ASCENSION OF HIS HOLY AND PROPHETIC LORDSHIP—U. W. B. —HIS ATTAINING THE DIGNITY OF INTIMACY, AND HIS HEARING DIVINE WORDS CONCERNING THE MYSTERIES OF BOTH WORLDS.
The U’lâma are at variance how long before the flight, in what month, and in what locality the ascension took place; but numerous traditions concerning the mysteries and wonders unfolded to his holy and prophetic lordship— u. w. b.—during that journey have been recorded in many books. Some authentic historians allege that the prophet went twice to the upper world, and was on both occasions honoured by conversing with the Lord of lords without the intervention of Jebrâil. Sheikh A’li Abu Sinâ composed a treatise explaining the ascension, which contains philosophical maxims and unheard-of narratives, but as this abridgment cannot embrace all that has been written on the subject by learned and pious men, only an epitome of that miraculous event will be given; but He [i.e., God] vouchsafes protection and grace.
Some traditionalists, who wrote biographies of the prince of the righteous, have recorded that one night his lordship was about to fall asleep in the mansion of Omm Hâni, the sister of A’li Bin Abu Tâleb—u. w. b.—when Jebrâil arrived with Mikâil, and said: ‘Arise, Muhammad; the Omnipotent calls thee.’
| Verses: | In the morning he [Muhammad] propagated the Faith; In the evening he ascended to heaven. One night he left this perishable world, When Jebrâil in the house of Omm Hâni From the heavenly tabernacle arrived, Bringing Borâq (who is swift as lightning) from the light; His aspect was lovely, like that of a garden, His whole form was handsome to behold. Was there ever a cloud brighter than in the month of Nisân, Was there ever a breeze gentler than in the month of Nisân? He was adorned with jewels like the sea, As no one sitting in a boat would suspect; His back was strong, his action heavy, his step light, Far-seeing in travel, and swift in motion. |
It is recorded in several books of traditions that Jebrâil first opened the breast of his lordship from above till down to the pubes, and that Mikâil washed the veins, the throat, and the interior of his blessed breast with water from the well Zamzam in order to divest him from every quality unsuitable for a prophet. They brought a golden dish filled with religion and wisdom, emptied it into the heart, and put it back into its place. Then Jebrâil caught hold of his noble hand and led him out. When they arrived between Ssafâ and Marwah he beheld a quadruped smaller than a mule and larger than a donkey. His face resembled the countenance of a man, and his breast looked as if it were of red rubies; his back was of white pearls, and he had two wings large enough to conceal his legs. Jebrâil exclaimed: ‘Muhammad, mount him; for this is Borâq, whom all prophets rode.’ Then Jebrâil took hold of the stirrup, and Mikâil of the bridle. His lordship the apostle—u. w. b.— wanted to mount; Borâq, however, frisked, and Jebrâil said: ‘Borâq, no prophet dearer to God than Muhammad has ever bestrode thee!’ These words disconcerted Borâq, and made him perspire. Accordingly he bowed down, the prophet mounted him, and they departed to the farther temple [i.e., to Jerusalem]. On the road he was offered two vessels, one of which contained milk and the other wine, but the apostle of God selected the milk, and Jebrâil said: ‘Hadst thou chosen the wine, the people would have fallen into error.’ In the same manner [to tempt him] a man on the right side exclaimed: ‘O Muhammad, stop! I want to ask thee something.’ But the prophet paid no attention. The same question was heard on the left, but met with the same indifference. Farther on a woman, decked out with ornaments, was sitting near the road and also shouted: ‘Stop, O Muhammad!’ But the lord of apostleship—u. w. b.—heeded her not. After passing all these individuals, he asked Jebrâil who they were, and the latter replied: ‘The first man was a Jew, and if thou hadst answered him thy people would, after thy decease, have become Jews. The second was a Christian, and hadst thou replied to him thy people would have turned Christians. That elegant female was the world, and if thou hadst conversed with her all thy adherents would have preferred this world to the next.’ After they had travelled for some time, Jebrâil said: ‘Alight, O Muhammad, for this is the pleasant city [Madinah] which will become the place of thy exile.’ Accordingly his lordship did as he was bidden, performed his devotions, remounted Borâq and continued his journey. When they arrived near Ttûr Sina and Beit-ul-lahm, which was the birthplace of I’sa [Jesus] —u. w. b.—he alighted and held his prayers also in that place, at the request of Jebrâil. On reaching the further temple [i.e., Jerusalem], a company of Cherubim angels, who had come to meet him, addressed him in the following words: ‘Salutations to thee, O first, O last, O assembler!’ The prophet asked for the signification of this greeting, and Jebrâil replied: ‘Thou wilt be the first man resuscitated from the garden of paradise; thou wilt be the first man whose intercession is accepted; and thou art the last of prophets. On the appointed day the resurrection of all mankind will begin with thee.’ Then Jebrâil took his lordship down from Borâq and tethered the latter to a ring of a door in the farther temple, to which the prophets of former times had fastened their quadrupeds, and that door is called ‘the ascension gate.’ When he entered the temple he beheld a number of prophets, and at a hint from Jebrâil he went forward and held his orisons with two prayer-flexions, the prophets imitating his example. After that Jebrâil took him to the desert and showed him a ladder, the like of which in beauty no mortal eye had ever beheld. Its top was in heaven, and its foot [on earth] was surrounded by angels. The lord of the apostolate—u. w. b.—approached the said ladder and ascended by means of it [to heaven]. According to another tradition, however, Jebrâil took that prince upon his wings, conveyed him to the first heaven, and knocked at the door. Voices asked: ‘Who is that?’ Jebrâil replied: ‘I.’ They continued: ‘Who is with thee?’ He said: ‘Muhammad.’ They queried: ‘Has he been called?’ He rejoined: ‘Yes.’ Then the door was opened, and when his lordship mounted to the heaven of the world, he beheld a man of full stature. Jebrâil said: ‘This is thy father Adam; salute him.’ When his lordship had done so, Adam—peace be on him—returned the greeting, saying: ‘Welcome, pious son and pious prophet.’ On Adam’s right side there was a door, from which a pleasant, and on his left, one from which an unpleasant, odour issued. Whenever Adam cast a glance on the former he laughed, and when he looked at the latter he wept. His holy and apostolic lordship—u. w. b.—asked Jebrâil about the door, and was told that the one on the right was the entrance to paradise, opened to the souls of saved mortals, and the cause of his pleasure; whereas the door on the left led to hell, reserved for the souls of the condemned, and was a cause of grief to him.
From the heaven of the world his lordship went with Jebrâil up to the second heaven. There, as in all of the following heavens, the latter had some conversation as before at the gates with the angels, and obtained admission. In the second heaven his lordship saw two youths, and on his asking Jebrâil who they were, he was informed of one of them being I’sa [Jesus] the son of Maryam [Mary], and the other Yahya [John the Baptist], the son of Zakria, whom he was told to salute. He complied, and they answered: ‘Welcome, pious brother, pious prophet.’ In the third heaven they met Yusuf [Joseph], in the fourth Edris [Enoch], and in the fifth Harûn [Aaron], repeating and receiving the same greetings as before. In the sixth heaven his lordship beheld Mûsa [Moses], and departed after saluting him; but Mûsa commenced to weep, and on the angels asking him for the reason thereof, he replied: ‘Because after me a youth has received a mission, more of whose followers will enter paradise than of mine.’ He wept, however, not from envy, but on account of the paucity of his followers. In the seventh heaven he beheld Ebrahim [Abraham], and Jebrâil exclaimed: ‘This is thy ancestor.’ His lordship saluted him, and after replying, Ebrahim said: ‘Welcome, O pious son! O pious prophet!’ There is a tradition that his holy and prophetic lordship said: ‘I saw a man whose hair was half gray sitting on a chair near one of the gates of paradise. Around him were some persons with countenances as white as paper, and others who had a touch of darkness in their complexions; but they washed themselves in a river and came out from it as white as the former. When I asked Jebrâil for an explanation, he said: “This is thy ancestor Ebrahim, and the people who had a touch of darkness in their complexions are such as have with their good works mixed bad ones, but have repented, and God the Most High has accepted their repentance.”’ There is a legend that the prince of existences said: ‘I beheld Ebrahim leaning against the heavenly tabernacle, which is an edifice in the seventh heaven opposite to the house of the [celestial] Ka’bah, and is daily visited and circumambulated by seventy thousand angels. When they go out they do not return again, because [their numbers are so great that] their turn never comes again. After that I was taken to the lote-tree, which marks the boundary.* I beheld a tree the fruits whereof were as large as rocks, and its leaves as big as the ears of elephants. The residence of Jebrâil is in the centre of that tree. At its foot I perceived four brooks, two of which were open, and two concealed. On asking Jebrâil about these streamlets, he declared that the secret ones flowed into paradise, and that the two open ones were the Nile and the Euphrates.’ After passing the lote-tree Jebrâil stepped back, allowing his lordship to precede him, until they arrived near a curtain, from the rear of which an angel protruded his hand, and took up that prince. But Jebrâil remained behind in this place, and on the prophet’s asking him for the reason, he replied: ‘Every one of us has his appointed station, beyond which he cannot pass, and if I go farther I shall be burnt.’
