Chapter 21 : Meraj I - The Night Journey Flashcards
What is The Night Journey and Ascension
- The Quran references this incident in 2 places
- Regarding The Night Journey [ Isra’ ] :-
” Glory be to Him [ subhan ] Who made His servant to go [ asra ] on a night [ laylan ] from the Sacred Mosque [ Masjid Al Haram in Makkah ] to the remote mosque [ Masjid Al Aqsa in Jerusalem ] of which We have blessed the precincts so that We may show him some of Our signs, surely He is the Hearing, the Seeing. “
- Al Quran [ 17 : 1 ]
- Regarding The Ascension [ Mi’raj ] :-
” The heart did not err in [ kadhaba ] what it saw. Will you then dispute with him about what he saw ? Certainly he saw it yet another time [ nazla ] by the Lote Tree of the Ultimate Boundary near which is the Garden of the Abode when there covered the Lote Tree what covered it. The gaze did not swerve [ zagh ] not did it overstep the bounds [ tagha ]. Certainly he saw some of the greatest signs of his Lord. “
- Al Quran [ 53 : 11 - 18 ]
- Both the verses mentioned above alludes that the purpose of both the Isra’ and Mi’raj is for The Prophet to witness some of the signs of Allah
Types of Traditions with regards to Isra’ and Mi’raj
- There are 4 types of traditions regarding Isra’ and Mi’raj [ Mentioned by Allama Majlisi in Bihar Al Anwar ]
1) Traditions whose content we are certain due to widespread transmission [ Tawatur - The multiplicity of the sources of a certain report that leads to certitude in the listener that the report is indeed true ]
Eg : The event of the Ascension in and of itself
2) Traditions which are rationally possible and do not contradict any Quranic Principles
Eg : The Prophet meeting other Prophets and seeing Paradise and Hellfire
3) Traditions whose apparent meaning contradicts Quranic Principles but can be reinterpreted in a way which comforms with reason
Eg : Traditions which reports The Prophet seeing people suffering in Hellfire
4) Traditions which contradicts Quranic Principles and do not conform with reason
Eg : Traditions which claims that The Prophet saw God with his physical eyes and sat beside Him on His Seat
When did Isra’ and Mi’raj occur
- The date of Mi’raj of The Prophet has been recorded by 2 Major Muslim Historians, Ibn Ishaq and Ibn Hisham as being shortly before the Emigration to Medina
- The great Muslim Historian Bayhaqi has recorded this event as occurring in the 12th year of Bi’tha
- Others have mentioned it as occurring in the beginning of Bi’tha
- Some scholars have reconciled the discrepancies pertaining to the date of the event by explaining that The Prophet went on multiple Ascensions [ Mi’raj ] :-
1) We know that prayer was legislated during The Ascension [ Mi’raj ] and prayer was not mandated until the late of the Makkan Period
2) We also know that there must have been 1 Mi’raj before the birth of Fatima Zahra [ Born 5 AB ] according to a narration from Al Khatib Al Baghdadi [ Sunni Scholar ] and many Shia Hadiths :-
” Aisha says ‘ I examined The Prophet who used to hug and kiss Fatima AS frequently and abundantly. ‘ Then she asked The Prophet ‘ Why do you keep doing this. Isn’t this too much. ‘ The Prophet replies ‘ When I went to Mi’raj, Gabriel took me to the tree of Tuba and gave me a heavenly fruit to eat. I took from that fruit and because I ate from that fruit, I carried the seed of Fatima. I came down to earth that same night and approached Khadija and that same night, Fatima was conceived. Whenever I would miss the fragrant smell of paradise, I embrace my daughter Fatima and smell her because she has the fragrance of Paradise. ‘ “
- This supports the idea that The Prophet experienced multiple Ascensions [ Mi’raj ]
- There is no Hadith in Shia sources that mentions he went on The Night Journey [ Isra’ ] multiple times
- How many times exactly did he Ascended, we are not sure of the number but a solitary hadith from Imam Jafar Al Sadiq says 120 times [ It does not contradict any Quranic Verses but it is just a solitary hadith so we cant say for certain that it is the true number, Allah Knows Best ]
Did the Mi’raj happen while The Prophet was Sleeping / Dreaming [ Unconscious ] or Awake [ Conscious ]
- Some Sunni and Shia Scholars believe that it happened while he was Asleep / Dreaming
- However, the general consensus among Shia Scholars is that The Mi’raj [ Ascension ] was both Bodily [ Bodily But Not Physical ] and Spiritual
- Bodily means not by his physical body made up of clay, blood and flesh but Bodily that is appropriate and compatible with those realms
What was the method of transport for Isra’ and Mi’raj
- It has been narrated from Ali Ibn Ibrahim Al Qummi [ Shia Scholar ] that Imam Jafar Ibn Muhammad Al Sadiq had said :-
