All praise is due to Allah, and may peace and blessings be upon the Messenger of Allah. To proceed:
Some scholars mentioned that the order of the pillars of faith in the hadith corresponds to the order in which revelation reaches mankind: belief in Allah comes first because He is the foundation of all faith; then the angels because they convey revelation; then the Books because they are the revelation carried by the angels; then the messengers because they receive this revelation and convey it to the people. Nevertheless, this is a wisdom and subtle observation regarding the order, not a matter upon which an independent point of creed is based.
Belief in Allah, the Exalted, is the foundation of all faith. Belief in the angels, Books, or messengers has no meaning except after believing in Allah, Who created them, sent them, and revealed His revelation to them.
For this reason, belief in Allah comes first among the pillars of faith.
Among the duties of the angels is conveying revelation to the prophets by Allah’s command.
Allah, the Exalted, says:
“He sends down the angels with the Spirit by His command upon whomever He wills of His servants.”
[Al-Nahl: 2]
And He says regarding Jibril, peace be upon him:
“The Trustworthy Spirit brought it down upon your heart so that you may be among the warners.”
[Al-Shu‘ara’: 193–194]
From this perspective, the angels are mentioned before the Books and messengers because the angel carries revelation, by Allah’s command, to the messenger.
Some scholars explained that the order in the hadith reflects the sequence in which revelation is conveyed:
Allah, the Exalted, sends the angel; the angel brings the Book and revelation; then the messenger receives that revelation and conveys it to the people.
Al-Tibi, may Allah have mercy on him, said that mentioning the angel before the Book and the messenger follows:
“The actual order of events, for Allah, Glorified and Exalted, sent the angel with the Book to the messenger.”
Accordingly, the Books are mentioned before the messengers because they represent the revelation that the angel carries to the messenger.
No.
This order of mention does not necessarily indicate an order of superiority.
Something may be mentioned before another in a particular context because of a wisdom related to the meaning or sequence of events, not because what is mentioned first is necessarily superior to what comes after it.
The purpose here is to show how these pillars are connected to one another in relation to revelation, not to compare the virtue of the Books and the messengers.
This order appears in the Hadith of Jibril and in other texts, and scholars have exercised scholarly reasoning in explaining some of the wisdoms that may be reflected in it.
However, new matters of creed should not be built upon such subtle observations unless the texts themselves establish them.
For this reason, scholars have pointed out that searching for the wisdom behind this order belongs to the subtleties of knowledge, and is not among the matters upon which the foundation of faith or an independent legal ruling depends.
The order can be understood simply as follows:
Allah, the Exalted, is the source of revelation; the angels convey revelation by His command; the Books contain what Allah revealed; and the messengers receive this revelation and convey it to the people.
Thus, the sequence is:
Allah → Angels → Books → Messengers
This is among the wisdoms mentioned by scholars in explaining the order found in the Hadith of Jibril.
According to some scholars, belief in the Books is mentioned before belief in the messengers in the Hadith of Jibril because the order of the hadith corresponds to the sequence by which revelation reaches people: Allah sends the angel, the angel carries the revelation, and then the messenger receives it.
This does not mean that the Books are superior to the messengers, nor does this order establish an independent matter of creed. Rather, it is among the wisdoms and subtle observations mentioned by scholars in understanding the texts of revelation.
And Allah knows best.