Sky vastened, earth spread, part of a part of glory, far too much to bear.

Muhammad and the Angel 13-5/8" x 9-5/8" oils on illustration board

When it was the night on which God honored him with his mission and showed the mercy on His servants thereby, Gabriel brought him the command of God. He came to me, said the apostle of God, while I was asleep, with a coverlet of brocade whereupon was some writing, and said, Read! I said, What shall I read? He pressed me with it again so that I thought it was death; then he let me go and said Read! I said, What shall I read? He pressed me with it the third time so that I thought it was death and said Read! I said, What then shall I read? - and this I said only to deliver myself from him, lest he should do the same to me again. He said: Read in the name of thy Lord who created, Who created man of blood coagulated. Read! The Lord is the most beneficent, Who taught by the pen, Taught that which they knew not unto men. So I read it, and he departed from me. And I awoke from my sleep, and it was as though these words were written on my heart... I thought, Woe is me poet or possessed... I will go to the top of the mountain and throw myself down that I may kill myself and gain rest. So I went forth to do so and then 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 (who was speaking), 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. From Ibn Ishaq: Life of the Messenger of God