The Life of The Prophet Muhammad(pbuh): First Migration, the Year of Sorrow, the Splitting of the Moon
Isra and the Miracle of Miraj (Ascension): Part 1
The Isra and Miraj , one of our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) greatest miracles, occurred on the 27th night of the month of Rajab, a year and a half before the migration (hijra.)
Jibril came that night and took our Holy Prophet (PBUH) from the Masjid-al-Haram to the Masjid-al-Aqsa on Buraq. Then, he was ascended to the skies so that he would be shown the wonderful activities and the signs that indicate the power of God Almighty one by one. He was allowed to meet all of the prophets in the layers of the sky. Then, the Messenger of Allah was taken to the station of Sidra al-Muntaha (Lote Tree). Then, he went up to the station of Two Bows’ Length (Qab Qawsayn) in the middle of possibility and obligation. He was shown many weird and bizarre things. He heard the speech of God Almighty, who is free from time and place, in a form that we cannot know or understand; and he saw His face. On the same night, he returned home.
God Almighty narrates this miracle, which is related to the personality of His beloved Messenger, as follows in the Quran:
“Glory to (Allah) Who did take His Servant for Journey by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Farthest Mosque whose precincts We did bless― in order that We might show him some of Our Signs: for He is the one Who heareth and seeth (all things)”
This verse also declares the wisdom behind the miracle Isra and Miraj.
The section regarding the Miraj in Badiuzzaman Said Nursi’s work entitled “The Words” states: “The Ascension is a question that results from the essentials and pillars of belief, and follows on after them, a light that draws strength from the lights of the pillars of belief. For sure, the Ascension cannot be proved independently to irreligious atheists who do not accept the pillars of belief, because it cannot be discussed with those who neither know God, nor recognize the Prophet, nor accept the angels, and who deny the existence of the heavens. Firstly those pillars must be proved.” Then, he answers the question, “What is the wisdom behind Miraj?” as follows, explaining the wisdom behind that great event:
“The wisdom of the Ascension is so exalted that human thought cannot comprehend it. It is so profound that human thought cannot reach it, and so subtle and fine that the intellect cannot see it by itself. But even if the reality of the instances of wisdom in the Ascension cannot be comprehended, their existence may be made known through certain indications. For example, as follows:
“In order to demonstrate the light of His Unity and the manifestation of His Oneness in these levels of multiplicity, the Creator of the universe took an eminent individual as representing all creatures from the furthest levels of multiplicity to the source of Unity by means of an Ascension that was like a link. And there, addressing him as representing all conscious beings, He explained to him the Divine purposes and made them known through him, and observed through his gaze the beauty of His art and perfection of His Dominicality in the mirrors of His creatures, and caused him to observe them.
Moreover, according to the testimony of His works, the Maker of the world possesses infinite beauty and perfection. The two of them, both beauty and perfection, are loved for themselves. Since this is so, the Possessor of that beauty and perfection has an infinite love for His beauty and perfection. That infinite love of His is manifest in many different ways in His works of art. He loves His works of art because He sees His beauty and perfection within them. The most lovable and elevated among the works of art are animate beings. And the most lovable and elevated among animate beings are conscious beings. And by reason of their comprehensiveness, the most lovable among conscious beings are to be found among human beings. The most lovable individual among human beings is the one who has most fully developed his potentiality and displayed the samples within it of the perfections manifested in all creatures, and spread among them. Thus, in order to see at one point and in one mirror all the varieties of His love spread through all creatures and to display, through the mystery of His Oneness, all the varieties of His beauty, the Maker of beings will take a person who is at the degree of being a luminous fruit of the tree of creation and whose heart is like a seed containing the essential truths of that tree, and will demonstrate the belovedness of that individual, who represents the universe, through an Ascension that is like a thread linking the seed, which is the origin, with the fruit, which is the end. He will draw him to His presence and honor him with the beauty of the vision of Himself. And, in order to cause him to spread that sacred state to others, He will favor him with His Word and entrust him with His Decree.
“In order to look at this exalted wisdom, we shall observe it through the telescope of two comparisons.
