THE EVENT
Chapter 17 of the Qur'an is
entitled AI-Isra (The Night Journey) and is so named on account of the
first verse of the chapter:
"Glory be to Him (Allah)
who made His servant (Muhammad) go by night from the sacred Mosque (in Makkah)
to the farthest Mosque (in Jerusalem) whose precincts We have blessed, that We
might show him (some) of Our signs. He is the Hearer, the Seer."
This journey was necessary in order that Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) could show certain of His Signs to His Messenger. The journey
from Makkah to Jerusalem and back to Makkah is known as al-Isra.
Later in the same chapter the
Qur'an declares (verse 161) that al Isra was (and still is) a test and a
trial for mankind:
And We refrain from giving
signs only because the ancients disbelieved them.
To Thamoud, We gave the
she camel as a visible sign, yet they laid violent hands on her.
We give signs only by way of warning.
We have told you (Muhammad)
that your Lord encompasses all men. We have made the vision which We showed to
you only as a test for men: so faith, and likewise the tree accursed in the Qur'an. We seek
to put fear in their hearts but it only increases their wickedness.
In Chapter 53, which is entitled AI-Najm (the
Star), the Qur'an refers (in Verses 8-18) to al-Miraj or ascent into the
heavens:
.. He (Allah) revealed to
His servant (Muhammad) that which He revealed. His heart did not deny that
which it ·saw. How can you (unbelievers) then question that
which he sees?
He beheld Him once again at the
farthest lote-tree. Near it is the Garden of Abode (Paradise). When that tree
was covered with what covered it, his eyes did not wander, nor did they turn
aside: for he saw some of the Greatest signs of his Lord.
This ascent into the heavens
culminated with the audience in the special presence of Allah, Who then
revealed to His Messenger ''what He revealed", and "his heart did not
disbelieve that which he saw". The second stage of the journey from
Jerusalem to the heavens and back is known as al-Miraj.
The Hadith. Literature, which
records the sayings of the Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam), provides us with an abundance of information relating to the
journey. Firstly, we are told that the entire journey took place within such a
short span of time that the spot on which the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) was sleeping was still warm
when he returned to it. He was transported on a heavenly animal named Buraq
which was "a white beast, between a mule and an
ass, with wings at his sides where with he moved his legs; and his every stride
was as far as his eye could see." It was an animal used by others
(Prophets, perhaps) for celestial transcendental journeys.
Secondly, the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) was transported from Makkah to
Mt Sinai (where Moses had the vision of Allah), and thence to Bethlehem (where
the virgin birth of Jesus took place), before being taken to the ruins of Masjid
al-Aqsa in Jerusalem. At Masjid al-Aqsa, which was the original 'temple' built
by Prophet Solomon (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam), he led the congregational prayer in which numerous Prophets
participated - among them Abraham, Moses and Jesus whom he saw in their
terrestrial forms. Gabriel then offered him two cups, one with milk and the
other with wine. He chose the milk and drank it. Gabriel commented that he had
chosen rightly, and that both he and his followers would be rightly guided.
According to the Seerah of Ibn
Ishaq, the Prophet then ascended into the heavens by climbing a heavenly ladder
made of light. In other versions of the Seerah, the journey was resumed with
Buraq, which he mounted by stepping on the sacred rock sakhrah at the centre
of the site of the temple.
Different Prophets greeted him
in different heavens. Their greeting was always: "Welcome my
brother!" He marveled at the difference in the terrestrial form in which
he had just seen Abraham, Jesus, Moses etc., at Masjid al-Aqsa, and the new
transcendental form
or celestial reality in which they now appeared. In the highest heaven he was
greeted by Abraham with the words: "Welcome my son!" (and He was
later to comment while describing to his companions the features of that
Prophet, that he himself resembled Abraham).
During the journey he saw many
strange sights - men sitting before two plates of meat, one which had rotten
stinking meat and the other fresh well-cooked meat, and they were eating from
the rotten meat. "Who are these men?" he asked Gabriel, "and why
are they eating the rotten meat?" "These are the adulterers who turned
away from the wives Allah had provided them, and committed adultery with other women", said Gabriel. The Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) then saw women who had also committed such sins and whose
punishment was "hanging by their breasts from the roof." As for those
who had indulged in usury or interest, they were seen eating balls of fire
which were being passed out through their extremities and then reconsumed.
The Prophet saw an
extraordinarily beautiful girl in heaven. Her eyes were (shaped) like eggs (in
the sheer beauty of their shape). Gabriel explained that she was the reward
which Allah (subhanahu
wa ta’alah)
had been pleased to confer on Zaid bin Haritha, the adopted son of the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam). More than ten years later
Zaid would die as a martyr fighting in the cause of Islam.
At his request the Prophet was
shown hell by the never-smiling Angel who guarded hell. Not even for Muhammad (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) did he smile. When the cover
was removed huge terrifying flames shot out from hell. In hell, of which he was
given a glimpse, he found that the majority of those incarcerated were
women-folk (a possible explanation for this is the facet that the woman, as
wife and mother, exercises enormous influence within the home and is therefore
capable of inflicting incalculable damage on her family and home if she holds
false beliefs or if she is evil in her conduct).
Upon the conclusion of his
special audience with Allah, the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) received the gift of the
congregational prayers (salaah alJuma'ah). It was originally
prescribed to be performed fifty times a day. Moses kept on sending the Prophet
(sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa
sallam) back to Allah
(subhanahu wa ta’alah) to get it decreased since he,
Moses, already had significant experience with his own community and was
skeptical about the capacity of the followers of the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) to pray so many times a day. It
was finally decreased to five times a day, a number with which Moses was still
unhappy but which the Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) accepted "because he was too embarrassed to seek any further
reduction."
On his return to Makkah (i.e.,
the morning after the event) the Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) informed the· public of what had transpired the previous
night. The disbelievers were openly skeptical and summarily dismissed his
claim. Even some of those who were Muslims were also affected in the same way
and decided to leave Islam. Abu Bakr (RA) displayed such faith on this occasion
that he was rewarded by the Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) with the title al-Siddiq.
The Prophet (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) did make an effort to provide
evidence to support his claim of the miraculous journey. For example, he claimed
that he had stopped on the way to help retrieve a runaway camel for a caravan
which was then camped some distance out of Makkah."The lead camel of that
caravan", he declared, " had different hues (which be described) and was transporting such and such
merchandise." At another stop where another caravan was camped and all the
travelers were asleep, the Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) claimed that he uncovered a container of water, drank the water, and
replaced the cover, before continuing with his journey. Both these claims were
validated when the caravans subsequently arrived in Makkah and confirmed what
had happened. The Prophet (sallalahu
ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) was able to provide proof of his journey to 'doubting Thomases'
by describing Jerusalem to the disbelieving Quraish while it was held raised by
Allah (subhanahu wa ta’alah) before his very eyes (an event which
should have suggested the possibility of television long before its actual
discovery).
The angel Gabriel accompanied
him throughout this entire journey but himself stopped at the 'farthest lote
tree' (sidrah almuntaha), beyond which only Muhammad (sallalahu ta’alah ‘alaihi wa sallam) advanced to the meeting with
his Lord.
To Be Continued ....
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