وَعَن الشّعبِيّ قَالَ: لَقِيَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ كَعْبًا بِعَرَفَةَ فَسَأَلَهُ عَنْ شَيْءٍ فَكَبَّرَ حَتَّى جَاوَبَتْهُ الْجِبَالُ. فَقَالَ ابْنُ عَبَّاسٍ: إِنَّا بَنُو هَاشِمٍ. فَقَالَ كَعْبٌ: إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَسَّمَ رُؤْيَتَهُ وَكَلَامَهُ بَيْنَ مُحَمَّدٍ وَمُوسَى فَكَلَّمَ مُوسَى مَرَّتَيْنِ وَرَآهُ مُحَمَّدٌ مَرَّتَيْنِ. قَالَ مسروقٌ: فَدخلت على عَائِشَة فَقلت: هَل رَأَى مُحَمَّدٌ رَبَّهُ؟ فَقَالَتْ: لَقَدْ تَكَلَّمْتَ بِشَيْءٍ قَفَّ لَهُ شَعَرِي قُلْتُ: رُوَيْدًا ثُمَّ قَرَأْتُ (لقد رأى من آيَات ربّه الْكُبْرَى) فَقَالَتْ: أَيْنَ تَذْهَبُ بِكَ؟ إِنَّمَا هُوَ جِبْرِيلُ. مَنْ أَخْبَرَكَ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَأَى رَبَّهُ أَوْ كَتَمَ شَيْئًا مِمَّا أُمِرَ بِهِ أَوْ يَعْلَمُ الْخَمْسَ الَّتِي قَالَ اللَّهُ تَعَالَى: (إِنَّ اللَّهَ عِنْدَهُ عِلْمُ السَّاعَةِ وَيُنَزِّلُ الْغَيْثَ) فَقَدْ أَعْظَمَ الْفِرْيَةَ وَلَكِنَّهُ رَأَى جِبْرِيلَ لَمْ يَرَهُ فِي صُورَتِهِ إِلَّا مَرَّتَيْنِ: مَرَّةً عِنْدَ سِدْرَةِ الْمُنْتَهَى وَمَرَّةً فِي أَجْيَادٍ لَهُ سِتُّمِائَةِ جَنَاحٍ قَدْ سَدَّ الْأُفُقَ " رَوَاهُ التِّرْمِذِيُّ وَرَوَى الشَّيْخَانِ مَعَ زِيَادَةٍ وَاخْتِلَافٍ وَفِي رِوَايَتِهِمَا: قَالَ: قُلْتُ لِعَائِشَةَ: فَأَيْنَ قَوْلُهُ (ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَى) ؟ قَالَتْ: ذَاكَ جِبْرِيلُ عَلَيْهِ السَّلَامُ كَانَ يَأْتِيهِ فِي صُورَةِ الرَّجُلِ وَإِنَّهُ أَتَاهُ هَذِهِ الْمَرَّةَ فِي صُورَتِهِ الَّتِي هِيَ صُورَتُهُ فَسَدَّ الْأُفُقَ
Ash-Sha'bi told that Ibn `Abbas met Ka`b at `Arafa and asked him about something, whereupon he said "God is most great" so loudly that the mountains re-echoed his voice. Ibn `Abbas said, "We are the B. Hashim," and Ka'b replied, "God has divided the vision of Him and His speech between Muhammad and Moses, for He spoke twice to Moses and Muhammad saw Him twice." Masruq said he went to visit `A'isha and asked whether Muhammad had seen his Lord, whereupon she replied, "You have said something that makes my hair stand on end." Telling her not to be excited he recited, "He has indeed seen the greatest of the signs of his Lord1." She replied, "where is it leading you? It was only Gabriel. Who told you that Muhammad saw his Lord, or concealed any command given him, or knew the five things of which God most high said, `God has knowledge of the last hour, He sends down the rain 2? He considered falsehood to be serious. But he saw Gabriel, seeing him in bodily form only twice, once at the lote-tree of the boundary, and once at Ajyad3 with six hundred wings blocking out the horizon." [1] Quran; 53:18 [2] Quran; 31:34 [3] A place in the neighbourhood of Makkah. Tirmidhi transmitted it, and the two shaikhs transmitted it with an addition and a difference. In their version he told that he asked `A'isha the meaning of His words, "Then he drew near and was suspended, and was two bows' length away or nearer[4], "and she replied, "That was Gabriel who used to come to him in human form, but on this occasion he came to him in his own form in which he was fashioned and blocked out the horizon." [4] Quran; 53:8
Reported by At-Tirmidhi (No. 3278). Cited in Mishkat al-Masabih (No. 5661).