1-Me'raj - The Physical Ascension by the Prophet (S)

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1- Me'raj - The Physical Ascension by the Prophet (S)
The heavenly journey of the Prophet of Islam has been
straight-forwardly explained in two Chapters of Qur'an.
Glorified be He who carried His servant at night from Masjid al- Haram
to Masjid al-Aqsa, the precincts of which We have blessed so that We
may show him of Our signs. Verily He is the AllHearing, the
All-Seeing.
(al-Qur'an - Chapter 17, Verse 01)
Will you then argue with him about what he saw? He certainly saw him
(Jibraeel) during his other ascent to the Lote-tree (in the seven
heavens) near which is Paradise. When the tree was covered with a
covering, (Muhammad's) eyes did not deceive him,nor did they lead him
to falsehood. He certainly saw the greatest (signs) of the existence
of his Lord.
(al-Qur'an - Chapter Najm,Verses 12-18)
From the apparent reading of the verses, thephysical journey took
place with the Prophet riding on Buraq and began from Masjid al-Haram
to Masjid al-Aqsa - The Bayt al-Muqaddas. After the journey, the
Prophet said:
During the Me'raj, I met with the various Prophets; I saw the angels;
Heaven and Hell were shown to me; I was brought to the Arsh (Throne)
and reached to Sidratul-Muntaha. I also met people in heaven who were
being showered with the blessings of Allah and also I saw people in
hell who were being punished by the harshest types of punishment; I
was also informed as to why they were in such a state.
Faidh al-Kashani summarizes the above event very nicely in his book
Me'raj - The Night Ascension, and says:
The Prophet of Islam began his historical nightjourney, along with the
trusted protector of the revelation, the angel Jibraeel from the house
of Umm al-Hani, the daughter of his uncle andsister of
Amirul-Mu'mineen Ali, in the blessed city of Makkah.
With the aide of his steedal-Buraq, he traveled to Bayt al-Muqaddas,
which (at that time) was locatedin the country of Jordan and is also
known as Masjid al-Aqsa (the furthest Masjid). He disembarked at this
placeand in a very short period of time, visited various places inside
the Masjid - including Bayt al-Laham, the birthplace of Prophet Isa
al-Masih, in addition to the houses and other important places of the
various Prophets. In some of these places, he even recited two units
of prayer.
In the next stage (of his journey) he traveled from this spot to the
heavens, where he was witness to the celestial bodies and the entire
universe. He spoke with the spirits of the (previous) Prophets and the
angels; he saw from very close both Paradise and Hell; and the various
stages and levels of the people of paradise and those in hell. It was
these unknowns of the creation, the secrets of the origin of the
universe, the expanse of the world of creation, and the unlimited
power of Allah, the Highest, that he was given complete knowledge of.
Subsequently, he continued on with his journey until he reached to the
region known as Sidratul- Muntaha, a place that was covered ingrandeur
and magnificence. It was from this same path that he traversed that he
returned, and upon coming back, once again visited to Bayt
al-Muqaddas, proceeded on to Makkah and then to his home.
On the return trip, he came across a trade caravan from the tribe of
the Quraish who during their journey had lost one of their camels
which they were searching for. The Prophet drank from the water that
the people of the caravan had with them and by the rising ofthe
morning sun, reached back to the house of Umm al-Hani.
Upon his return, the Prophet told Umm al-Haniof the secrets (that he
saw) and that evening, ina gathering of the peopleof the Quraish,
lifted all the curtains of the secretsof the Me'raj and his journey
and opened their minds to this event. The word of his travels spread
from mouth to mouth amongst all the groups, and now more than ever,
the Quraish were upset (with him).
The Quraish, as was their old-time habit, belied theProphet and in the
gathering, a man stood up and asked if there was anyone in Makkah who
has seen Bayt al-Muqaddas so that he could ask the Prophet in regards
to the physical building.
Did the Prophet describe the physical particularities of Bayt
al-Muqaddas, rather, he even informed them of the event that took
place between Makkah and Bayt al-Muqaddas - and itwas not long after
that the travelers (of that caravan) reported the exact events (as had
occurred).
The Prophet Before Me'raj
The Prophet has said:
Every time I went to Me'raj (the minimum number of times reported for
ascents to Me'raj is two and the maximum reported is one hundred and
twenty.For more information, refer to Biharul- Anwar - Volume 18,
Pages 306-307 and 387. Allah told me to convey His Salaam to you and
to tell you that you are the Imam of His friends and the light of
those who obey Him.
