Chapter 24 : Meraj IV - Edge of Heaven Flashcards
What happened during Mi’raj [ The Ascension ] - Seeing Rivers Of Light And Darkness
- This is a continuation of the earlier narration [ Previous Chapter ] from Imam Jafar Ibn Muhammad Al Sadiq :-
” In the 7th Heaven, I saw rivers of light such that the light that was coming from them made the eyes blind. Rivers of Darkness were also there that were covered over with ice and the sound of thunder crashing could be heard. I was busy looking at these rivers when Gabriel said to me ‘ O Muhammad, be thankful to Allah for the graces and bounties that have been chosen for you. ‘ I prayed ‘ O Allah by the truth of Your Power and Glory, keep my faith firm. ‘ Then I said to Gabriel ‘ This is a beautiful and amazing scene. ‘ He replied ‘ This is just a portion of the creations of Your Lord, The Creator who has created everything some of which you have seen and some of which you have not even yet seen. ‘ Gabriel continued by saying ‘ Between Allah and His Creations, there exists 90 000 Layers of Concealment [ Veils ] and the closest of creations to Allah are Isra’fil and myself and between Allah and us exist 4 Veils which are Light, Darkness, Cloud and Water. ‘ “
Bihar Al Anwar [ Volume 18, Page 326 - 327 ]
What happened during Mi’raj [ The Ascension ] - Entering Bayt Al Ma’mur
- This is a continuation of the earlier narration from Imam Jafar Ibn Muhammad Al Sadiq :-
” Along with Gabriel, we entered into Bayt Al Ma’mur. A group of my companions were with me all of whom were wearing new clothing. Others from amongst them were wearing old clothing and when they tried to enter this area, they were prevented. Only those who were wearing new clothing were permitted to enter with me into Bayt Al Ma’mur. In this place I performed a 2 Rak’at Salat and then left. 2 Rivers passed by me, one was Al Kawthar and the other was The River of Mercy. I drank from The River of Al Kawthar and performed Ghusl with The River of Mercy. I was then guided to enter into Paradise. In one area of Paradise, I saw my house and that of my wife. The ground and the dirt of Paradise had the smell of Musk and Amber. In The Rivers of Paradise, I saw a servant of Allah who was bathing. I asked her ‘ O servant ! Who are you for ? ‘ She replied to me ‘ I am [ Here ] for Zaid Ibn Harith. ‘ When I saw Zaid [ After this event ], I gave him the good tidings of this. The birds of Paradise were as the camels of Khurasan [ In Size ]. The Pomegranates that were hanging on the trees were so large and glowing and incomparable to anything else. It was here that I saw a huge tree such that if a bird were to fly around it for 700 years, he would still not be able to go around the entire tree. In Paradise, there is not a single house in which one of the branches of this tree does not cover. I asked Gabriel regarding this tree and he told me ‘ This is the tree of Tuba about which Allah has said in the Quran in Surah 13 Verse 29 [Those who believe and do good, for them will be bliss and and an honourable destination ]. ‘ Thus this Tree of Tuba in Paradise and all of the houses in there are under [ The Shade ] of this tree. “
Bihar Al Anwar [ Volume 18, Page 327 - 328 ]
What happened during Mi’raj [ The Ascension ] - Reaching Sidratul Muntaha
- This is a continuation of the earlier narration from Imam Jafar Ibn Muhammad Al Sadiq :-
” We reached to an area known as Sidratul Muntaha [ Lote Tree of The Farthest Boundary ]. We saw a place where there was a tree whose one leaf would be able to cover an entire nation. Then we went to that place known [ In The Quran ] as The Measure Of Two Bows Or Closer Still. Allah then called out ‘ The Prophet believes in that which His Lord has revealed unto him. ‘ On behalf of myself and my Ummah, I replied ‘ And the believers too, they all believe in Allah and His Angels and His Books and His Messengers. We do not differentiate between any of His Messengers. And they say We Hear And We Obey, Our Lord ! Thy Forgiveness [ Do We Crave ] And To Thee Is The Eventual Course. ‘ Allah then said ‘ Allah does not impose upon any soul a duty but to the extent of its ability for it is [ The Benefit Of ] what is has earned and upon it [ The Evil Of ] what it has wrought. ‘ Then I said ‘ Our Lord ! Do not punish us if we forget or make a mistake ! ‘ Allah replied ‘ I will not punish you. ‘ Then i continued ‘ Our Lord ! Do not lay on us a burden as Thou didst lay on those before us ! ‘ Allah replied ‘ I will not lay upon you a burden. ‘ I once again said ‘ Our Lord ! Do not impose upon us that which we have not the strength to bear and pardon us and grant us protection and have mercy on us, Thou art our Patron so help us against the unbelieving people. ‘ Allah The Glorious and High said ‘ Verily I have bestowed this upon and your nation. ‘ The Prophet of Islam asked from Allah for his Ummah as such ‘ O Allah ! Whatever specialties you have given to your prophets also bestow upon me. ‘ Allah replied ‘ I give you the following 2 supplications which are under My Throne. ‘ “
1) There is no power or strength save with Allah
2) There is no saviour for you except from Him
Bihar Al Anwar [ Volume 18, Page 328 - 329 ]
- Imam Al Sadiq has said :-
” Never has anyone more noble than The Prophet of Islam attained such nearness to Allah and asked for such concessions for his nation. “
What happened during Mi’raj [ The Ascension ] - Leading The Previous Prophets In Salat And Reducing Number Of Salat
