(Who is an enemy to Allah, and His angels…) [2:98].
Abu Bakr al-Asfahani informed us> al-Hafiz Abu'l-Shaykh [al-Asfahani]> Abu Yahya al-Razi> Sahl ibn 'Uthman> 'Ali ibn Mushir> Dawud> al-Sha'bi who said: “Said 'Umar ibn al-Khattab, may Allah be well pleased with him: 'I used to go to the Jews upon their study of the Torah and was amazed to see the conformity of the Qur'an with the Torah and of the Torah with the Qur'an. On one occasion they said: 'O 'Umar! We do not like anyone more than we like you'. I asked: 'And why is that?' They said: 'Because you come to us and mix with us'. I said: 'I come to you only because of my amazement at how the different parts of the Book of Allah strengthen each other, and how the Qur'an is in conformity with the Torah and how the Torah is in conformity with the Qur'an'. As I was with them one day, Allah's Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, passed by behind me. The Jews said: 'Here is your man; go to him! He has just got to an alley of Medina'. I turned to them and asked: 'I adjure you by Allah and by that which was revealed to you of Scripture, do you know that he is Allah's Messenger?' Their chief said to them: 'He has implored you by Allah, so do tell him'. They said: 'You are our chief; you tell him'. Their chief said: 'We do know that he is Allah's Messenger!' I said: 'You are the one who shall be subject to the worst form of destruction if you all know that he is Allah's Messenger and then do not follow him'. They said: 'We have an enemy among the angels as we have an ally from amongst them'. I asked: 'Who is your enemy and who is your ally?' They said: 'Our enemy is Gabriel who is the angel of harshness and coarseness, burden and hardship'. I said: 'And who is your ally?' They said: 'Michael who is the angel of tenderness, gentleness and ease'. I said: 'In that case I bear witness that it is not allowable for Gabriel to declare enmity to the allies of Michael nor is it allowable for Michael to be an ally to the enemies of Gabriel, for both, including all those who are with them, are enemies to those who declare any one of them as an enemy, as they are allies to whomever is an ally to any one of them'. I then stood up and left and got to the alley which Allah's Messenger, Allah bless him and give him peace, had entered. The Prophet welcomed me and then said: 'O son of al-Khattab, shall I recite to you some verses which were revealed to me a while ago?' I said: 'Please do!' He recited (is an enemy to Gabriel…) up to Allah's saying (and only miscreants will disbelieve in them) [2:99]. I said: 'By Him Who has sent you as a prophet with the truth, I did not come to see you except to inform you of what the Jews say. But the Subtle and Knowing has already informed you before me'. 'Umar said: 'You have already seen me harder than a stone when it came to the religion of Allah' ”.
Ibn 'Abbas also said: “A Jewish rabbi from Fadak by the name of 'Abd Allah ibn Suwriya argued with the Messenger of Allah, Allah bless him and give him peace, and also asked him a few questions. When the argument started to turn against him, he asked: 'Who is the angel who comes to you from heaven?' The Prophet said: 'Gabriel. Allah did not send any prophet except that Gabriel is his ally'. The rabbi said: 'Gabriel is our enemy among the angels. If it had been Michael instead of him we would have believed in you. Gabriel brings down chastisement, fighting and hardship. He showed enmity to us in many occasions. What was even harder to take is that Allah had revealed to our Prophet that Jerusalem would be sacked at the hand of a man called Bukhtunassar [Nebuchadnezzar] and informed us also of the time it would be sacked. When that time came, we sent one of the strong men of the Children of Israel to find Bukhtunassar and kill him. He looked for him until he found him in Babel, a poor boy without any strength. Our man seized him to finish him off but Gabriel intervened. He said to our man: 'If it is your Lord who has given leave for your destruction, then you will not be set on him. And if He has not, why would you kill him?' Our man believed him and came back to us. Bukhtunassar grew up, gained strength, conquered us and sacked Jerusalem. This is why we consider him our enemy'. Allah revealed this verse because of this”.
Said Muqatil: “The Jews said: 'Gabriel is our enemy; he was commanded to place Prophethood amongst us, but he placed it with others'. Allah revealed this verse as a response”.
Asbab Al-Nuzul by Al-Wahidi , trans. Mokrane Guezzou