Al-Isra Wal-Mi'raj
'A Fact or Fiction'
Part I
Introduction
Sultana Siraj
Mohammed S. Uddin
Al-Isra Wal-Mi'raj, translated into "the Journey by Night and the Ascension", is a miraculous phenomenon, far beyond science and human perception. It is the journey of the Prophet Muhammad SAAW from Masjid-al-Haram in Makkah to Masjid-al-Aqsa in Jerusalem, ascending to Sidratul-al-Muntaha, and then to the 'Arsh of AllahSWT, and returning back to Masjid-al-Haram, in only a part of the night:
"Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah), Who took His slave (MuhammadSAAW) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haram (in Makkah) to Masjid-al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem), the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (MuhammadSAAW) of Our Ayat (proof, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer." (Surah Al Isra, 17:1)
He The Prophet rode Buraq, guided by JibrilAS. In Jerusalem, he met all the past Prophets, and led them in prayer, then he ascended through the seven heavens. During his ascent, he was shown many signs of Allah's creation beginning with inception of creation. On his way back from Masjid-al-Aqsa to Masjid-al-Haram, he saw three familiar caravans proceeding towards Makkah, which arrived in Makkah in a few days afterwards. The Holy Qur'an affirms all that he saw:
"Will you then dispute with him (MohammadSAAW) about what he saw (during the Mi'raj)?. And indeed he (MuhammadSAAW) saw him (Jibril) at a second descent, near the Sidrat-al-Muntaha, ; near it is the Paradise of abode." (Surah An-Najm, 53:12-16).
In order to show him secrets of creations that belong to the realm of Al-Ghaib, AllahSWT brought the immensity of time to zero dimension, bringing the past and future of creation to the present. Of the Al-Ghaib, Prophet's vision included knowledge of Barzakh and scenarios of future punishment. He had the vision of the "Shajarataz-Zaqqum", the bitter tree that grows from the bottom of Hellfire. Believing in these scenarios is a matter of trial for mankind: a matter of Faith for some, and a matter of dispute for others:
"And remember when We told you: "Verily! Your Lord has encompassed mankind round about." We granted the Vision which We showed you, but as a trial for mankind—also the Cursed Tree (mentioned in the Qur'an: We put terror (and warning) into them, but it only increases their inordinate transgression!" (Surah Al Isra' 17:60)
"Is that (Paradise) better entertainment[L1] or the tree of Zaqqum? Truly, we have made it (as) a trial for the Zalimun. Verily, it is a tree that springs out os the bottom of Hell-fire." [Surah As-Saffat, 37:62-64]
A Perennial Miracle: The event of Al-Isra Wal-Mi'raj encompasses the mystery of time, space, and speed, far beyond the modern-day scientific understanding. It is one of the greatest miracles that happened to the Holy ProphetSAAW. The fact of the matter is that on a spiritual level, the Qur'anic and the Hadith accounts of Al-Isra Wal-Mi'raj confirm its authenticity beyond any, and all, shreds of doubt.
On the other hand, in the absence of an immediate, and credible scientific proof, believing in it, was a matter of Faith for some, and a matter of doubt and dispute among others.
It was a matter of doubt and dispute because the ascension was against the general understanding of gravity, and the speed had to be beyond any known speed of an object at that time. However, today, in the days of air-travel and space exploration, it is easy to understand how the pull of gravity is overcome by the power applied to the space craft. But the mystery remains unsolved because the Prophet Muhammad SAAW was neither in a space ship, nor he was he dressed in a space suit.
It was also difficult to understand the immensity of speed that was necessary to reach the Sidrat-al-Muntaha [L2] in that short period of time. Although an object traveling at the speed of light could presumably cover some of that unknown distance, but the object, to achieve that speed, had to be converted to energy (photon). So, the question of speed still remains a myth, because the Holy ProphetSAWS traveled in his physical[L3] body with intact sensory perceptions.
