al-Najm

عَلَّمَهُ شَدِيدُ الْقُوَی

ذُو مِرَّةٍ فَاسْتَوَی

وَهُوَ بِالاُفُقِ الْأعْلَی

ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّی

فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أوْ أدْنَی

5. He has been taught [Divine Revelation, namely the Holy Qur’an] by the Omnipotent Lord.

6. The Most Powerful Lord Who conquered all.

7. While he was in the higher horizon.

8. Then he approached and came closer,

9. And was at a distance of two bows length or closer.

The majority of Qur’an exegetes maintain that Gabriel, the trustee angel of Revelation who possesses utmost power, is being intended by:

"the one mighty of power" (shadid al-quwa).

Gabriel is so powerful that eradicated the city of the people of Lot (as) and levitated it and turned it awry and also caused the people of Thamud to perish by one horrible cry. "Dhu mirra" is another characteristic of Gabriel which designates that the angel possesses utmost power, intellect, intelligence, and delibration. Philosophers maintain that Gabriel is the active intellect and the intellects of all intellectuals of the world are connected to it. The Arabic past tense verbal form fa-’stawa indicates that Gabriel rose and became stable and showed its original form unto the Noble Prophet (S).

According to a number of traditions, the Seal of Prophets (S) was the only Prophet who saw Gabriel in its original form. Once he saw its true form on the eastern side of the earth and another time, he saw it on the Night of Ascent close to Sidrat al-Muntaha, the lote tree of the Outer Boundary in the Seventh Heaven.

"While he was in the higher horizon"

may indicate that though Gbriel is in the metaphysical world,

"he approached and came closer"

to the Noble Prophet (S) while the proximity

"was at a distance of two bows length or closer"

which is seemingly an intellectible simile indicating perceptibility by which spiritual, rather than perceptive, proximity is being intended.