The Angel of Death coming to Musa in Human Form
Al-Bukhari transmits with his isnad from Abu Hurayra, may Allah be pleased with him, who said, "The angel of death was sent to Musa, peace be upon him. When he came, Musa gave him a
black eye so he returned to his Lord and said, "You sent me to a slave who does not want to die. Allah restored his eye and said, 'Go back and tell him to put his hand on the back of an ox and he will live a year for every hair that his hand covers. Musa said, "Ο Lord, then what?" He said, "Then death. He said, "Then let it be now."
Ibn Hajar said in al-Fath, "His words, "gave him a black eye means that he hit him in the eye. In another variant in Muslim, it has, "The angel of death came to Musa and said, "Answer your Lord!" Musa hit the Angel of Death in the eye and put it out. In a variant of Abu Hurayra in Ahmad ibn Hanbal and at-Tabarani, we find: "The angel of death used to come to people in a visible form. He went to Musa and he put out his eye.""
Ibn Khuzayma said, "Some of the heretics refuse to acknowl- edge this and say that if Musa recognised him, he did not take him seriously. If he did not recognise him, then how would he not have retaliation from him for putting out his eye? The answer is that Allah did not send the Angel of Death to Musa desiring to take his soul at that moment. He sent him to him to test him. Musa punched the Angel of Death because he thought that he was a human who had entered his house without his permission and did not know that he was the Angel of Death. The Shari'a allows for the putting out of the eye of anyone who looks into a Muslim's house without permission. The angels came to Ibrahim and to Lut in human form and they also did not recognise them at first. If Ibrahim had recognised them, he would not have offered them food. If Lut had recognised them he would not have feared for them from his people."
One of the people of knowledge said, "He hit him because he came to take his soul before giving him a choice since it is estab- lished that no Prophet is taken without being given a choice. This is why, when he gave him a choice the second time, he submitted."
Ibn Hajar said, "And Ibn Qutayba said, 'Musa put out an eye which was imaginary and symbolic and not a real eye. The mean- ing of Allah's restoring his eye, is returning him to his true form. It is said that it was only his outward form and that Allah restored his human eye to the Angel of Death so that he could return to Musa
in a perfect form. That is the stronger interpretation and is the most reliable one.""
Ibn Hajar then said, "There are lessons in the hadith: for instance, the angel can take on human form. There are also a num ber of other hadiths that show this."