Time and Year of the event:
According to the Hadith scholars, the event of Al-Isra Wal-Mi'raj took placeis set on the night of 27th Rajab, just over a year before Prophet's migration from Makkah to Medina, in the year 621 CE. (http://www.islamicity.org/5843/isra-and-miraj-the miraculous-night-journey/)
Reflections:
Symbolically, it represents Allah's Immense Power with respect to the 'realm of time' and His Control over the essence of space, time and speed, in showing His Prophet SAAW a picturesque depiction of the vastness of His creation, within a that period of time (viz. from midnight to Fajr time, say about six hours). At the same time, it is also a reflection of His love and compassion for His beloved MessengerSAAW, in energizing him morally, and providing him with emotional support, at a time when he was subdued weighed down with extreme sorrows on multiple fronts of his life:
1. The demise of his beloved wife, KhadijaRA (mother of his six children, the first believer in his prophethood, and the staunchest supporter for his Mission)
2. Active opposition from Quraysh to his preaching of Tauhid
3. The slow progress of preaching among his own people, the Quraish
4. The threat on his life, and the mental and physical tortures and humiliation in the hands of his bondsmenkinsmen, the Quraish, in Makkah and Taif.
AllahSWT was fully aware of his Prophet's heart and mind! A call to visit Him, was a consolation and comfort to his heart. Such Divine love and empathy, and vision of the secrets of creation, above the mundane actions of ignorant people, were a much greater remedy to cure the pain and sorrow in the heart and mind of the Holy ProphetSAAW. Therefore, AllahSWT took him away from his daily life to show him some of the miracles of creations: "Glory be to Him, Who took His slave (MuhammadSAAW for a journey…, to show him some of His Signs." (Surah Al-Isra, 17:1)
A Unique Event:
The journey was the result of a unique invitation, a journey which was never permitted to, nor undertaken by, any human being other than Muhammad, the Prophet of AllahSWT. The invitation was an honor and privilege of the highest order, ever given to any created entity, be it human or angel. The uniqueness of the invitation is evident from the repeated enquiries of JibrilAS by the gate-keeping angels of the heavens (skies): "Has he been called?" [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol.9, Hadith number 608, page 449, narrated Anas bin MalikRA].
The journey was not a vision or a dream. On the contrary, the Holy ProphetSAAW made the journey "in body and soul", and "not in body or soul", as the verse clearly indicates: "He (AllahSWT) took His slave for journey by night". It was the 'whole of him' that made the journey. He (the Prophet Muhammad SAAW) also saw (direct visual experience) some of the Signs of Allah's creation:
"Glorified (and Exalted) be He (Allah), Who took His slave (MuhammadSAAW) for a journey by night from Al-Masjid-al-Haram (in Makkah) to Masjid-al-Aqsa (in Jerusalem), the neighborhood whereof We have blessed, in order that We might show him (MuhammadSAAW) of Our Ayat (proof, signs, etc.). Verily, He is the All-Hearer, the All-Seer." (Surah Al Isra, 17:1)
Further support in favor of "body and soul" is derived in a lengthy Hadith [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol.9, Hadith number 608, page 449], narrated by Anas bin Malik and others. After a lengthy deliberation, the Hadith concludes with the following words: "…And when he (MuhammadSAAW) woke up, he was in Masjid-al-Haram (Ka'bah)"- indicating physical presence. Similarly, throughout the journey, when the gate-keeper angels asked Jibril: "Has he been called?" indicating a person, a person in body and soul.
To sum up the account, when the angels approached the ProphetSAAW, he was lying down in a state of rest in Masjid-al-Haram, with his eyes closed, but with his heart awake (like all other Prophets; their hearts do not go to sleep). When he was taken up, he was in body and soul, and when he returned, he was in the same state as he washad been, before the ascension. In his journey, he saw the Signs of AllahSWT with his physical eyes (as he described next morning what he saw the night before). So, it was not a dream, but it was a physical phenomenon with direct visual experience.
The Preparation for the Journey:
The event of Al-Isra Wal-Mi'raj was an extraordinary assignment, therefore, the Prophet Muhammad SAAW
had to be specially prepared physically and spiritually, in anticipation of the supernatural stress of this august journey, far beyond the limit of tolerance of ordinary human body.
