MIKAL

also spelled Mika'il, in Islam, the archangel who was so shocked at the sight of hell when it was created that he never laughed again. In biblical literature Michael is the counterpart of Mikal. In Muslim legend, Mikal and Jibril were the first angels to obey God's order to worship Adam. The two are further credited with purifying Muhammad's heart before his night journey (isra') from Mecca to Jerusalem and subsequent ascension (mi'raj) to heaven. He also is remembered as aiding the Muslims to their first significant military victory in Arabia in 624. The single allusion to Mikal in the Qur'an (2:98) states: Whoever is an enemy of God or his angels or his apostles or Jibril or Mikal, verily God is an enemy of the unbelievers. This has generated several explanatory legends that revolve around the Jews, who hold Michael in particular esteem as the lord of Israel. In one story Muhammad is questioned by Jews about his prophetic mission and answers them quite satisfactorily. But when he says that Jibril is the bearer of his revelations, the Jews attack the archangel as the spirit of destruction and the foe of Michael, the angel of fertility. On another occasion the caliph 'Umar is reported to have asked the Jews of the synagogue of Medina how Mikal and Jibril were regarded by God. The Jews replied that Michael sat at God's left and Gabriel at his right but that the two were enemies. Whereupon 'Umar revealed the falseness of their position and said that an enemy of either angel was immediately an enemy of God.