The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 1) — Page 189
PT. 1 AL-BAQARAH CH. 2 مَنْ كَانَ عَدُوًّا لِلَّهِ وَمَلَكَتِهِ وَرُسُلِهِ Whoever is an enemy to. 99 وَجِبْرِيلَ وَمِيْكُل فَإِنَّ اللهَ عَدُوٌّ Messengers, and Gabriel, and تِلْكَفِرِينَ Allah, and His angels, and His Michael, then, surely, Allah is disbelievers. '105 to such enemy an a58:6. that this idea had such a firm hold on the minds of the Jews that when they were told that the bearer of the Quranic revelation was Gabriel, they arguments in refutation of the Jewish plea for rejecting the Quran: Firstly, that no angel can bring down any revelation unless he receives direct command from God. Hence the angel | جبريل ذالك الذى ينزل بالحرب والقتال والعذاب- :said i. e. "Gabriel is the angel who is associated with war and bloodshed and punishment. He is our enemy. " By saying this, they meant that they would not believe in a revelation brought by Gabriel (Musnad). The reason why the Jews bore enmity to Gabriel seems to be that they had fallen on evil days and as, according to them, Gabriel was the angel of war and punishment, therefore they ascribed their misfortunes to him. There is no doubt that the Talmudic traditions and the Targums were the origin of this notion which gained such a firm footing among Jews; otherwise originally the Bible declares Gabriel to be the angel of good tidings and of the Divine Word. It is evident that with the lapse of time legends and myths grew round the original truth, which was subsequently lost; and the Jews clung fast to their erroneous belief, which stood in the way of their accepting the Quran or, for that matter, any revelation coming through the agency of Gabriel. The Quran has, in the verse under comment, brought forward four 189 who brings the revelation, whether he is Gabriel or Michael or any other, is only a vehicle for the Divine Word; and even if Jewish tradition associates an angel with calamities, it cannot call into question the authority from which his message originates. Secondly, that the revelation sent down to the Prophet of Islam is (in fulfilment) of the previous Books and in it all the prophecies about the promised Lawgiver contained in the earlier Scriptures find their fulfilment, which is a clear proof of its Divine origin. Thirdly, that when it is practically established that the teachings of the Quran are a guidance for mankind, its acceptance becomes binding upon all right thinking men. Fourthly, that the Quran contains teachings which, besides being right, are also (bearers of glad tidings) to its followers and harbingers of revelation should not be rejected God's mercy and favours. Such simply for the reason that it has been brought down by Gabriel. 105. Important Words: J (Michael) is the name of