The Night Journey and Ascension (7)

Syed Manzoor ul Hassan

Based on Javed Ahmed Ghamidi’s Conversation with Muhammad Hassan Ilyas

DETAILS

The event of Mi‘raj as described in the hadith narrative is as follows:

1. One night, the Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) was sleeping in Masjid al-Haram. The word used by the narrator are Wahuwa na’imun fi al-Masjid al-Harām (he was sleeping in the Sacred Mosque). Some other people were also sleeping there¹.

2. While sleeping, he saw that three angels arrived and recognized him². That night, the angels went back after seeing him asleep.

3. They arrived again on another night³. They found the Prophet (PBUH) sleeping in the Sacred Mosque again. It is evident from the words Yara qalbuhu, wa tanamu ‘aynu (his eyes were asleep but his heart was awake).

4. They lifted his sacred body and brought it to the well of Zamzam. There, Gabriel (AS) opened his chest and cleansed his heart with Zamzam water. A golden bowl filled with wisdom and knowledge was brought; Gabriel (AS) took the wisdom and knowledge from the bowl⁴ and put it into his chest. Afterwards, they closed his chest⁵.

5. Once this process was finished, Gabriel (AS), the trustworthy, guided the Prophet (PBUH) through the heavens. He traveled upwards, meeting a prophet at each of the seven heavens. As remembered by the narrators, the Prophet met Adam (PBUH), Idris (PBUH), Aaron (PBUH), Moses (PBUH), and Abraham (PBUH). In the second heaven, He also saw earthly rivers of Euphrates and Tigris and the Celestial Pond of Kauthar, depicted symbolically as three streams.

6. After ascending through the seven heavens, the Prophet (PBUH) was taken to Sidrat al-Muntaha. Near this location, he achieved a proximity to the Divine Presence, akin to the closeness of the two ends of a bow. There, Allah Almighty revealed the commandment of fifty daily prayers.

7. When the Prophet (PBUH) was returning from his journey with the directive, he once again met Prophet Moses (PBUH) on the seventh heaven. Moses asked him about the covenant with Allah. The Prophet informed him of the obligation to perform fifty prayers. Moses, drawing upon the experience with his own people, suggested that performing fifty prayers a day would be difficult for his Ummah (community). It would therefore be appropriate for him to return to the Divine Court and request a reduction in the number of prayers. The Prophet (PBUH) found the suggestion reasonable, so he returned to the Divine Presence and requested a reduction in the number of prayers. Allah Almighty accepted the request and granted a concession of ten prayers. Upon returning, he met Prophet Moses (PBUH) again, who repeated the same advice. The Prophet (PBUH) went back to Allah’s Presence and obtained further concessions of ten prayers again.. This process of requesting reductions continued until only five prayers remained. With utmost generosity, Allah Almighty declared each prayer equal to ten prayers and informed the Prophet (PBUH) that the fifty prayers would remain as they are in Umm al-Kitab (the Mother of the Book), but only five prayers would be obligatory for his Ummah. Thus, when his people perform five prayers, they will be counted as fifty.

8. After this, Prophet Moses (PBUH) advised further reductions even in the five prayers, but this time, the Prophet (PBUH) did not accept his suggestion. Afterwards, he returned to Masjid al-Haram with the gift of five prayers.

EXPLANATION

The important points of clarification and explanation of the hadith are as follows:

Firstly, the Prophet’s (PBUH) journey and all the events and observations occurred in the world of dream. The introductory and final words of the hadith explicitly clarify this nature. The opening statement reads:

They arrived another night to see that the Prophet’s eyes were sleeping but his heart was not. This is the case of the prophets that even when they sleep, their eyes sleep but their hearts stay awake.

