Why was Jibreel fashioned out of camphor?

The night of Meraj,Jibreel (May peace be upon him) had the honor of serving the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam), as given in Tafseer Ruh Al Bayan, Vol. 5, Pg. No. 109:   Translation: The night of Meraj, Jibreel, Mikail, Israfeel and Izrail (May peace be upon them) all came.  Each one of them had 70,000 angels.  When the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) mounted the Burraq, Jibreel (May peace be upon him) held the reins, Mikail (May peace be upon him) held the stirrup and Israfeel (May peace be upon him) held the saddle.   It is in the night of Meraj that we find the highest form of reverence of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) of Jibrel (May peace be upon him).    Mulla Muhammad Moin Kaashfi Haravi (May Allah Ta'ala shower His mercy on him) narrates a Hadith about Meraj:   Translation:  The second narration is from Jibreel (May peace be upon him):  I got to know from the Wahi of Allah Ta'ala that my body has been fashioned out of camphor of Jannah, but I didn’t know the reason for this.  I realized this on the night of Meraj.  In spite of my purity and fineness, I was hesitating to awaken the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) and I was anxious as to how should I do it.  I was ordered that I should rub my face on the heel of the blessed foot of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam).  When I did so, the coolness of camphor met the warmth (of the feet of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam)) and the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) easily awakened from sleep.  At that time, I realized the reason of me being created from camphor.  (Ma’arij Un Nubuwwah, Pg. No. 601)   A worshipper of Allah Ta'ala is closest to Allah Ta'ala when he/she is in worship.  When a person is offering Salaat, he/she is like talking intimately with Allah Ta'ala.  The Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) says:   Translation of Hadith: A worshipper is close to Allah Ta'ala when he (or she) is in Sajdah.  (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 875)   However, Allah Ta'ala did not send for the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) when He was in a particular form of worship, but sent Jibreel (May peace be upon him) when He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was sleeping.  The whole journey of Meraj was in a state of wakefulness, but Jibreel (May peace be upon him) brought the summons for Meraj when the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) was resting.  This shows that Allah Ta'ala loves even the resting of His Beloved Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) so much that the Lord Almighty rains His blessings on Him.   When resting, the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is so close to Allah Ta'ala that a summons for a great journey is received.  Just imagine how much do the favors of Allah Ta'ala rain upon Him when He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is engaged in Tawaf of the Ka’aba, when He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is supplicating, when He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is in Salaat, when He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is busy in spreading Islam.  Even the sleep of the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) is such that He (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) Himself says:   Translation of Hadith: My eyes sleep, my heart stays awake.  (Sahih Muslim, Hadith No. 3304)   That is the reason the Holy Prophet (Sallallahu alaihi wa sallam) described even the manner in which the angel entered the house.  The sleep of common folk is of heedlessness.  For the Prophets, sleep and wakefulness are both alike.

Dr. Mufti Syed Ziauddin Naqshbandi Mujaddidi Qadri

Shaykh Ul Fiqh, Jamia Nizamia; Founder - Director

Mufti Maulana Syed Zia Uddin Naqshbandi Quadri

Shaik-ul-Fiqh - Jamia Nizamia

Scholarly Articles

Why was Jibreel fashioned out of camphor?