” Gabriel, Mika’il and Israfil brought Buraq [ Winged Horse ] to The Prophet. One of these [ Three ] held the reigns of Buraq while the other one held on to the saddle and the third one held on to the clothing of The Prophet while he was ascending it. When The Prophet mounted onto Buraq, its entire body started to tremble. Gabriel pointed with his hand towards Buraq and told him ‘ O Buraq ! Keep calm ! Before The Prophet, no other Prophet has ever ridden you and after him too no one like him will ever ride upon you again. ‘ Buraq became tranquil and took The Prophet towards the heavens. Gabriel accompanied The Prophet and pointed out the signs of Allah in the heavens and the earth. The Prophet stated ‘ We were continuing when I heard someone call me by name. I did noy pay any attention to it and continued on our course. Another time, I heard someone else call me by name. Again I did not pay any attention to it. Then I saw a woman whose hands were uncovered and all the beauties of the world were on her. She said O Muhammad ! Wait, I have something to say to you. However, I paid no attention to her either. After this, I heard another sound which startled me. That sound too, I ignored. ‘ After some time, Gabriel stopped and said to me ‘ Perform the Salat. ‘ I dismounted from Buraq and performed my Salat. Gabriel said to me ‘ Do you know where you just prayed ? ‘ I replied to him in the negative. He said ‘ In Tayyibah [ Madinah ], the place where you will emigrate. ‘ After this, I got back onto Buraq and we continued on our journey. Once again, Gabriel stopped us and said ‘ Perform the Salat. ‘ I once again dismounted Buraq and performed my Salat there. He asked me ‘ Do you know where you just prayed ? It is the Mountain of Saina, the place where Prophet Musa spoke to Allah. ‘ Once again, I got back onto Buraq and we continued on my way until Allah would decree something else. Shortly afterwards, Gabriel said ‘ Get down and recite a Salat. ‘ Then again he questioned ‘ Do you know where you just prayed ? ‘ I replied in the negative to which he answered ‘ In Bayt Al Laham [ Bethlehem ], the place which is near to Bayt Al Muqaddas [ Jerusalem ] and this is the place where Prophet Isa was born. ‘ We reached Bayt Al Muqaddas [ Masjid Al Aqsa in Jerusalem ] and I proceeded to tie the reins of Buraq to the same ring that the Great Prophets before me used to tie their animal to. After this, I entered the Masjid and it was here that I met Ibrahim, Musa, Isa and the rest of The Prophets yes. They all gathered around me and we proceeded to get ready for Salat. I had no doubt that the Salat would be lead by Gabriel, however, when the liens for the Salat were being formed. Gabriel placed his hand on my shoulder and pushed me forward. Gabriel also took part in the Salat behind me along with the various Prophets. However, this did not cause any pride or vanity in me. Following this, the custodian of the Masjid brought 3 vessels in front of me. In the 1st vessel was milk, in the 2nd vessel was water and in the 3rd vessel was wine. All of a sudden, I heard someone say ‘ If he takes the vessel of water, he will perish and his nation too will perish. If he takes the vessel of wine, he and his nation will all be lead astray. However, if he drinks the milk then he has been guided and his nation too will be guided. ‘ I proceeded to take the vessel containing the milk and drank from it. Gabriel said ‘ Know that you have been guided and your nation too has been guided. ‘ Then I was asked [ Not sure if it was either one of The Prophets or another Angel ] ‘ What did you see while you were on your journey ? ‘ I replied ‘ From my right side, I heard someone call out to me. ‘ Gabriel asked ‘ Did you reply to him ? ‘ I said ‘ No, I did not reply. ‘ Gabriel told me ‘ That person who called you was a Jew and had you answered his call, then after you pass away, your nation would have changed to the religion of Jews. ‘ Gabriel then asked ‘ What else did you see ? ‘ I replied ‘ Then i looked to my left and someone called me from that direction too. ‘ Gabriel asked ‘ Did you reply to that call ? ‘ I replied ‘ No i did not pay any attention to him either. ‘ Gabriel replied ‘ He was one who was inviting people to the religion of Christianity. Had you paid any attention to him and replied to him, then after your death, your nation would change religion to Christianity. ‘ Gabriel then asked ‘ Who welcomed you ? ‘ I replied ‘ I saw a woman whose arms were open [ With no clothing on them ] and upon them were various beauties of the world. She said to me O Muhammad ! Come near me so that I may speak with you. ‘ Gabriel asked ‘ Did you speak to her ? ‘ I replied ‘ No I did not speak with her. ‘ Gabriel then said ‘ That woman was the physical manifestation of the material world. If you would have answered or spoken to her, then your nation would have preferred this world over the next life. ‘ “
- Bihar Al Anwar [ Volume 18, Page 319 - 320 ]