First Comparison:
As is explained in detail in the story-comparison in the Eleventh Word, there was an illustrious king who had vast treasuries and in those treasuries many varieties of jewels were to be found. He had much skill in strange crafts, comprehensive knowledge of innumerable curious arts, and erudition and learning in numberless wondrous sciences. And, in accordance with the mystery that every possessor of beauty and perfection wants both to see and display his beauty and perfection, of course, that skilful king, too, wished to open an exhibition and to set up displays within it in order to reveal to the people’s gazes the majesty of his sovereignty, and to manifest both the glitter of his wealth and the wonders of his art and the marvels of his knowledge. He wished to do this so that he might observe his own transcendent beauty and perfection in two respects. The first was so that he himself might see with his own eyes, which were cognizant of reality, while the other was so that he might look through the gaze of others.
“As a consequence of this wisdom, he began to build a huge, splendid, extensive palace. It was magnificently divided into apartments and mansions. He adorned it with every sort of bejeweled treasure from his coffers, and decorated it with the finest and most gorgeous arts of his own handiwork. He ordered it with the greatest refinements of his knowledge and science, and decked it out and completed it with the miraculous works of his learning. Next, he spread tables with varieties of bounties and the most delicious of foods worthy for each group and prepared a general banquet. Then, in order to display his perfections to his subjects, he invited them to the banquet and to behold the perfections. Then he appointed one of them as the highest ranking general, invited him up from the lower levels and mansions to tour sphere after sphere in the levels rising one after the other. And, showing him the successive machinery and workshops of his wonderful art and the storehouses for the produce coming from below, he brought him to his own particular sphere and private apartment. There, he honored him through showing him the blessed person that was the source of all those perfections and taking him into his presence. He informed him of the true nature of the palace and of his own perfections. He appointed him as guide to the other spectators and sent him back to describe to the people the palace’s Maker by means of its contents, inscriptions, and wonders, so that he should inform those who entered the palace of the allusive meanings of the inscriptions within it, what the works of art signified, and what the harmonious and well-proportioned inscriptions and works of art in its interior were, and how they pointed to the perfections and skills of the palace’s owner. And so that he should teach them the correct behaviour and formalities in seeing the exhibition and describe the protocol and ceremonies which were in accordance with the pleasure and desires of the learned and skilful king, who did not appear.
“And in exactly the same way, and God’s is the highest similitude, the All-Glorious Maker, Who is the Monarch of Pre-Eternity and Post-Eternity, desired to behold and display His infinite perfections and boundless beauty.
“So He made this world in such a fashion that each being utters His perfections with numerous tongues and points to His beauty with many signs. The universe shows through all its beings how many hidden immaterial treasures there are in each of His Most Beautiful Names and how many veiled subtleties in each of His sacred titles. And it shows this in such a way that, since the time of Adam, all sciences together with all of their laws have studied this Book of the Universe. But of that book only a tiny proportion of the meanings and signs which state and point to the Divine Names and perfections have been read. Thus, the wisdom of the All-Glorious One of Beauty, the All-Beauteous One of Glory, the Maker Possessing Perfection, Who opens the palace of the world as though it was an exhibition in order to see and display His own transcendent beauty and perfections, requires that He should inform someone of the meaning of the palace’s signs so that they do not remain vain and without benefit for conscious beings on the earth. His wisdom requires that He should cause one of them to travel in the higher worlds, which are the sources of the wonders in the palace and are the treasuries of their results; that He should elevate him above all others, honor him with His close presence and cause him to tour the worlds of the hereafter, and entrust him with numerous duties, such as teacher to all His servants, herald of the sovereignty of His Dominicality, announcer of those things pleasing to Himself, and expounder of the signs of creation in the palace of the world; that He should mark out his pre-eminence by conferring on him the decorations of miracles, and should make known through a decree like the Qur'an that that person is the truthful personal interpreter of the All-Glorious One.
“And so, by way of example, we have demonstrated through the telescope of this comparison one or two of the many instances of wisdom in the Ascension. Others may be thought of in the same way.
Second Comparison:
“If a knowledgeable and skilful person was to compose and write a miraculous book, and on each page of the book were as many truths as would fill a hundred books, and in each of its lines as many subtle meanings as would fill a hundred pages, and in each of its words as many truths as would fill a hundred lines, and in each of its letters as many meanings as would fill a hundred words, and if each of the meanings and truths of the book were to look to and point to the transcendent perfections of its miracle-displaying writer, he most certainly would not leave such an inexhaustible treasury closed and thus worthless. He would surely teach it to some others so that such a valuable book would not remain meaningless and vain; and so that his own hidden perfections become apparent and find their perfection, and his transcendent beauty be seen; and so that he too should be pleased, and that he should make himself loved. Moreover, he would cause someone to go through that wonderful book from the first page to the last and teach him all its meanings and truths so that the person would then teach them to others.