O Ali! I congratulate you for this honor. (Biharul-Anwar - Volume 40,
Page 53. Amali of Saduq, Page 252)
Apparently, this has been the practice of Allah (SWT) since He created
the one light of the Prophet (S), the first and foremost creation, and
centuries before any other thing were created. In the form of light
and energy, the Prophet is said to have gone through many decades and
centuries of journey and transformation in which Allah taught the
Prophet first-hand many things and made him the most perfect human
being. In the end, the light was transferred into the human body and
the Prophet of Allah was born. No wonder, the Prophet has remarked
that he has moments with his creator ALLAH, that no angel or human can
withstand - the experience is so challenging.
al-Majlisi (1627) writes in his Hayatul-Qulub that Shaykh Saduq (AR)
states,on the authority of al-Sadiq (AS), that the Commander of the
Faithful declared that theMost High, Allah (SWT) created the Sacred
Light of Muhammad, the asylum of Prophecy, before the heavens or
earth, empyrean or throne, table of decrees or divine pen, paradise or
hell were formed. His light was also created previous to the creation
of any other Prophets by the period of 424,000 years.
Apparently, only Allah and the Infallible (AS) canexplain years here,
as during that period even time was not created yet.The Laws we see
today were not in effect in that era.
al-Majlisi (1627) continues the narration by Ali that:
In this light Allah formed twelve compartments; namely of Power,
Greatness, Grace, Mercy, Felicity, Munificence, Official Dignity,
Religious Direction, Prophecy, Exaltation, Majesty and Intercession.
Allah then stationed that intelligent light in the compartment of
power for the period of 12,000 years, and the journeys for this light
continued. In the last journey to the compartment of intercession, the
light cried for one thousand years - glory and thanks to the Mighty
Lord!
The Most High then formed twenty seas of light, in each of which were
a number of sciences that no one understands but Allah. Hethen
commanded the light of Muhammad to godown through the sea of Glory; of
Patience; of Humility; of Submission; of Contentment; of Faithfulness;
of Mildness; of Abstinence; of Fear; of Repentance; of Good works; of
Abundance; of Religious Direction; of Carefulness and of Modesty, till
he had passed through the twenty seas.
When he came forth fromthe last sea, the Most High addressed him
saying, O My Beloved! Best of My Prophets! First of My Creatures! Last
of My Apostles! Be the Advocate on the Day of Reward! That light (of
Muhammad) then fell into adoration, and when it arose, 1,24,000 drops
fell from the light, from everyone of which Allah made a Prophet, thus
completing the number of those sacred Prophets.
It is further reported thatthe Prophet, in the form of light and
energy, dwelt under the Empyrean 73,000 years, and then resided 70,000
years in Paradise. Afterwards, the light was rested another period of
70,000 years at Sidratul-Muntaha (The Prophet visited this very place
during the Me'raj in the human form). Emigratingform heaven to heaven
itarrived at length in the lowest of these celestial mansions, where
it remained until the Most High willed the creation of Adam, the
Father of Mankind.
Me'raj, a Physical Possibility - A Note on TheInfallible's Ability to
be Present and Respond to Millions of Prayer, Salutations, and
Requestsat the Same Time
al-Ridha (AS) has said:
One who denies (any of these) three things is not among our followers:
TheMe'raj, the questioning inthe grave and Intercession.
In brief, it is related in most reliable and authentic traditions that
on this blessed night, the Prophet was taken from his resting bed to
the celestial boundaries and the ends of the universe, and to a place
where even angels were not permitted to visit. He wasshown many
secrets of the world, met many Prophets of Islam, and several orders
and Islamic Laws were revealed and changed. Allthis happened in a very
little earth time and the Prophet returned to his bed the same night
and the whole event took place within a short time.
Moreover, as we shall note later, this kind of journey took place many
times and by other Infallible and humans as well. The grandson of Ali,
al-Sajjad (AS) was observed to travel hundreds of miles within seconds
to bury his father and relatives who were left barren in the desert of
Karbala, after the merciless massacre ofhis father. Ali (after his
physical death) was also present at an instant when his daughter
Zainab (AS) called for her the night after the killings of her brother
and many relatives in Karbala.
Further, Ali is also reported to be aware of the Ascension and the
possibility of his presencecannot be refuted. The Almighty could have
allowed Ali to experiencethe same journey, as both of them were ONE
light and energy. Mir Ahmad Ali (1988) writes that when the Prophet
(S) returned from his heavenly journey, before he could relate his
experiences, Ali began giving him the minutest details of the journey,
making it quite obvious that Ali was with the Prophet (S) throughout
his journey. The Prophet (S) was true in saying that him and Ali are
of one and the same light.