It was JibrilAS, under the Command of AllahSWT, who prepared him both physically and spiritually: Physically he had previously underwent undergone "Open chest and abdominal surgery" to get rid of all physical impurities, and spiritually, JibrilAS took out his heart, made some physical changes (under Divine Instructions), and finally washed the heart and abdomen with Zam-zam water, put the purified heart back into the chest, and filled the heart and the vessels[L4] with Faith and Wisdom.
Such previous preparation was necessary to be in the Presence of the Irresistible AllahSWT. In spite of such extensive preparation, the Prophet Muhammad SAAW did not see AllahSWT, because of the Veils of Light (Ibn Majah, Wikipedia.org), that separated him from AllahSWT, but he did speak with AllahSWT, from behind those curtains of Light:
"It is not given to any human being that Allah should speak to him, unless (it be) by Revelation, or from behind a veil, or (that) He sends a Messenger to reveal what He wills by His leave. Verily, He is Most High, Most Wise." (Surah Ash-Shura, 42:51)
QatadaRA added to the above Hadith [Sahih Al-Bukhari, Vol.9, Hadith number 608, page 449, narrated Anas bin MalikRA], narrated by Anas bin Malik and others:
The Holy ProphetSAAW said: ["While I was lying down in Al-Hatim (or may be in Al-Hijr[L5] ), three angels came to me and one said to his companions: "The one who is in the middle of the three". After identifying him, the angels left. But then in a short while they came back, but this time with JibrilAS, who revealed to him about his upcoming journey:
"By the star when it goes down (or vanishes). Your companion (MuhammadSAAW) has neither gone astray nor has erred. Nor does he speak of (his own) desire. It is only Revelation revealed. He has been taught (this Qur'an) by one mighty in power [Jibril]." (Surah An-Najm, 53:1-5)
(Sahih Muslim, 1626, book 1, Hadith 317, Sunan An-Nasa'i, Book 5, Hadith 5)
Regarding the previous heart-purification incident:
The ProphetSAWS continued and said: Jibril took me to the bank of Zam-zam and opened me up. Then he took out my heart and brought a gold tray, and a vessel filled with faith and wisdom. He washed my heart with Zam-zam water, then filled it up (with faith and wisdom from the vessel), and put it (the heart) back (in the chest), then the incision was closed…")]. (Bukhari; Kitab-ut-Tauhid; Narration of Abu Hurairah):
The depth of the miraculous nature of Al-Isra Wal-Mi'raj is far beyond human comprehension, even with the full scientific understanding of time, speed, space, and energy. Since it is a supernatural phenomenon, it was difficult to extrapolate a phenomenon of this magnitude into an ordinary human perception till the modern science discovered the equation of time, space, and speed.
The scientific concept of Time, Space, Speed, Light, and Energy
The perception of time varies in different realms of existence,. like on On earth, the perception of time is different than that on another planet, and time in Divine Realm is different than that in the realm of creation. Space is a function of time and speed, while speed is the rate of movement of an object per unit of time.
The fastest speed known to men, is the speed of light, @ 186,286 miles per second. That is the speed of light from our Sun to our blue planet, the earth. The light, at that speed covers the distance of 93 million miles in eight minutes. The natural light or the solar light and energy are connected, and our survival depends on the energy delivered by solar light.
Solar light is a flow of photons, which are generated from the fusion reaction of two hydrogen atoms to produce helium. The reaction also produces immensely large amounts of heat energy. The mass of helium, produced in the reaction, is slightly less than the mass of two hydrogen atoms, because a part of the two hydrogen- mass is converted into energy, which is represented by the equation:
H + H = He + E (energy)
Hydrogen and helium do not leave the sun, but what leaves is the beam of light, produced by continuous flow of photons from the sun. Photon itself is a piece of energy, without a mass, but acts like a particle; it has momentum and moves at the speed of light (re: Symmetry magazine.org).
