Umm Salama thought it was Diḥya. Afterwards she heard the Holy Prophet delivering a sermon which gave her to understand that it was Gabriel (Bu. 66:1). Here, clearly there seems to be a misunderstanding. The Holy Prophet never told Umm Salama or anybody else that it was Gabriel who talked to him in the presence of Umm Salama. Her first impression was that it was Diḥya, and when she expressed that opinion to the Holy Prophet, he did not contradict her, which shows that she was right. Afterwards certain words of the sermon gave her the impression that it was Gabriel, but she never expressed that opinion to the Holy Prophet, and therefore her second impression cannot be accepted in face of the fact that whenever Gabriel appeared to the Holy Prophet, whether with or without a revelation, he was never seen by any one except the Holy Prophet, and that too with the inner light. The second is an incident recorded by Ibn Sa’d about ‘Ā’ishah having seen Gabriel.6 It cannot be accepted when, according to the report earlier quoted from Bukhārī, ‘Ā’ishah had herself told the Holy Prophet that she could not see the angel whom he saw.
In the Holy Qur’ān, angels are generally described as having a connection with the spiritual state of man. It was an angel, Gabriel by name, who brought revelation to the Holy Prophet (2:97; 26:193, 194) and the prophets before him (4:163). The same angel is mentioned as strengthening the prophets (2:87) and the believers (58:22). While angels generally are spoken of as descending on believers and comforting them (41:30), they are also intermediaries in bringing revelation to those who are not prophets, as in the case of Zacharias (3: 39) and Mary (3: 42, 45). Angels were sent to help the believers against their enemies (3:124, 125; 8:12); they pray for blessings on the Holy Prophet (33:56) and on the believers (33:43); they ask forgiveness for all men, believers as well as non-believers (42:5); they cause believers to die (16:32) and also non-believers (4:97; 16: 28); they write down the deeds of men (82:10-12); they will intercede for men on the Day of Judgment (53:26). There is no clear reference to their function in the physical world unless the causing of death may be treated
6 Is. VIII, p. 140.