- This is a continuation of the earlier narration from Imam Jafar Ibn Muhammad Al Sadiq :-
” Here I led the Angels of Paradise in Salat just as in Bayt al Muqaddas I led the previous Prophets in Salat. When I went into Sajdah, Allah called out ‘ I had made 50 Salat for each day incumbent upon the Prophets who came before you and upon you and your Ummah, I make these incumbent too for these 50 Salat I have confirmed ‘. After the Salat, I continued on my back and while on the path, I met Prophet Ibrahim Al Khalil. He did not ask me a single question. Then I met Prophet Musa Ibn Imran. He asked me ‘ O Muhammad, what did you do ? ‘ I replied ‘ My Allah told me that he had made 50 daily Salat obligatory on the Prophets before me and upon me and my Ummah too, He has made this amount obligatory. ‘ Prophet Musa ( AS ) said to me, ‘ O Muhammad ! Your Nation is the final and the weakest of all the Nations. Allah’s commands must be followed, however your Nation does not have the ability to perform 50 daily Salat, thus, return to Allah and request Him to lighten the load on your Ummah. ‘ I returned to Sidratul Muntaha and fell into prostration. I said ‘ O Allah ! You have made 50 daily Salat
obligatory on my Ummah and me. However, my Ummah and I do not have the ability to perform this much. From your Holy Presence, I request a reduction in this. ‘ Allah, Glorious and High reduced the number of Salat by 10. I returned back and informed Musa ( AS ) what happened. He replied ‘ Go back as they do not have the power to perform even this much. ‘
I returned once again and Allah reduced the number of Salat by 10. I was going back when Musa ( AS ) said ‘ Still they do not have the ability to perform even this. ‘ I once again returned, fell into sajdah and asked for a reduction in the Salat. Allah once more reduced the number by 10. I returned to where Musa ( AS ) was and told him what happened. Again he said to me ‘ Go back since
they will not be able to even handle this. ‘
I once again returned, fell into sajdah and again asked Allah for a reduction in the Salat. I said ‘ O Allah, my Nation is weak and they will not have the ability to handle even this. ‘ Allah reduced the Salat by 10 more. From a total of 50 Salat, only 10 were made obligatory. Again, I passed by Musa ( AS ) and he said ‘ Your Ummah does not have the ability to even handle 10 Salat. ‘ For the last time I returned and fell into sajdah. Allah reduced the Salat by 5. I went to where Musa was and he said to me ‘ Your Ummah does not even have the ability to perform 5 daily Salat. ‘ I said to him ‘ I am embarrassed to go back to Allah again. I will just be patient in relation to these 5 Salat. ‘
Then I heard a voice that said ‘ Since you have had patience, these 5 Salat will be counted as 50 Salat. Each Salat will be counted as 10 Salat and if one person from your Ummah performs a good act then 10 good acts will be written for him but if he performs 1 bad act then only that 1 bad act will be written in his record. “
Bihar Al Anwar [ Volume 18, Page 330 - 331 ]
- Imam Ja’far as‑Sadiq had said :-
” May Allah give Musa ( AS ) great reward since because of him, the daily ( Obligatory ) Salat were reduced to only 5. “
What happened during Mi’raj [ The Ascension ] - Returning From Mi’raj
- In the book Al Amali [ Shaikh Al Saduq ], it is narrated that Imam Jafar As Sadiq had said :-
” When The Prophet along with Gabriel mounted onto Buraq [ One of the horses of paradise ] to go on the Mi’raj, they first went to Bayt Al Muqaddas. The Mehrab [ Prayer Niche - The Focal Point In The Interior Of A Mosque Indicating Direction Of Kaabah ( Qibla ) ] of Previous Prophets was shwon to the Holy Prophet and he also performed Salat there. After the Mi’raj, The Prophet once again returned to Bayt Al Muqaddas and there he met up with a Caravan from the Tribe of Quraish. This group has lost one of their camels and was busy searching for it. The Prophet asked them for a glass of water, drank some of it and poured the rest of it on the ground. Finally, he returned to Makkah. When the morning came, he told Quraish ‘ In the night, Allah took me to Bayt Al Muqaddas and in that land, He showed me the after effects and the houses of Previous Prophets. On my return, I met up with a Caravan from Quraish who had lost one of their camels and I requested a glass of water from them of which I drank some of it and the rest I poured onto the ground. ‘ Abu Jahl who was one of the staunch enemies of the Noble Prophet said ‘ Ask him [ The Prophet ] how many pillars, lights and Mehrabs are in Bayt Al Muqaddas. ‘ At that time, Gabriel came to The Prophet and placed an image of Bayt Al Muqaddas in front of him with which he was able to answer all the questions posed to him. When the people of Quraish heard this, they said ‘ Let us wait until the Caravan returns and we can ask them. ‘ The Prophet replied to them ‘ The Caravan will return to Makkah around the time of sunshine and in front of the Caravan will be an exquisite looking camel. ‘ Once the morning came, everyone was in anticipation for the Caravan to arrive. They said ‘ The sun is rising but the Caravan still has not arrived ! ‘ Just as this was said and the sun began to rise above the horizon, the Caravan appeared. At the head of the Caravan, the same beautiful looking camel that The Prophet had mentioned could be seen. “
Al Amali [ Shaikh Al Saduq ]