Ali and His Travel to the Other Worlds
As mentioned before, Mir Ahmed Ali (1988) writes that Ali had to
manifest himself many times and fulfill some divine plans and assist
the creation (animals, humans, jinn, trees or just about anything or
any matter) in so many different aspects of life in the different
worlds and in space. He quotes an authentic tradition (mentioned
earlier) from the Prophet (S) to have confirmed Ali's presence in
countless events that required his presence.
He says:
Ali Ibn Abi Talib is known as mazhar al aja-ib and mazhar al ghara-ib
because, as willed by Allah, he used to appear in different forms to
carry out divine plans under very special circumstances. These
twoepithets are exclusively reserved for Ali. Even today the true
believers invoke Allah to send him for help.
In every age, to many persons he comes personally to remove hardships.
Through his name great spiritual achievements are attained. The Holy
Prophet, and after him, Ali are acknowledged as the most superior
possessors of the spiritualpowers.
To be able to do this, he had to be living before any other thing that
was created. And his ability totravel long distance at shorter periods
of time and be physically presentmeans that his body was able to
transform into energy particles, travel atspeeds greater than the
speed of sound and light,and then transform himself back to physical
form - and all with the assistance of the Almighty. Ali could also
have accessed wormholes, or Allah just willed and Ali was there. These
aspects are explained in detail a bit later in this section only. In
any case, all the laws of physics and chemistry, and other laws of the
entire creation have an obligation to the Infallible as Allah willed
this from the beginning of creation.
In the book Kashful-Ghummah, as narrated byFaidh al-Kashani, from Umar
that when the Prophet (S) was asked as to what voice did Allah (SWT)
speak to him during the Journey, the Prophet replied:
My Lord spoke to me withthe voice of Ali Ibn Abi Talib and said, O
Ahmad! Iam an Entity that is not like anything else. I cannot be
compared to anything else and I knowall the secrets of your heart.
With the exceptionof Ali Ibn Abu Talib, you have no other close
friend. Thus, I speak to you with the voice of Ali Ibn Abi Talib so
that your heart will be at ease.
Schwartz and Russek, andseveral other established Physicists have
noted that energy waves can radiate out at the velocity of sound or
light (and even faster) into thefarthest reaches of the universe.
According to Jablonski (2000), everything, everyone, every action,
every thought, every feeling - ALL is energy. The laws ofenergy also
relate that energy may be transformed into matter and back to energy.
Based on these scientific facts, there was no difficulty in taking the
Prophet to the farthest ofthe cosmos and the Heavens on the Night of
Ascension. The physical Ascension was possible then and is possible
now,with the permission of the Almighty.
During the initial creation, the Prophet was pure energy and light and
was able to undergo the entire journey Allah assigned for him and
mentioned earlier. However, on earth the Prophet had a human body and
becausethe human body cannot withstand itself at speedsfaster than the
speed of light or sound, a good and reliable explanation is that the
Prophet's bodywas transformed into energy, traveled at extremely fast
speeds; then his energy-self transformed into matter so he could
experience everything in a physical manner - this process is termed as
dematerialization. He wasthen sent back into earth in a similar manner
and transformation.
Another good explanation is that the Prophet (S) could have easily
accessed a wormhole and ventured at extremely and unbelievably fast
speeds into the Heavens. Time on earth slowed down and was
significantly distorted. When the Prophet came back, it was as if just
a few moments had passed by, when he made remarkable journeys and met
many Prophets, and experienced lots of Allah's secrets of the
universe.
Ali and His Responsibilities to the Jinn Community
Besides the Prophet's Me'raj and sacred journey, Ali also had to
venture into other worlds of the Jinn and other communities (The jinn
are among the creatures that Allah (SWT)created). Allah (SWT) created
angels, jinn, mankind, animals, plants and others. Jinn have some
qualities like human beings. These qualities are intellect,
discrimination, freedom, and the power to choose between right and
wrong, between true and false, as well as between good and bad. Jinn
are created from fireof hot wind (al-Qur'an - Chapter 15, Verse 27)
andfrom smokeless fire (al-Qur'an - Chapter 55, Verse 15)
Ali had to journey severaltimes and fought many battles with the
unbelieving Jinns, and also solved their problems - he was the Leader
of all creations, not only humans. Therefore, it is a
scientificpossibility that Ali could have transformed himselfinto
energy and venture into those worlds at a speed faster than the speed
of sound and light.When he came back into the earth, only little time
had passed and he could resume his other responsibilities. This aspect
is well explained by science.
