The Prophet ﷺ was sitting out in the open one day among the people when a man came to him and asked, "What is faith?"He replied, "Faith is to believe in Allah, His angels, His Book, the meeting with Him, and His messengers, and to believe in the resurrection."The man asked, "What is Islam?"He replied, "Islam is to worship Allah and associate nothing with Him, to establish the prayer, to pay the obligatory zakat, and to fast Ramadan."The man asked, "What is excellence?"He replied, "It is to worship Allah as though you see Him, and if you do not see Him, He surely sees you."The man asked, "When is the Hour?"He replied, "The one asked about it knows no more than the one asking. But I will tell you of its signs. When a slave woman gives birth to her master, and when the herdsmen of black camels become lofty in building. That is among its signs. It is one of five things known to none but Allah."Then the Prophet recited, "Indeed, Allah has knowledge of the Hour" [Luqman 31:34], and the rest of the verse.Then the man turned to leave, and the Prophet said, "Bring him back." But they could see no one.So he said, "That was Jibreel, who came to teach the people their religion."
كان النبي ﷺ لا بارزا يوما للناس، فأتاه رجل فقال: ما الإيمان؟ قال: الإيمان أن تؤمن بالله وملائكته وكتابه ولقائه، ورسله، وتؤمن بالبعث. قال ما الإسلام؟ قال: الإسلام أن تعبد الله ولا تشرك به، وتقيم الصلاة، وتؤدي الزكاة المفروضة، وتصوم رمضان. قال: ما الإحسان؟ قال: أن تعبد الله كأنك تراه فإن لم تكن تراه فإنه يراك. قال: متى الساعة؟ قال: ما المسؤول عنها بأعلم من السائل، وسأخبرك عن أشراطها؛ إذا ولدت الأمة ربها، وإذا تطاول رعاة الإبل البهم في البنيان، فذاك من أشراطها في خمس لا يعلمهن إلا الله، ثم تلا النبي: {إن الله عنده علم الساعة} [سورة لقمان: ٣٤] الآية، ثم أدبر فقال: ردوه فلم يروا شيئا! فقال: هذا جبريل جاء يعلم الناس دينهم.
Bukhari narrated it in the Book of Faith (50), and Muslim in the Book of Faith (9), both from the hadith of Ismail bin Ibrahim bin Ulayya, from Abu Hayan Taymi, from Abu Zura, from Abu Hurairah, and he related it, and their wording is identical. In a version reported by Muslim from the hadith of Umara bin Qaqa, from Abu Zura, from Abu Hurairah, he said, the Messenger of Allah ﷺ said, "Ask me," but they were too in awe of him to ask him. Then a man came, and he related the same account. At the end of the hadith he said, "This was Jibreel, who wanted you to learn since you did not ask."As for the statement of the Prophet ﷺ, "Bring him back," it is apparent from this statement that he ﷺ did not initially know that it was Jibreel, and only learned afterward, through revelation from Allah Almighty, that it was Jibreel who had come to teach the people their religion.