you, and from other than you. Certain defeat faces whoever has Allah as his rival.
Say (O Muhammad ﷺ): "Whoever is an enemy to Jibril (Gabriel)(let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (this Qur'an) down to your heart by Allah's permission, confirming what came before it (i.e. the Tawrah and the Injil) and guidance and glad tidings for the believers (97)"Whoever is an enemy to Allah, His Angels, His Messengers, Jibril and Mika'il, then verily, Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers. (98)
The Jews are the Enemies of Jibril
Imam Abu Ja'far bin Jarir At-Tabari said, "The scholars of Tafsir agree that this Ayah (2: 97-98) was revealed in response to the Jews who claimed that Jibril (Gabriel) is an enemy of the Jews and that Mika'il (Michael) is their friend." Al-Bukhari said, "Allah said,
مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيلَ
(Whoever is an enemy of Jibril (let him die in his fury)). 'Ikrimah said, "Jibr, Mik and Israf all mean, worshipper, while il means, Allah". Anas bin Malik said, "When 'Abdullah bin Salam heard of the arrival of the Prophet ﷺ in Al-Madinah, he was working on his land. He came to the Prophet ﷺ and said, 'I am going to ask you about three things which nobody knows except a Prophet. What will be the first portent of the Hour? What will be the first meal taken by the people of Paradise? Why does a child resemble its father, and why does it resemble its maternal uncle?' Allah's Messenger ﷺ said, "Jibril has just told me the answers." 'Abdullah said, 'He (i.e. Jibril), among all the angels, is the enemy of the Jews.' Allah's Messenger ﷺ recited the Ayah,
مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ
(Whoever is an enemy to Jibril (Gabriel)(let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (this Qur'an) down to your heart).
Allah's Messenger ﷺ then said, (The first portent of the Hour will be a fire that will bring together the people from the east to the west; the first meal of the people of Paradise will be the caudate lobe of the liver of fish. As for the child resembling his parents: If a man has sexual intercourse with his wife and his discharge is first, the child will resemble the father. If the woman has a discharge first, the child will resemble her side of the family.) On that 'Abdullah bin Salam said, 'I testify that there is no deity worthy of worship except Allah and you are the Messenger of Allah.' 'Abdullah bin Salam further said, 'O Allah's Messenger! The Jews are liars, and if they should come to know about my conversion to Islam before you ask them (about me), they will tell a lie about me.' The Jews came to Allah's Messenger ﷺ, and 'Abdullah went inside the house. Allah's Messenger ﷺ asked (the Jews), ('What kind of man is 'Abdullah bin Salam?') They replied, 'He is the best among us, the son of the best among us, our master and the son of our master.' Allah's Messenger ﷺ said, (What do you think if he would embrace Islam?) The Jews said, 'May Allah save him from it.' Then 'Abdullah bin Salam came out in front of them saying, 'I testify that none has the right to be worshipped but Allah and that Muhammad is the Messenger of Allah.' Thereupon they said, 'He is the evilest among us, and the son of the evilest among us.' And they continued talking badly about him. Ibn Salam said, 'This is what I feared, O Messenger of Allah!.'" Only Al-Bukhari recorded this Hadith with this chain of narration. Al-Bukhari and Muslim recorded this Hadith from Anas using another chain of narration.
Some people say that 'il' means worshipper while whatever word that is added to it becomes Allah's Name, because 'il' is a constant in such conjunction. This is similar to the names 'Abdullah, 'Abdur-Rahman, 'Abdul-Malik, 'Abdul-Quddus, 'Abdus-Salam, 'Abdul-Kafi, 'Abdul-Jalil, and so forth. Hence, 'Abd' is constant in these compound names, while the remainder differs from name to name. This is the same case with Jibril, Mika'il, 'Azra'il, Israfil, and so forth. Allah knows best.
Choosing Some Angels to believe in over Others is Disbelief like choosing Some Prophets over Others
Allah said,
مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ
(Whoever is an enemy to Jibril (Gabriel)(let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (this Qur'an) down to your heart by Allah's permission,) meaning, whoever becomes an enemy of Jibril, let him know that he is Ruh Al-Qudus who brought down the Glorious Dhikr (Qur'an) to your heart from Allah by His leave. Hence, he is a messenger from Allah. Whoever takes a messenger as an enemy, will have taken all the messengers as enemies. Further, whoever believes in one messenger, is required to believe in all of the messengers. Whoever rejects one messenger, he has rejected all of the messengers. Similarly, Allah said,
إِنَّ الَّذِينَ يَكْفُرُونَ بِاللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيُرِيدُونَ أَن يُفَرِّقُوا بَيْنَ اللَّهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَيَقُولُونَ نُؤْمِنُ بِبَعْضٍ وَنَكْفُرُ بِبَعْضٍ
(Verily, those who disbelieve in Allah and His Messengers and wish to make distinction between Allah and His Messengers (by believing in Allah and disbelieving in His Messengers) saying, "We believe in some but reject others.")(4:150)
Allah decreed that they are disbelievers, because they believe in some Prophets and reject others. This is the same with those who take Jibril as an enemy, because Jibril did not choose missions on his own, but by the command of his Lord,
وَمَا نَتَنَزَّلُ إِلَّا بِأَمْرِ رَبِّكَ
(And we (angels) descend not except by the command of your Lord)(19: 64), and,
وَإِنَّهُ لَتَنزِيلُ رَبِّ الْعَالَمِينَ - نَزَلَ بِهِ الرُّوحُ الْأَمِينُ - عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ لِتَكُونَ مِنَ الْمُنذِرِينَ
(And truly, this (the Qur'an) is a revelation from the Lord of all that exists. Which the trustworthy Ruh (Jibril) has brought down. Upon your heart (O Muhammad ﷺ) that you may be (one) of the warners)(26:192-194).
