Tafsir of Al-Baqarah 2:97

(Say, whoever is an enemy to Gabriel) Ibn Abi Shaybah in his Musnad, Ibn Jarir, and Ibn Abi Hatim narrated from al-Sha'bi that Umar (may Allah be pleased with him) entered the schools of the Jews one day and asked them about Gabriel. They replied: "That is our enemy. He discloses our secrets to Muhammad, and he is the one in charge of every landslide and torment; while Michael is the one in charge of fertility and peace." He asked: "What is their status with Allah the Exalted?" They said: "Gabriel is on His right and Michael is on His left, and there is enmity between them." He said: "If they are as you say, they are not enemies, and you are more disbelieving than donkeys; whoever is an enemy to one of them is an enemy to Allah." Then Umar returned and found that Gabriel had preceded him with the revelation. The Prophet (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) said: "Your Lord has agreed with you, O Umar." Umar said: "I have seen myself after that more solid than stone."

It is also said that it was revealed regarding Abdullah ibn Suriya, who was a Jewish scholar. He asked the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) about who brings the revelation to him. He replied: "Gabriel." He said: "That is our enemy. He has opposed us many times, most severely when he revealed to our prophet that Jerusalem would be destroyed by Nebuchadnezzar. We sent someone to kill him, and he found him in Babylon, but Gabriel defended him and said: 'If your Lord commanded him to destroy you, he would not grant you authority over him; otherwise, how could you kill him?' The man we sent believed him and returned to us, then Nebuchadnezzar grew, gained strength, and invaded us and destroyed Jerusalem." Some scholars of hadith narrated this, but al-Iraqi said: "I have not found a chain of narration for it," so the first [report] is perhaps stronger, even if the actions of some might suggest otherwise.

"Gabriel" (Jibril) is the proper name of an angel who used to descend to the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him) with the Quran. It is a non-Arabic name, prevented from declension (diptote) due to its being a proper noun and being foreign. Those who suggest it is derived from the "might of Allah" (Jabarut Allah) and treat it as a compound (tarkib mazji)—thereby preventing its declension—are mistaken, for this is nothing; the rules of compounds allow for declension, idafa, or indeclinability, and the fact that neither idafa nor indeclinability is reported for it is proof that it is not a compound. The Arabs altered it according to their custom in changing foreign names until it reached thirteen dialects. The most eloquent and well-known is "Jibril" (Jibril), like "Qandil," which is the reading of Abu Amr, Nafi, Ibn Amir, and Hafs from Asim; it is the dialect of the Hijaz. Waraqah ibn Nawfal said: "And Gabriel comes to him, and Michael..."

The second dialect is the same, but with a fatha on the jim (Jabril), which is the reading of Ibn Kathir, al-Hasan, and Ibn Muhaysin. Al-Farra said: "I do not like it because there is no fa'lil pattern in the language," but this is nothing, as when they Arabize foreign words, they sometimes match them to their own patterns. The third is "Jibra'il" (Jibra'il), like "Sabil," which is the reading of Hamzah, al-Kisa'i, and Hammad from Abu Bakr from Asim; it is the dialect of Qays, Tamim, and many people of Najd. It was reported by al-Farra and chosen by al-Zajjaj, who said: "It is the best of the dialects." Hassan said: "We bore witness, and no battalion throughout time meets us except that Gabriel is in front of it."

The fourth is the same, but without the ya after the hamza. The fifth is the same, but with a shadda on the lam. The sixth is "Jabra'il" (Jabra'il) with an alif and a hamza followed by a kasra, without a ya. The seventh is the same, with the addition of a ya after the hamza. The eighth is "Jabrayil" (Jabrayil) with two yas after the alif. The ninth is "Jibral" (Jibral). The tenth is "Jibril" (Jibril) with a ya and qasr (shortening). The eleventh is "Jibrin" (Jibrin) with fatha on the jim and the nun. The twelfth is the same, but with a kasra on the jim. The thirteenth is "Jabrain" (Jabrain). Abu Jafar al-Nahhas said: "The plural of 'Jibril' is the broken plural 'Jabarin' according to the high dialect."

It is famous that its meaning is "Servant of Allah," where Jabr is Allah the Exalted and il is the servant; it is said to be the reverse. Some rejected this, as the convention in foreign language is for the mudaf ilayh (possessor) to precede the mudaf (possessed), but this requires reflection.

