Please introduce yourself.

 

Christians tend to regurgitate the same rhetoric and can come across as quite patronising. Take, for example, the hadith of the first revelation. Some Christians ask, ‘Why didn’t the angel introduce himself?’ which is, indeed, a rather awkward question. Why would an introduction be necessary?

This low tier Christian polemic has truly baffled me, as I don’t understand why such a question would be asked, considering that no such criteria are presented anywhere in the Bible.

This question can be answered using verses from the Qur’an:

Say: “Whoever is an enemy to Gabriel (should know that) he revealed this (Qur’an) to your heart by Allah’s leave: it confirms the Scriptures revealed before it, and is a guidance and good tiding to the people of faith. (2:97)

 

Tell them: "It is the spirit of holiness that has brought it down, by stages, from your Lord so that it might bring firmness to those who believe, and guidance to the Right Way, and give glad tidings of felicity and success to those who submit to Allah." (16:102)

 

Indeed this is a revelation from the Lord of the Universe; which the truthful spirit has carried down to your heart that you might become one of those who warn (others on behalf of Allah), (a revelation) in clear Arabic language, (26:192-195)

 

Note that Allah Swt explicitly tells us that the revelation of the Qur’an was brought down by Gabriel Pbuh. This effectively shuts down their polemic regarding who was the Angel in the cave. Now, before we move to the Christian Bible, let us examine this argument more closely and demonstrate how desperate this failed attempt is.

 

A'isha, the wife of the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), reported:

 

The first (form) with which was started the revelation to the Messenger of Allah was the true vision in sleep. And he did not see any vision but it came like the bright gleam of dawn. Thenceforth solitude became dear to him and he used to seclude himself in the cave of Hira', where he would engage in tahannuth (and that is a worship for a number of nights) before returning to his family and getting provisions again for this purpose. He would then return to Khadija and take provisions for a like period, till Truth came upon him while he was in the cave of Hira'. There came to him the angel and said: Recite, to which he replied: I am not lettered. He took hold of me [the Apostle said] and pressed me, till I was hard pressed; thereafter he let me off and said: Recite. I said: I am not lettered. He then again took hold of me and pressed me for the second time till I was hard pressed and then let me off and said: Recite, to which I replied: I am not lettered. He took hold of me and pressed me for the third time, till I was hard pressed and then let me go and said: Recite in the name of your Lord Who created, created man from a clot of blood. Recite. And your most bountiful Lord is He Who taught the use of pen, taught man what he knew not (al-Qur'an, xcvi. 1-4). Then the Prophet returned therewith, his heart was trembling, and he went to Khadija and said: Wrap me up, wrap me up! So they wrapped him till the fear had left him. He then said to Khadija: O Khadija! what has happened to me? and he informed her of the happening, saying: I fear for myself. She replied: It can't be. Be happy. I swear by Allah that He shall never humiliate you. By Allah, you join ties of relationship, you speak the truth, you bear people's burden, you help the destitute, you entertain guests, and you help against the vicissitudes which affect people. Khadija then took him to Waraqa b. Naufal b. Asad b. 'Abd al-'Uzza, and he was the son of Khadija's uncle, i. e., the brother of her father. And he was the man who had embraced Christianity in the Days of Ignorance (i. e. before Islam) and he used to write books in Arabic and, therefore, wrote Injil in Arabic as God willed that he should write. He was very old and had become blind Khadija said to him: O uncle! listen to the son of your brother. Waraqa b. Naufal said: O my nephew! what did you see? The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ), then, informed him what he had seen, and Waraqa said to him: It is namus that God sent down to Musa. Would that I were then (during your prophetic career) a young man. Would that I might be alive when your people would expel you! The Messenger of Allah (ﷺ) said: Will they drive me out? Waraqa said: Yes. Never came a man with a like of what you have brought but met hostilities. If I see your day I shall help you wholeheartedly.[ Sahih Muslim 160a]

 

 

The above hadith is also found in Bukhari. I have highlighted the key wording that Christians use as part of their polemic namely, “the angel.” They argue: why didn’t the angel introduce himself?

Firstly, one must understand that the hadith is a concise narrative of an event and experience that happened to the Prophet Pbuh, so not every detail will be recorded word for word; rather, the key and relevant information is conveyed. We have already shown from the Qur’an that the angel who brought down the revelation to the Prophet Muhammad Pbuh was none other than Gabriel Pbuh. As mentioned earlier, not every detail is recorded word for word. It is possible that Gabriel Pbuh did introduce himself, but this was not included in the narration, as the narrator already knew who the angel was, as did the companions to whom it was related.

Consider this, the Prophet Muhammad Pbuh had already made it known to the companions RA that the revelation brought to his heart was from Gabriel Pbuh. This was common knowledge among the companions, and even non-Muslims living at that time whether Arab pagans or Jews were aware that Gabriel Pbuh was the angel who brought down the Qur’an.

In fact, when some of the Jews came to know that Gabriel Pbuh was the messenger angel who delivered the Qur’an, they rejected it, and verse 2:97 of the Qur’an was revealed. Thus, not mentioning the name of the angel, Gabriel Pbuh, was not necessary, as it was already common knowledge that the only being who would directly bring down the Qur’an was Gabriel Pbuh. This polemic carries no weight and only demonstrates how weak Christian arguments have become, and how they ultimately backfire, as we shall see.

 

That said, we do have other hadith in which the name of Gabriel (PBUH) is mentioned.