It is reported by Sayyid Lavasani that, Imam al-Khui (AR), one of the
greatest Shiite Mujtahid (Jurist) of his time, used to communicate
with the spiritual community (in particular the Jinn community) and
they often came to him so thathe can answer the questions from the
jinn.
Several narrations follow:
Muhaqiq Ardabili in the book, Manhaj al-Tahqiq Ila Sawa al-Tariq, from
Abu Saeed Khudri has narrated that one day, Abu Saeed Khudri was with
the Prophet (S) along with a group of hiscompanions in Abtah. While
the Prophet (S) was busy talking, a dust suddenly appeared from afar
and gradually came nearer until it stopped in front of the Prophet
(S). From the dust came a loud voice, which said
Peace be upon you O Messenger to all the worlds, O Seal of the Prophets!
He answered his greetingand asked him as to who he was? He replied:
O Messenger of God, I am a member of the people of the jinn. My people
bother me and even take possession of my pasture and water. This is
why I have sought your support and I beg you to send someone with me
to issue a just ruling for us. In your presence I promise and
guarantee the safe return of your messenger to you.
The Prophet (S) then asked as to what was his tribe? He replied:
I am Arafat bin Shimrakh from the tribe of jinn. Weused to approach
the heavens before your appointment to the Prophethood and we would
overhear some of the news and tell others about them. When God had
chosen you as a prophet we were barred from doing this, so we believed
and accepted your prophecy. There aresome of us who acted in a hostile
manner and did not believe, unfortunately, their number is too great
and we are unable to resist them. We hope that you would be generous
to us because you are a mercy to the worlds.
The Prophet (S) asked him to show them the form in which he was
created so they could see his face in that form. The Jinn said, I hear
and obey. At that very moment, he showed his face.
I saw a person coming out of the dust with an elongated head, with one
eye in a small eye-socket in the middle of his head, teeth like that
of a beast and his entire body was covered with hair like a bear.
The Prophet (S) made him promise to guarantee the safe return of
whomever he sent with him. He then turned toward Abu Bakr and said,
Stand up and go with your brother Arafat to see his tribe, askabout
their situation, issue a fair ruling for them and then come back. Abu
Bakr asked, O Messenger of God, wheredo they live? He answered, Under
the ground. Abu Bakr said, I cannot go through the earth and judge
among them when I don't understand their language.
Then, the Prophet (S) turned to Umar and asked him the same questions
as Abu Bakr didand made the same response. Thereupon the Prophet (S)
looked to the left and right and said, Where is the light of my eyes?
Where is the victor over my sorrow? Where is my son-in-law? Where is
the father of Hasan andHusain? Where is the payer of my debts?
Amirul-Mu'mineen, Ali (AS) answered, Here am I, here am I, O Messenger
ofGod! I am at your service, I will do whatever you command.
The Prophet (S) said, O Ali! Go with Arafat and ask about the
situation ofhis people and make a legal ruling between himand his
people.
Ali (AS) declared, I hear and obey, Ya Rasulullah!
Arafat then stood up and Amirul-Mu'mineen (AS) girded his sword and
went off with Arafat. AbuSaeed Khudri, Salman Farsi and a group of
companions set out behind them to see where the Jinn was taking him
and what the result would be. When Ali(AS) arrived between Safa and
Marwa they sawthe earth opened and Arafat entered the ground.
Amirul-Mu'mineen (AS) looked atthe companions and said,May God reward
you, andhe himself followed Arafat into the ground which once more
closed up after they disappeared within. The Companions went back to
where they had been concerned about the fateof Amirul-Mu'mineen (AS).
The next day the Prophet (S) said the morning prayer with the
companions and they sat together until noon but there was no news
aboutAli (AS).
The time for the noon prayer came, they prayedand still there was no
word of Ali (AS). The companions were very concerned, but the
hypocrites were happy and said to each other that the Jinn must have
tricked Ali (AS) and took him away to kill him. Thus they would be
free of the Prophet (S) pridinghimself on Ali (AS) and berelieved of
the latter's presence. The time of theafternoon prayer arrived,but
there was still no news of Ali (AS).
The Prophet (S) went to Safa and sat down talking all the while about
Ali. When the hypocrites felt sure that he had been killed they began
to rejoice at his misfortune. By the time the sun had begun to set the
companions were in a somber mood. Suddenly they saw the same ground in
which they had disappeared split apart, Arafat came out in front, Ali
(AS) cameout behind him with his famous sword DHULFIQAR.
