King of the Angels, Servant of Mustafa ﷺ

THE PROPHET ELECT

King of the Angels, Servant of Mustafa صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم (Part 1)

Kashif Shahzad Attari

By the grace of Allah, the King of Madinah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم has acquired many honours that no one in creation has a share in. One of these is that the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم saw the true form of the King of the angels, Sayyiduna Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم on two occasions.^[1]

O devotees of the Prophet! Sayyiduna Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم is the King of the angels and the servant and minister of the King of both worlds صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. By the greatness and status of the servant and minister, and by the expression of love for his master, the virtue and rank of the master is known. We will gain some knowledge about Jibraeel Ameen عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم. اِنْ شَــآءَالـلّٰـه and through him, our love for the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم will increase further.

5   Sayings of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم

1.   رَاَ يْتُ جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَام فَاِذَا اَقْرَبُ مَنْ رَاَيْتُ بِهِ شَبَهًا دَحْيَةُ بْنُ خَلِيفَةَ meaning, I saw Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام, and Dahya bin Khalifah resembled him greatly in appearance.^[2]

Sayyiduna Dahya bin Khalifah Kalbi رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ is an esteemed companion from the early days of Islam. On the دال of Dahya, a Zabar (Fatha) or Zeyr (Kasra) can appear. Dahya Kalbi رَضِىَ الـلّٰـهُ عَـنْهُ was extremely handsome, and this was the reason why Jibraeel Ameen عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم (usually) took his form when presenting himself in the Prophetic court.^[3]

2.   رَاَيْتُ جِبْرِيْلَ عَلٰى سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهٰى وَلَهٗ سِتُّمِائَةِ جَنَاحٍ meaning, ‘I saw Jibraeel near Sidra-tul-Muntaha and he had 600 wings.’^[4]

3.   اَلَا اُخْبِرُكُمْ باَفْضَلِ الْمَلَائِكَةِ جَبْرِيْلُ عليه السّلام, meaning, ‘Should I not tell you who the most superior angel is? It is Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم.’^[5]

4.   Every Prophet has two ministers in the sky and two on the earth. My two ministers from the sky are Jibraeel and Mika’eel, and from the earth, they are Abu Bakr and Umar. ^[6]

Imam Ibn Hajar Makki Haytami Shaafi’i رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْـه states: Just like Abu Bakr and Umar رَضِیَ الـلّٰـهُ عَنْهُمَا were the leaders from the humans of the nation of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, Sayyiduna Jibraeel and Mika’eel عَـلَيْـهِمَا الـسَّـلاَم are the leaders of the Angels from the Ummah of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم.^[7]

5.   مَا بَيْنَ مَنْكِبَيْ جِبْرِيْلَ مَسِيْرَةُ خَمْسَمِائَةِ عَامٍ لَلطَّائِرِ السَّرِيْعِ الطَّيْرَانِ, meaning, ‘It would take 500 years for a fast flying bird to travel the distance between the two shoulders of Sayyiduna Jibraeel.’^[8]

Titles and names of Sayyiduna Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام

Sayyiduna Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلَام is the famous Angel of Allah Almighty who brought revelation to many noble Prophets عَـلَـيْـهِمُ الـصَّلٰوةُ وَالـسَّـلَام, and he visited the court of the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم the most. Some scholars have said there are 9 ways of reading his name, whereas some scholars say 14, for example:

1.   جِبْرِیْل      6.   جِبْرَئِيْل

2.   جَبْرِیْل      7.   جَبْرَئِل

3.   جَبْرَئِلّ      8.   جِبْرِيْن

4.   جِبْرَائِيْل    9.   جَبْرِيْن

5.   جِبْرَايِيْل

The meaning of Jibraeel is ‘Abdullah (Slave of Allah)’, and amongst the Angels, he is famously known by the title خادِمُ رَبِّہٖ  ‘Servant of his Lord’. His titles are اَمِيْنُ الْوَحْي; خَازِنُ الْقُدْس; اَلرُّوحُ الْاَمِیْن; رُوْحُ الْقُدُس;اَلنَّامُوْسُ الْاَكْبَر  and طَاؤُوْسُ الْمَلَائِكَةْ, etc.^[9]

Blessings of the companionship of Mustafa صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم

Ghaus-e-Zaman Sayyiduna Shaykh Abd al-Aziz bin Mas’ood Dabbaagh رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْـه states: Jibraeel Ameen عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم and the rest of the Angels were created from the light of Mustafa صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, and along with all of creation, they gain gnosis of Allah Almighty through the court of the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. All the friends of Allah from humans and jinn, and all the Angels, including Jibraeel Ameen, know that the closeness and gnosis of Allah Almighty that Sayyiduna Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم possesses is because of his companionship with the Beloved Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. If Sayyiduna Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم did not gain this companionship and continued to acquire the recognition of Allah Almighty for his entire life, then he would not have achieved even one station from the stations he has achieved.^[10]

The purpose of the creation of Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم

Shaykh Abd al-Aziz Dabbaagh رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْـه further states: Sayyiduna Jibraeel Ameen عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم was created to serve the Noble Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم, and he عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم is from amongst the protectors and servants of the Prophet.^[11]

When did he acquire the companionship of Mustafa صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم

Zain al-Din Imam Muhammad Abd al-Rauf Munaawi رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْـه writes: Allah Almighty commanded Sayyiduna Israfeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم to live with the Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم. So, he remained in his company until the age of 11. After this, Sayyiduna Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم received this honour, however, (at that time) he would never speak to him nor make himself visible in front of him.^[12]  

Servant of Mustafa صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم

O devotees of the Prophet! Allah Almighty made Sayyiduna Jibraeel Ameen عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم the servant of the final Prophet صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم and further increased his greatness and rank. A'la Hazrat, the Imam of Ahl Al-Sunnah, Imam Ahmad Raza Khan رَحْمَةُ الـلّٰـهِ عَـلَيْـه has written a booklet on this subject titled اِجْلَالُ جِبْرِیْل بِجَعْلِهٖ خَادِماً لِلْمَحْبُوْبِ الْجَمِیْل.

May Allah Almighty grant us true servitude to the King of Madinah صَلَّى الـلّٰـهُ عَلَيْهِ وَاٰلِهٖ وَسَلَّم in both worlds for the sake of Sayyiduna Jibraeel عَـلَيْـهِ الـسَّـلاَم.

اٰمِیْن بِجَاہِ النَّبِیِّ الْاَمِیْن صَلَّی اللہ تَعَالٰی عَلَیْہِ وَاٰلہٖ وَسَلَّم