“And in exactly the same way, in order to display His perfections, His beauty, and the truths of His Names, the Pre-Eternal Inscriber has written the universe in such a way that all beings set forth and state His infinite perfections, Names, and attributes together with their innumerable facets and aspects. Of course, if a book’s meaning remains unknown, its value is reduced to nothing. But a book such as the universe each word of which contains thousands of meanings cannot lose its value or be made to do so. Since this so, the book’s Writer will certainly make it known and explain a part of it to each group according to their capacity. And He will instruct in all the contents of the book the individual who has the broadest and most comprehensive view, the most universal consciousness, and the greatest ability. Wisdom requires that He should take the individual on a most elevated journey in order to teach him all the contents of such a book and its universal truths. That is, He should cause him to travel from the furthest extreme of the levels of multiplicity, which is the first page, to the sphere of Divine Oneness, which is the final page. Thus, through this comparison, to a degree you can look at the exalted instances of wisdom in the Ascension.”
Our Beloved Prophet’s (PBUH) Explanation of the Isra and Miraj:
The distinguished Sahaba recounted this miracle, which expanded beyond the bounds of time and space: One night when our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was sleeping at the Hatim section of the Kaaba, Hazrat Jibril came and slit his chest. After washing our Holy Prophet’s (PBUH) chest with zamzam water, Hazrat Jibril filled his chest with wisdom and restored it to its previous state. Afterwards he brought a white mount, Buraq, had our Holy Prophet (PBUH) climb upon it, and escorted the Master of the Universe (PBUH) on the journey. Buraq’s leaps went beyond what the eye could see. Along with Hazrat Jibriil by his side, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) went to the Bayt-al-Maqdis. He saw all the prophets gathered there. He led them in prayer as they all prayed in congregation.
By leading them in prayer, it showed that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) was the inheritor of the origin of their Sharia (divine law.)
Three Cups That Were Offered
Three cups, one full of milk, the second full of sherbet, and the third full of water, were presented to our Holy Prophet (PBUH.) During this offering, our Holy Prophet (PBUH) heard a voice saying, “If he chooses the cup filled with water, then both he and his ummah will be free of any needs and will be content. If he takes the cup filled with sherbet, then he and his nation will fall into deprivation. If chooses the cup filled with milk then he and his nation will be given guidance.”
Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) took the cup containing milk and drank from it. Upon this Hazrat Jibril said, “O Muhammad, you have chosen the true and natural way. You have been given guidance, and so has your nation.” (8)
The Ascension to the Skies and the Meeting with the Prophets
During the Miraj, a staircase was built so that our Holy Prophet (PBUH) could ascend to the high stations in the Baytu’l-Maqdis. Both our Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Jibril (Gabriel PBUH) were placed upon it and they ascended together. They finally reached the Earth’s skies. Hazrat Jibril knocked on its door:
Someone asked, “Who is it?”
“Jibril!”
“Who is next to you?”
“Muhammad.”
“Has he been sent for?”
“Yes.”
Upon this, the sky’s door opened and they ascended upon these skies.
Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) saw someone seated there who had sets of shadows to his right and left. He laughed when he looked to his right and cried when he looked to his left. He said to our Holy Prophet (PBUH,) “Welcome, O Noble Prophet, O Noble Son!”
Our Holy Prophet (PBUH) asked Hazrat Jibriil (PBUH), “Who is he?”
Hazrat Jibril answered, “He is your father, Adam. The shadows to his right and left are the souls of his children. The ones on his right are destined for Heaven and the ones on his left are destined for Hell. When he looks to his right, he laughs. When he looks to his left, he cries.“
They ascended to the second station from there. The door opened and our Holy Prophet (PBUH) encountered Hazrat Yahya and Hazrat Isa (Jesus PBUH).
Hazrat Jibril said, “The men you see here are Yahya (John the Baptist PBUH) and Isa. Greet them.”
They exchanged greetings; Hazrat Isa and Hazrat Yahya said, “Welcome Noble Prophet, Noble Brother,” to our Holy Prophet (PBUH.)
Afterwards our Holy Prophet (PBUH) met Hazrat Yusuf (Joseph PBUH) on the third level, Hazrat Idris (Enoch PBUH) on the fourth, Hazrat Harun (Aaron PBUH) on the fifth, Hazrat Musa (Moses PBUH) on the sixth, and Hazrat Ibrahim (Abraham PBUH) on the seventh level. They all welcomed him and congratulated him on his miraj.