The closing words are: when (Prophet Muhammad) woke up, he was in the Masjid al-Harām

Secondly, to describe proximity to the Divine Being, the phrase Hatta kana minhu qaba qawsayni aw adna has been used. These are almost the same words used in Surah Al-Najm to convey the closeness of the Angel Gabriel (AS) to the Prophet (PBUH), as it states: Fa-kana qaba qawsayni aw adna. In the Arabic language, such metaphorical phrases are akin to expressions in our language like ‘a distance of a yard or two’ or ‘a gap of a few hand-lengths,’⁶ which are used to convey the idea of closeness or proximity between locations or objects. Thus, it is plausible to assume that the narrative borrowed the style of expression from Surah Al-Najm to emphasize the Prophet’s (PBUH) nearness to Allah.

Thirdly, based on the mentioned style of expressing divine proximity, it is highly likely that the Prophet (PBUH) had the honor of beholding Allah Almighty. Some other hadith narratives also ascribe the following statement to the Prophet (PBUH): “I saw my Lord in the most sublime form.” It is evidently clear that this refers to seeing in the world of dream. The reason is that the words of the narrative Wa tanamu ‘aynuhu, wa la yanamu qalbuhu ( His eyes sleep, but his heart remains awake) indicate that the incident of Mi‘raj occurred when the Prophet’s (PBUH) eyes were asleep but his heart was not. It is also narrated in some other hadith narratives that the Prophet (PBUH) saw Allah Almighty in the world of dreams while the Prophet (PBUH) was sleeping. Here is one such hadith narrative⁷:

عن معاذ بن جبل رضي الله عنه، قال: احتبس عنا رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم ذات غداة عن صلاة الصبح حتى كدنا نتراءى عين الشمس، فخرج سريعًا فثوب بالصلاة فصلى رسول الله صلى الله عليه وسلم وتجوز في صلاته، فلما سلم دعا بصوته، فقال لنا على مصافكم كما انتم، ثم انقتل إلينا، ثم قال: أما إني ساحدثكم ما حبسني عنكم الغداة. اني قمت من الليل فتوضات وصليت ما قدر لي، فنعست في صلاتي حتى استثقلت فإذا انا بربي تبارك وتعالى في احسن صورة. فقال: يا محمد قلت لبيك رب قال: فيم يختصم الملأ الأعلى؟ قلت: لا ادري، قالها ثلاثا. قال: فرايته وضع كفه بين كتفى حتى وجدت برد انامله بين ثديي، فتجلى لى كل شيء وعرفت.

Mu‘adh bin Jabal said: God’s Messenger was detained one morning from observing the prayer with us (because he had not arrived to lead the congregation) till the sun had almost appeared over the horizon. He then came out quickly and led the congregation. He conducted the prayer in a shortened form (because of shortage of time); then when he had given the salutation, he called out to us saying, “Keep to your rows as you were.” Then turning to us he said, “I shall tell you what detained me from you this morning. I got up during the night, performed ablution, and prayed what I could; but during my prayer I dozed and was overcome, and there and then I saw my Lord in the most beautiful form. He addressed me by name, and when I replied, ‘At Thy service, my Lord,’ He asked, ‘What do the angels near My presence dispute about?’ and I replied that I did not know. He asked it three times. Then I saw Him put the palm of His hand between my shoulder-blades, so that I experienced the coolness of His fingers between my nipples so everything became clear to me and I attained knowledge. (Tirmidhi No. 3235)

Fourthly, the words Fahiya khamsuna fi Ummil-Kitab wa hiya khamsun ‘alayka indicate that the obligation of the five daily prayers was established at this particular event. This view is also the common position among our scholars. However, this position does not align with the Quran and certain hadith narratives, as prayer has been a fundamental aspect of Allah’s religion from the beginning. The Quran clearly states that prayer was the main duty enjoined upon the noble prophets by Allah Almighty. A Hadith from Sunan Abi Dawud, No. 393, reinforces this perspective, where it is stated that once Gabriel the Trusted informed the Messenger of Allah (PBUH) that prayers have always been performed five times a day. Therefore, the most probable assumption from this perspective is that the obligation of prayer commenced with the prophethood of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), and that during the Mi‘raj, the background realities of this duty may have been symbolically presented to him.