the hadith shattered my illusion of familiarity with Muhammad. It said that when he saw Gabriel, his “neck muscles twitched in terror,” and when Gabriel had gone for a while, the Prophet became so depressed “that he intended several times to throw himself from the tops of high mountains and every time he went up the top of a mountain in order to throw himself down, Gabriel would appear before him and say, ‘O Muhammad! You are indeed Allah’s Apostle in truth,’ whereupon his heart would become quiet and he would calm down.”