"For he has brought it down upon your heart"—the response to the condition is either a representative of the truth or the truth itself. The meaning is: whoever among them shows enmity toward him has cast off the bond of fairness, or has disbelieved in the Book he possesses by showing enmity toward him because he brought the revelation down to you. This is because he brought down a Book confirming the preceding scriptures. Or, the reason for the enmity is that he brought it down to you. In this last case, the mubtada (subject) is not omitted, nor is the anna phrase its predicate, such that it would be objected that the position requires the "opened" anna (anna instead of inna); rather, the fa is entering upon the cause, occurring as a recompense in view of the information and notification that it is the cause for what preceded it. Thus, the meaning resolves to: "Whoever shows enmity toward him, I inform you that the cause of his enmity is such." It is like your saying: "If so-and-so shows enmity toward you, you have surely harmed him," meaning: "I inform you that the cause of his enmity toward you is that you harmed him."

It is said that the recompense is omitted such that the mentioned clause is not a substitute for it; instead, it is estimated as following it, acting as an explanation and clarification for the cause of the enmity. The meaning: "Whoever shows enmity toward him because he brought it down upon your heart, let him die of rage," or "He is an enemy to Me, and I am an enemy to him." The evidence for the omission of the second is the parenthetical sentence mentioned after it in their threats.

The first explicit pronoun refers to Gabriel, and the second to the Quran, as indicated by the contexts, for they are all descriptions of the Quran in appearance. It is said the first refers to Allah the Exalted, and the second to Gabriel, meaning: "For Allah brought Gabriel down with the Quran upon your heart." In both cases, there is an elliptical reference that the context points to, and in that is a grandeur of status that is not hidden. He did not say "upon you" as in His saying: "We have not sent down the Quran to you to cause you distress," but said "upon your heart," because it is the primary receiver of revelation if "heart" refers to the spirit, or the seat of understanding and memory if it refers to the organ, based on the negation of internal senses. It is said the heart is a metonymy for the entire human being, as one part is used to refer to the whole. It is also said the meaning of "brought it down upon your heart" is making your heart characterized by the morals of the Quran and disciplined by its manners, as in the hadith of Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her): "His character was the Quran," being pleased for its pleasure and angered for its anger.

The apparent form should have been "upon my heart" because the speaker is the Messenger of Allah (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him), but he related what Allah the Exalted said to him, and the speaker is made as if he were Allah the Exalted, for he is a pure ambassador by the permission of Allah—that is, by His command, or by His knowledge and empowerment of him to this rank, or by His choosing, or by His facilitating and making it easy. The root meaning of "permission" (idhn) in a thing is informing of its authorization and licensure. All the mentioned meanings are metaphorical, and the relation is manifest. The meaning is the first. Since the Mu'tazilah did not believe in "psyche-speech" (kalam nafsi), and attributing permission to Him—the Exalted—with regard to verbal speech requires affectation, al-Zamakhshari limited himself to the last meaning. Saying that "permission" means "command" if the "bringing down" is intended in its apparent sense, and "facilitation" if "retaining and understanding" is intended, has no basis.

"Confirming what is before it"—of the divine scriptures, the greatest of which is the Torah. The status of "confirming" is an hal (state) from the pronoun in the accusative case in "brought it down," if it refers to the Quran. If it refers to Gabriel, it admits two possibilities: first, that it is an hal from an omitted element, as we pointed out for the sake of understanding; second, that it is an hal from Gabriel. The pronoun "it" refers either to the Quran or to Gabriel, for he also confirms the messengers and scriptures that came before him. "And a guidance and glad tidings for the believers"—these are two items conjoined to "confirming," so they are two hals like it. The interpretation is not hidden. He specified the believers for mention because, for others, it is blindness. The verse indicates the glorification of Gabriel and the acknowledgment of his worth, as He made him the intermediary between Himself and the most noble of His creation, and the one who brought down the Book encompassing the mentioned attributes. It also indicates the condemnation of the Jews for showing hatred toward one who had such a great and exalted status with Allah the Exalted.

It is said the Batiniyyah seized upon this verse and said: "The Quran is inspiration, and the words are the expression of the Messenger (may Allah's blessings and peace be upon him)." It was refuted by the fact that it is a manifest and hidden miracle, that Allah the Exalted named it Quran, Book, and Arabic, and that Gabriel brought it down, and the inspired person does not need him.