Al-Bukhari reported that Abu Hurayrah said that the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Allah, the Exalted, has said
مَنْ عَادَى لِي وَلِيًّا فَقَدْ بَارَزَنِي بِالْحَرْبِ
(Whoever takes a friend of Mine as an enemy, will have started a war with Me.)"
Therefore, Allah became angry with those who took Jibril as an enemy. Allah said,
مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّجِبْرِيلَ فَإِنَّهُ نَزَّلَهُ عَلَىٰ قَلْبِكَ بِإِذْنِ اللَّهِ مُصَدِّقًا لِّمَا بَيْنَ يَدَيْهِ
(Whoever is an enemy to Jibril (Gabriel)(let him die in his fury), for indeed he has brought it (this Qur'an) down to your heart by Allah's permission, confirming what came before it) meaning, the previous Books,
وَهُدًى وَبُشْرَىٰ لِلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
(and guidance and glad tidings for the believers) meaning, as guidance to their hearts and bringer of the good news of Paradise, which is exclusively for the believers. Similarly, Allah said,
قُلْ هُوَ لِلَّذِينَ آمَنُوا هُدًى وَشِفَاءٌ
(Say: "It is for those who believe, a guide and a healing.")(41:44), and,
وَنُنَزِّلُ مِنَ الْقُرْآنِ مَا هُوَ شِفَاءٌ وَرَحْمَةٌ لِّلْمُؤْمِنِينَ
(And We send down of the Qur'an that which is a healing and a mercy to those who believe)(17:82).
Allah then said,
مَن كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِّلَّهِ وَمَلَائِكَتِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ وَجِبْرِيلَ وَمِيكَالَ فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَدُوٌّ لِّلْكَافِرِينَ
(Whoever is an enemy to Allah, His Angels, His Messengers, Jibril and Mika'il (Michael), then verily, Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers.)
Allah stated that whoever takes Him, His angels and messengers as enemies, then...Allah's messengers include angels and men, for Allah said,
اللَّهُ يَصْطَفِي مِنَ الْمَلَائِكَةِ رُسُلًا وَمِنَ النَّاسِ
(Allah chooses Messengers from angels and from men)(22:75). Allah said,
وَجِبْرِيلَ وَمِيكَالَ
(Jibril (Gabriel) and Mika'il (Michael)). Allah mentioned Jibril and Mika'il specifically - although they are included among the angels who were messengers - only because this Ayah was meant to support Jibril the emissary between Allah and His Prophets. Allah also mentioned Mika'il here, because the Jews claimed that Jibril was their enemy and Mika'il was their friend. Allah informed them that whoever is an enemy of either of them, then he is also an enemy of the other as well as Allah. We should state here that Mika'il sometimes descended to some of Allah's Prophets, although to a lesser extent than Jibril, because this was primarily Jibril's task, and Israfil is entrusted with the job of blowing the Trumpet for the commencement of Resurrection on the Day of Judgment. It is recorded in the Sahih that whenever the Messenger of Allah ﷺ would wake up at night, he would supplicate,
اللَّهُمَّ رَبَّ جِبْرَائِيلَ وَمِيكَائِيلَ وَإِسْرَافِيلَ فَاطِرَ السَّمَوَاتِ وَالْأَرْضِ عَالِمَ الْغَيْبِ وَالشَّهَادَةِ، أَنْتَ تَحْكُمُ بَيْنَ عِبَادِكَ فِيمَا كَانُوا فِيهِ يَخْتَلِفُونَ، اهْدِنِي لِمَا اخْتُلِفَ فِيهِ مِنَ الْحَقِّ بِإِذْنِكَ إِنَّكَ تَهْدِي مَنْ تَشَاءُ إِلى صِرَاطٍ مُسْتَقِيمٍ
(O Allah, Lord of Jibril, Mika'il and Israfil, Creator of the heavens and earth and Knower of the seen and the unseen! You judge between Your servants regarding what they differ in, so direct me to the truth which they differ on, by Your leave. Verily, You guide whom You will to the straight path.)
