Is the Gabriel that appeared to Mary the mother of Jesus the same Gabriel that appeared to Mohammad the founder of Islam?

Answer 1

Muslims believe that the archangel Gabriel who appeared to Muhammad , the Prophet of Islam , is the same as the one who appeared to Mary , the mother of Jesus, whereas (with the possible exception of the Roman Catholic church) Christianity as a whole does not believe that.

Answer 2

The answer below reflects both the Christian and Muslims ViewsA. Christian ViewThe angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and other biblical figures could not have appeared to Muhammad since Muhammad got a contradictory message.

Let us look at few differences between the Gabriel of The Bible and the Jibriel of Muhammad.

1) In the Bible whenever an angel of God appeared to individuals such as Abraham (Gen 22:11,15), Jacob (Gen 31:11), Moses (Exo 3:2) and others they knew that it was the angel of God that appeared to them. Mohammad did not know who appeared to him in the cave of Hira and in fact he believed that the spirit who forced him to ground was not from God.

2) Whenever the angel Gabriel appeared to people in the Bible, they knew it was Gabriel or Gabriel introduced himself so that the people are sure that it is not an angel of Satan.Example: In OT, Daniel knew it was Gabriel (Daniel 9:21), Zachariah knew that it was Gabriel and Gabriel introduced himself to Zachariah (Luke 1:19) and Mary knew it was the angel Gabriel who appeared to her (Luke 1:26-35). Muhammad did not know who appeared to him and the spirit did not introduce to Muhammad as Gabriel.

3) The message Mohammad received from this spirit was contradictory to the message Mary and the prophets in the Bible received from Gabriel. For example: A) The message Gabriel gave to Mary was that Jesus would be called the Son of God (Luke 1:35). The spirit that appeared to Mohammad said Jesus is not called the Son of God. B) The message Gabriel gave to Daniel was that Messiah would die for sins (Dan 9:24-26) and we know that Jesus died according to Jesus, His followers and according to history. However, ~650 years this spirit told Mohammad that Jesus did not die.

From these three points it is evident that the angel Gabriel of the Bible did not appear to Mohammad.

B. Muslims ViewYes, angel Gabriel who appeared to Mary and others in the Bible is the same who appeared to prophet Muhammad (PBUH).

In response to the arguments above; in one to one correspondence; Quran

1. Sure all the prophets; including Abraham, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Muhammad, and others; didn't know the angel Gabriel when appeared to them for the first time until they were told that He is the angel Gabriel. This is the logic. The Bible was written hundreds of years after Jesus death and is not reflecting real God word revelation to Jesus (Peace be upon him) but rather reflecting the thoughts of its writers (as said by Christians themselves).
2. The uncle of his wife Khadija (God be pleased with her) who was Christan told him that He is an angel. When prophet Muhammad saw the angel again he knew that he is the angel Gabriel (pronounced in Arabic as Jibril).
3. One of the objectives of Quran revelation is to correct for the wrong beliefs of some Jesus followers that He is God or son of God. God created Jesus from the Virgin Mary (without father) the same way created Adam without father and mother and the same way donated prophet Abraham and his wife Sara their son Isac while they were so old to be able to have a son by the normal norms of pregnancy.

In addition to the above:

1. There hundreds of proofs that Quran reflects real God words revelation to prophet Muhammad (PBUH) through the Angel Gabriel (Jibril) and in its real language (Arabic) without single letter change.
2. All God prophets; including Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and Muhammad (Peace be upon them all) are calling for full surrender to God with no partner, no son, no father, no companion, no associate, and no equivalence. This is the exact Arabic meaning of the word Islam.
3. Muslims believe in all God prophets, all God holy books (including the Bible and Torah and Quran), and all God angels.

refer to related questions below for more information.