The Companions gave a loud Takbir (the cry of ALLAHU AKBAR) and the
Prophet (S) got up and embraced Ali (AS). He kissed between the eyes
of Ali and said, Dear Ali! Why did you delay? You had us worried. He
answered:
O Messenger of Allah! When I arrived there I invited Arafat's family
to three things, the first of which was to bear witness that there was
no god but Allah and thatMuhammad (S) was the Messenger of Allah,
which they did not accept.
Second, they refused to pay the jizya poll tax (tax levied upon
non-Muslims living under the protection of the Islamic State).
Third, I ordered them to come to an agreement with him that they
wouldhave the use of the waterand pasture one day and he would have
the use ofthem on the other day but they did not accept this either.
So out of necessity I drewmy sword and fought them and I killed many
ofthem, then they shouted, al-Aman! (pardon). I said to them, Aman
would only be given with belief , so they were forced to believe in
God, the prophecy of the Messenger of Allah and they agreed to make
peace with Arafat. I reconciled them with each other and they shook
hands in fraternitydissipating the hostility among them. O Messenger
of God, I was busy with these tasks up till just now.
Arafat then came forward and declared:
O Messenger of Allah, mayGod reward you and strengthen Islam
throughyou for it has helped us secure our rights. Our tongues are not
able to thank you for what you have done. If it was not for this help,
there wouldnot have been any Islam among us.
And then the Jinn went away.
Muhaqiq Ardabili again narrates in his book, Shawahid al-Nabuwwa, from
ibn Abbas that when the Messenger of God (S) headed towards Makkah
from Hudaybiyyathe army was overcome by thirst by the time they
reached Juhfa. In that arid environment, the Prophet (S) said, The
trees you see in the distance have a well nearthem. Who among you will
take a group with him and go over there to bring us back some water
for us? One man got up and said, I am ready. He set out with a large
group towards the direction of the trees. When they got there a
blazing fire burst out andthey heard very loud and terrifying voices.
Fear overcame them and they came back and told the Prophet (S) what
had happened. He said, They are Jinn, if you had gone ahead you would
have been victorious and whoever goes and is not afraid I will
guarantee him Paradise.
Another man got up and set out with the same group. They had not gone
too far when the voices got louder and thefires increased in intensity
with a huge roar and there were flashes of lightning and the clash of
thunder. Fearonce again took hold of them and they came backwithout
reaching the well and the fear now started to affect the others.
The third time, a group known for their bravery pressed forward but as
soon as they saw heads without bodies and bodies without heads they
were forced to remain thirsty preferring to escape than to stay there.
When they came back to the Messenger of God (S) they told all they had
seen. The Prophet (S)called for the Commanderof the Faithful (AS)
saying, Go and save the men from the trials of thirst.
Salmat ibn Akwa said:
I was with the group all four times, but when the Commander of the
Faithful (AS) reached the trees and heard the men speaking out of fear
and terror, he ordered them to walk directly in his footprints and not
look around and he recited some lines of poetry which meant:
I seek refuge in Allah Who is the One and Only, He is the Creator of
jinn and men, and earth nd the sky, I don't care about fire and
thunder, I am not afraid of noises and voices like the others.
When they reached the well, they let the bucket down the well and
filled it but when they tried to pull it up the jinn cut the rope
leaving the bucket at the bottom. Imam Ali (AS) asked his men as to
who was ready to enter the well, when none came forward.
At that moment I saw that the Commander of the Faithful (AS) was ready
and willing to serve. He said, Be patient!Do not be afraid of anything
you see and hear! He climbed into the well and not long after he had
descended into it the sounds of singing and laughing were heard.
There were also noises that sounded as if some people had a blockage
intheir throats and were asphyxiating. Suddenly, the men heard a
sound, which made them think that Ali (AS) had fallen into the well.
They became very afraid and their patience changed into anxiety.
Then they heard the cry of ALLAHU AKBAR by the Commander of the
Faithful (AS) and they understood that he had drawn his sword to fight
with them, because the jinn began to utter the cries of al-Hazar and
al-Aman.
The boisterous laugh hadbeen converted into the sounds of weeping. The
Commander of the Faithful (AS) asked for a rope to be thrown into the
well, to which he tiedthe bucket full of water and then shouted to
pull it up! Thus did his men draw up bucket after bucket of water,
filling water skin after water skin with water until they were
completely satisfied and then he climbed out. Each of them had taken
one water skin while he had taken two. When they arrived at the trees
the fires and the dreadful voices had disappeared.
- to be contineud