Hadith 25993

حَدَّثَنَا يَزِيدُ , قَالَ : أَخْبَرَنَا دَاوُدُ , عَنْ عَامِرٍ , عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ , قَالَ : كُنْتُ مُتَّكِئًا عِنْدَ عَائِشَةَ , فَقَالَتْ : يَا أَبَا عَائِشَةَ , أَنَا أَوَّلُ مَنْ سَأَلَ رَسُولَ اللَّهِ صَلَّى اللَّهُ عَلَيْهِ وَسَلَّمَ عَنْ هَذِهِ , قَالَ : " ذَلِكَ جِبْرِيلُ , لَمْ أَرَهُ فِي صُورَتِهِ الَّتِي خُلِقَ فِيهَا إِلَّا مَرَّتَيْنِ , رَأَيْتُهُ مُنْهَبِطًا مِنَ السَّمَاءِ , سَادًّا عِظَمُ خَلْقِهِ مَا بَيْنَ السَّمَاءِ وَالْأَرْضِ " .
Masruq says that once I was sitting reclining at the house of Hazrat Aisha (may Allah be pleased with her), (I asked her, does Allah Almighty not say, "Indeed, the Messenger saw him at the clear horizon," and that, "The Messenger saw him another time as he descended"?), she replied, O Abu Aisha! I was the first to ask the Prophet (peace be upon him) about this, and he said that it refers to Hazrat Jibreel (Gabriel), whom I saw in his real form only twice. Once I saw him descending from the sky, and his great physical form filled the space between the sky and the earth.
Hadith Reference مسند احمد / مسند النساء / 25993
Hadith Grading حکم دارالسلام: إسناده صحيح، م: 177