From the book Javed Ahmed Ghamidi’s Stance On Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey and Ascension – Derived from a dialogue with Muhammad Hassan Ilyas. This book is part of ‘23 Objections Series’.
SUMMARY OF THE DISCUSSION
The previous pages provided a detailed description of the stance of our esteemed teacher, Javed Ahmed Ghamidi on the issue. The prominent points of the discussion are: – The events described under the title ‘Isra and Mi‘raj’ are not one but four different occurrences. – These comprise the ‘Isra, the Qāba Qawsayn, the Sidrat al-Muntaha, and lastly, the Mi‘raj. – The first three events are referred to in the Qur’an, while the last is mentioned in the hadiths. – The specific timings and sequences of these events are not clearly stated in the Qur’an or the hadiths. – Of these, two happened in the realm of the dreams and the other two are based on conscious observations. – All these events are divine in nature, specific to prophethood, and are synonymous to divine revelation. – It makes no difference to their veracity whether these observations occurred in dreams or in a state of consciousness. The difference of sleep or wakefulness does not affect their credibility. – Events described in the Qur’an are beyond any doubt or uncertainty, but those conveyed through hadith narratives, if reliably traced back to the Prophet (PBUH), must also be accepted unreservedly. – No Muslim is permitted to deny these occurrences or to diminish their divine status by comparing them with ordinary human experiences. – The texts describing these four events clearly emphasize their unique nature. – However, some narrators in the Hadith literature have presented them as a single event, leading to scholars and commentators treating them as such in their descriptions. – This conflation may have happened due to textual similarities, narrative overlaps, memory issues, misunderstandings, or descriptive flaws. – Misunderstandings can be prevented by interpreting the hadith reports in the light of the Qur’an instead of the other way around. [To be continued]