Allah's statement,
فَإِنَّ اللَّهَ عَدُوٌّ لِّلْكَافِرِينَ
(then verily, Allah is an enemy to the disbelievers) informed the disbelievers that whoever takes a friend of Allah as an enemy, then he has taken Allah as an enemy, and whoever treats Allah as an enemy, then he shall be Allah's enemy. Indeed, whoever is an enemy of Allah then he will lose in this life and the Hereafter, as stated earlier;
مَنْ عَادَى لِي وَلِيًّا فَقَدْ آذَنْتُهُ بِالْمُحَارَبَةِ
(Whoever takes a friend of Mine as an enemy, I shall wage war on him.)
The perversity of the Jews was very fertile, and gave them ever-new excuses for denying the Holy Prophet ﷺ . When they learnt that it was Archangel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) (Gabriel ) who brought the Glorious Qur'an to the Holy Prophet ﷺ ، they said that the Archangel (علیہ السلام) was their enemy, as it was through him that rigorous commandments or catastrophic punishments had always descended on them,. and that for this reason they would not accept a Book which had been revealed through his agency. They also added that they could have accepted the Holy Qur'an, if the Archangel Mika'il (علیہ السلام) (Michael) had brought it down, for he is connected with rain and with divine mercy.
In refuting this argument, the Holy Qur'an points out that Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) is only a messenger, and has, acting only as a messenger, brought down the Holy Qur'an under a divine command to the Holy Prophet ﷺ . So, why should the Jews be so particular about the messenger, and not look at the Book itself? As for the Book, it confirms the earlier Books of Allah, provides guidance to men, and gives good tidings to the believers. This being what the Divine Books are meant for, the Holy Qur'an is evidently enough a Divine Book, and must, as such be obeyed. To deny it on account of one's hostility to Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) is sheer stupidity or outright perversity. Now, as for the attitude of the Jews towards Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) ، the Holy Qur'an declares that to be hostile to the angels (including Jibra'il and Mika'il (علیہما السلام) or to the prophets is tantamount to being hostile to Allah Himself. Verse 98 puts down the enemies of angels and prophets as infidels (Kafirin) in saying that Allah is the enemy of the infidels. In other words, those who deny or oppose the angels and the prophets will have their due punishment in the other world.
Maulana Ashraf ` Ali Thanavi (رح) has, in his "Bayan al-Qur'an", warned against the possibility of very grave error that may arise with regard to the statement in Verse 97 that the Archangel Jibra'il (علیہ السلام) (Gabriel ) has "brought down the Book on the heart" of the Holy Prophet ﷺ . The error would lie in drawing from this phrase the conclusion that Allah has not revealed the words of the Holy Qur'an but only the meanings. Such a supposition is quite baseless, because many verses of the Holy Qur'an itself mention the Arabic language as the vehicle of revelation in the case of this particular Book of Allah.
That should leave no room for any doubt. Moreover, the "heart" perceives words as much as it does meanings; in fact, the perceiving agent is the "heart", while the ears etc. are only its instruments. Specially, in the state of revelation, the external organs of the senses become dormant, and the heart receives even the words directly without the intervention of the ears. Although we cannot understand the nature of revelation properly, yet, choosing a mundane analogy, one can say that while dreaming in our sleep we do hear words and remember them afterwards, in spite of our external sense of hearing having been suspended while we dreamt. This example should make it easy to see that the revelation of meanings to the heart does in no way preclude the revelation of words as well. Anyhow, it is a sin - and an intellectual dishonesty - to rely on one's own conjectures in defiance of a clear and definite statement in the Holy Qur'an.
Owing to their own rebelliousness, the Israelites had severe punishments meted out to them in ancient times. It was God’s way to warn them of these impending punishments beforehand, and such warnings came to them through the prophets, who were acting on the words of the Archangel Gabriel. The moral was that people had to follow God’s commandments; if they persisted in a sinful life, they would be exposing themselves to His wrath. But, instead of heeding these admonitions, the Israelites came to regard Gabriel as their enemy, because it had always been he who gave prior warning through the prophets about impending doom. Consequently, when the Prophet Muhammad proclaimed that he was receiving his revelation through Gabriel, they said, ‘So, it is our old enemy Gabriel, who always brings commands from heaven against us! That explains why the scriptures, the birthright of the Israelites, are being conveyed to one who belongs to another tribe.’ Now angels, being the rarefied creatures that they are, do not hold grudges against ordinary mortals; they descend to earth only by divine command in order to carry out the tasks assigned to them by their Creator—in this case, the revelation of the Scriptures to the prophet whom God Himself had chosen. Given the clear proofs that the Arab Prophet had had the same revelation communicated to him as had been received by Abraham, Moses and Jesus, and that it tallied with the previous divine scriptures, there were no grounds for the Israelites to reject the divine message. Their negative reaction was the result of their having lead insincere, unrestricted lives, which had become dominated by self-interest, empty convention and racial prejudice. Religion had been adhered to only on a superficial level, just to keep up the pretence that the Israelites were, in fact, faithfully treading the path of God.