Sahih al-Bukhari 3235
صحيح البخاري#3235Sahihحَدَّثَنِي مُحَمَّدُ بْنُ يُوسُفَ، حَدَّثَنَا أَبُو أُسَامَةَ، حَدَّثَنَا زَكَرِيَّاءُ بْنُ أَبِي زَائِدَةَ، عَنِ ابْنِ الأَشْوَعِ، عَنِ الشَّعْبِيِّ، عَنْ مَسْرُوقٍ، قَالَ قُلْتُ لِعَائِشَةَ ـ رضى الله عنها ـ فَأَيْنَ قَوْلُهُ {ثُمَّ دَنَا فَتَدَلَّى * فَكَانَ قَابَ قَوْسَيْنِ أَوْ أَدْنَى} قَالَتْ ذَاكَ جِبْرِيلُ كَانَ يَأْتِيهِ فِي صُورَةِ الرَّجُلِ، وَإِنَّهُ أَتَاهُ هَذِهِ الْمَرَّةَ فِي صُورَتِهِ الَّتِي هِيَ صُورَتُهُ، فَسَدَّ الأُفُقَ.
Narrated Masruq:I asked Aisha "What about His Statement:-- "Then he (Gabriel) approached And came closer, And was at a distance Of but two bow-lengths Or (even) nearer?" (53.8-9) She replied, "It was Gabriel who used to come to the Prophet (ﷺ) in the figure of a man, but on that occasion, he came in his actual and real figure and (he was so huge) that he covered the whole horizon
Scholarly Authentication
The label above is the grade most of these scholars gave — one dissenting opinion no longer speaks for all of them. If any scholar calls a narration fabricated, that verdict is shown instead, whatever the others say. Each scholar's own wording:
Every narration in Sahih al-Bukhari is accepted as Sahih (authentic) by the established status of the book.
In-book reference: 59:46