Gabriel, Gibrail, Djibril

Who is Gabriel?

And in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin’s name was Mary. And the angel came in unto her, and said, “Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.” And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be. And the angel said unto her, “Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.”  (Luke 1:26–31)

 The name “Gabriel” means “God is my strength” or “God is mighty.”

Sometimes, Gabriel appeared to Muhammad in the shape of different people, but on one memorable occasion Muhammad asked if he could see her as she actually was. At the appointed time, Gabriel stood with her wings outstretched, and her shape filled the entire sky. Once he saw Gabriel in a cloud, and on another occasion she dem-onstrated her power by beating six hundred wings.