The energy liberated by a particle of matter is represented by:
e=mc2 e=energy, m=mass, c=velocity of light
The Space (the universe) and its immensity:
Human intelligence cannot fathom the vastness of the universe. By comparison, the solar system as vast as it is, is only a minuscule part of the Milky Way Galaxy, which, together with thousands of other galaxies, constitutes the first cosmic system, the lower heaven, the width and depth of which cannot be measured by the velocity of light. It is estimated by the study of cosmic microwave background radiation (CMB), that can take the scientists to the limit horizon, that signals the very beginning of the expansion of the space.
Space is a function of time that began with explosion of material at "singularity" (the Big Bang), that occurred approximately 13.8 billion years ago. Since then, it has been a continuous expansion of space. The Holy Qur'an refers to this phenomenon in the following verse:
"With Power, did We construct the heaven. Verily, We are able to expand the vastness of space thereof." [Surah Adh-Dhariyat, 51:47]
The study of cosmic microwave background (CMB) has led to the estimation of the size of the visible universe to be 93 billion light years across, and the size of the entire universe to be at least 7 trillion light years across (considering the invisible universe being at least 250 times the size of the visible universe)]. [futurism.com/what-lies-beyond-the-edge-of-the-observable-universe].
This is the extent of only one cosmic system. The ProphetSAAW had to traverse seven such systems in order to reach his destination, each with increasing diameter, separated by a distance of five hundred years of journey ["Their elevation is indeed like what is between the heavens and the earth, a distance of five-hundred years.", [Jami' at-Tirmidhi 2540, book 38, hadith 18, English translation Vol.4 Book 12, Hadith 2540]
To cover such infinite distance, in such a short period of time (only a part of the night), would have been impossible without the Power of AllahSWT, Who can indeed shrink the universe or expand it, as He wills, or ascend the ProphetSAWS to Sidrat al-Muntaha at angelic pace.
Mi'raj and Space Travel:
Miraculous nature of Mi'raj is better understood against the backdrop of physical and physiological impacts of modern-day space travel.
Body functions depends on availability of oxygen, which is taken up by the lungs, in exchange for exhaled carbon dioxide. In the body, cellular respiration needs oxygen to burn glucose to release energy, carbon dioxide and water. Oxygen uptake depends onof partial pressure of oxygen in the atmospheric air. Oxygen concentration in room air is about 20%, highest being at the sea level. The atmospheric pressure as well as the oxygen pressure decreases rapidly above 3.5 miles, and virtually disappears at and beyond 62 miles above earth's surface, the end of earth's troposphere.
Brenden Byrne (the astronaut) said: "Spaceflight takes a tremendous toll on the human body. Astronauts are pelted with increased radiation exposure, which could have long-term effects, like cancer. Floating in space changes the human body, leading to bone and muscle loss. It also alters the physical shape of the eyes of astronauts, causing blurry vision." [npr.org, 2022/04/08, KERA, How Space Trave affects The Human Body]
On a short-term basis, air travel can impact human body in more than one way: tiredness, prolonged weakness, nausea, light headedness, audio-visual difficulties, all because of hypoxia and decrease in atmospheric pressure. Because of these serious impacts, it requires month-long preparation before starting the space journey, and acclimatization in the space station, and month-long recuperation after the return to the earth.
The ProphetSAAW made the sacred journey in 'body and soul', and he traveled far beyond the troposphere surrounding the earth, where the partial pressures of oxygen and the atmosphere were virtually nonexistent. He was riding the Buraq, not a pressurized air craft, nor a space ship. Yet, his body and mind miraculously tolerated this prolonged deprivation of oxygen and the stress of journey, without any ill-effect on his body and mind.
Prophet's journey was not an ordinary plane/space craft-journey, and yet, unlike the astronauts, he had received comparatively very little physical preparation for the journey.
Continued on part II
[L1]not an appropriate translation
[L2]Here, or when mentioned previously, identify this place and its significance.
[L3]Is this the only possibility? Maybe there is another kind of body that we don't normally experience...
Did anyone see the Prophet's body during this "time"? Either in Masjid Al-Haram or absent from that spot?
[L4]other organs or veins??
[L5]It would be appropriate to inform the reader about these places
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