 Yahya reported:

 

I asked Abu Salama what was revealed first from the Qur'an. He said:" 0, the shrouded one." I said: Or" Recite." Jabir said: I am narrating to you what was narrated to us by the Messenger of Allah (ﷺ). He said: I stayed in Hira' for one month and when my stay was completed, I come down and went into the heart of the valley. Somebody called me aloud. I looked in front of me, behind me, on the right of my side and on my left, but I did not see any body. I was again called and I looked about but saw nothing. I was called again and raised my head, and there on the Throne in the open atmosphere he, i. e. Gabriel (peace be upon him) was sitting. I began to tremble on account of fear. I came to Khadija and said: Wrap me up. They wrapped me up and threw water on me and Allah, the Exalted and Glorious, sent down this: you who are shrouded! arise and deliver warning, your Lord magnify, your clothes cleanse."

 

وَحَدَّثَنَا زُهَيْرُ بْنُ حَرْبٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الْوَلِيدُ بْنُ مُسْلِمٍ، حَدَّثَنَا الأَوْزَاعِيُّ، قَالَ سَمِعْتُ يَحْيَى، يَقُولُ سَأَلْتُ أَبَا سَلَمَةَ أَىُّ الْقُرْآنِ أُنْزِلَ قَبْلُ قَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ أَوِ اقْرَأْ ‏.‏ فَقَالَ سَأَلْتُ جَابِرَ بْنَ عَبْدِ اللَّهِ أَىُّ الْقُرْآنِ أُنْزِلَ قَبْلُ قَالَ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ ‏.‏ فَقُلْتُ أَوِ اقْرَأْ قَالَ جَابِرٌ أُحَدِّثُكُمْ مَا حَدَّثَنَا رَسُولُ اللَّهِ صلى الله عليه وسلم قَالَ ‏"‏ جَاوَرْتُ بِحِرَاءٍ شَهْرًا فَلَمَّا قَضَيْتُ جِوَارِي نَزَلْتُ فَاسْتَبْطَنْتُ بَطْنَ الْوَادِي فَنُودِيتُ فَنَظَرْتُ أَمَامِي وَخَلْفِي وَعَنْ يَمِينِي وَعَنْ شِمَالِي فَلَمْ أَرَ أَحَدًا ثُمَّ نُودِيتُ فَنَظَرْتُ فَلَمْ أَرَ أَحَدًا ثُمَّ نُودِيتُ فَرَفَعْتُ رَأْسِي فَإِذَا هُوَ عَلَى الْعَرْشِ فِي الْهَوَاءِ - يَعْنِي جِبْرِيلَ عَلَيْهِ السَّلاَمُ - فَأَخَذَتْنِي رَجْفَةٌ شَدِيدَةٌ فَأَتَيْتُ خَدِيجَةَ فَقُلْتُ دَثِّرُونِي ‏.‏ فَدَثَّرُونِي فَصَبُّوا عَلَىَّ مَاءً فَأَنْزَلَ اللَّهُ عَزَّ وَجَلَّ ‏{‏ يَا أَيُّهَا الْمُدَّثِّرُ * قُمْ فَأَنْذِرْ * وَرَبَّكَ فَكَبِّرْ * وَثِيَابَكَ فَطَهِّرْ‏}‏ ‏"‏ ‏.

 

(Sahih Muslim Book 1, Hadith 316)

 

The hadith clearly states that Gabriel Pbuh was the angel who came to Cave Hira. It even uses his name, جِبْرِيلَ. One may wonder why Christians would make the claim that the name of the angel was unknown. I have intentionally included the Arabic wording in case it is argued that the Arabic text does not mention the name.

 

“When I was midway on the mountain, I heard a voice from heaven saying, 'O Muhammad! Thou art the Apostle of God and I am Gabriel.' I raised my head towards heaven to see, and lo! Gabriel in the form of a man, with feet astride the horizon, saying, 'O Muhammad! Thou art the Apostle of God, and I am Gabriel.' I stood gazing at him, moving neither forward nor backward; then I began to turn my face away from him, but towards whatever region of the sky I looked, I saw him as before.” (Seerah Ibn Hishām p. 62-63)

 

Ibn Hishām, in his Sīrah, reports that Gabriel Pbuh introduced himself to the Prophet Muhammad Pbuh. Their entire argument has completely collapsed. If self-introduction is taken as a criterion, then the Christian position falls apart by its own standard.

Who spoke from heaven during the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:11, Luke 3:22, Matthew 3:17)? None of these accounts explicitly identify whose voice it was. By that logic, can we conclude that it was Satan?

If the speaker does not introduce himself, then by the same standard used by Christians, one could argue it was Satan. This exposes the inconsistency of that criterion.

Did the angel who visited Mary, the mother of Jesus, introduce himself? Did the angel who appeared in Joseph’s dream identify himself? I challenge Christians to show where, in their own scripture, such an introduction is explicitly mentioned this is an open challenge.

If the angels did not identify themselves, then by that same standard, must we conclude they were the devil?

Furthermore, according to Deuteronomy 28:68, one of the punishments for disobedience is being sent back to Egypt. Yet Joseph is instructed by an unidentified angel to take his family to Egypt the very place God had warned against. Is this not, by that logic, something one could attribute to Satan?

 

This polemic is utterly baseless, and it is difficult to see how any serious argument could be built upon it. By their own standard, there is no consistent evidence of self-identification in these instances whether by their God or by an angel. By that logic, the argument completely collapses and exposes its own inconsistency.