Is the story true that when Ibn Taymiyyah was imprisoned by a sultan, news spread that he had left and delivered a lesson in a certain village, and when the sultan summoned him to verify, Ibn Taymiyyah replied that he had not left, and that what had happened was probably a jinn that had taken his form? And when the sultan asked him why he did not say it was an angel, he replied that angels do not lie. And the question here is about the authenticity of this story, and whether the angels taking human form is considered a lie, especially since Gabriel used to appear in human form to teach the Companions their religion, and he would come in the form of Dihyah al-Kalbi?
Source: FtawySummarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
The angels come to the prophets in the form of men because that is more suitable for human nature, as it is confirmed that Gabriel, peace be upon him, used to come to the Prophet, peace and blessings be upon him, in the form of the Companion Dihyah al-Kalbi. This appearing in a human form is not a lie, because the angel did not claim to be Dihyah; rather, people assumed that. Gabriel also came to Mary in human form, and angels came to Abraham and Lot in the form of men. The wisdom behind this is that humans cannot see angels in their true form.
Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026
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