Verses: He so quickly went on the journey of approach
That Jebrâil lagged behind at the lote-tree;
So the prince of the holy house said:
‘O bearer of revelation,* ascend higher!’
He replied: ‘I cannot proceed farther,
I dread to use my wings farther;
For if I fly one atom higher
The lustre of the glory will burn my wings.’
Accordingly his lordship the apostle—u. w. b.—advanced alone and passed beyond the curtains. When Borâq became fatigued, a green Refref,* exceeding sunlight in brilliancy, made its appearance, upon which his lordship the apostle—u. w. b.—took his seat, and travelled until he arrived at the foot of the great throne. Then the allocution ‘Approach nearer!’ was heard, and a drop of some fluid from the throne touched his blessed forehead, whereby he became imbued with the wisdom of ancient and of modern times, and the oftener the words ‘Approach nearer’ were repeated at short intervals, the more his dignity and proximity increased. He first touched the lowest step, and then ascended till he arrived very close, and heard the words ‘Salute thy Creator,’ and having been inspired with the following words, he said: ‘Blessed salutations and the most excellent benedictions to God, the Lord of glory.’ To which he received the answer: ‘Greeting to thee, O prophet, with the mercy of God and His blessings! Salutation to us, and to the pious servants of God!’ When the angels heard these words, they exclaimed: ‘We testify that there is no God but Allah, and that Muhammad is the apostle of Allah!’ After that, great mysteries and numerous conversations took place; fifty prayer-flexions in orisons during one day and night became obligatory upon Muhammad and his people; he was distinguished by receiving various Divine favours, and was then allowed to depart. When he arrived at the station of Jebrâil, that faithful spirit congratulated his lordship, took him to the gardens of paradise, and having shown him everything in detail, he made him see hell, where his lordship beheld with his own eyes the torments and punishments of the damned. On returning he again encountered Mûsa, who asked: ‘What has been made obligatory upon thy people?’ The prince of apostles replied: ‘Fifty prayer-flexions in orisons each day and night.’ Mûsa rejoined: ‘I have known mankind before thee, and have tried the children of Esrâil. Thy people are much weaker than the ancient nations, and unable to execute fifty prayer-flexions. Return to the place of monotheism, and ask for a diminution.’ He complied, and when he returned he brought the information that the fifty prayer-flexions had been reduced to five. Mûsa, however, instigated the lord and refuge of apostleship—u. w. b. to go again and to ask for a reduction. His lordship replied: ‘I have returned to God till I was ashamed. Now I assent and comply.’
After that the apostle of Allah again returned to the house of Omm Hâni. According to the statement of Muhammad Bin Esahâq, four hours of the night had elapsed from the prophet’s departure till his return. The writer of these lines says that what has been recorded in these pages is only [like] one word from a book, one pearl from an ocean, and a compendium from a detailed account, in comparison to what chroniclers and authors have related about the events of the ascension; but as one of those most excellent individuals has separately recorded the phenomena of it, and his tradition appeared to discerning persons to be exquisite—Allah, however, knows best whether it is correct —it has here been inserted as follows: The prince of all creatures—upon whom be the most excellent of blessings— spoke thus: ‘One night I was sleeping in the house. It was a night of thunder and lightning, when no quadruped roared, nor any birds uttered sounds, nor was anyone awake. I was in a state between sleep and wakefulness when Jebrâil arrived in his own form, with such glory and brightness as to illuminate the whole house. He was whiter than snow, and his countenance beauteous to look at; his hair was curled, and his forehead inscribed with the words: “There is no God but Allah, and Muhammad is the apostle of Allah.” His eyes were handsome and his brows slender. He had seventy thousand rays of red and white rubies [as a nimbus of glory?], and three hundred feathers of brilliant pearls. He approached me, took me in his arms, kissed my eyes, and said: “O sleeper, how long wilt thou sleep?” Hereon I became frightened, and leapt up, but he said: “Be quiet. I am thy brother Jebrâil.” I asked: “O brother, has an enemy prevailed?” He rejoined: “I shall not surrender thee.” I continued: “What am I to do?” He said: “Arise, collect thy senses, and follow me.” Accordingly I walked after him until I perceived Borâq standing. He was taller than a donkey and smaller than a horse; his face was like the face of a man; his fore and his hind legs were high, and when I desired to mount him he would not allow it. Jebrâil, however, aided me until he subdued him. When we had started and passed the heights of Mekkah, a person came after me, and exclaimed: “Halt till I reach thee.” Jebrâil, however, interposed: “Do not speak, but go on.” When we had left him in our rear, Jebrâil said: “If thou hadst allowed him to reach thee, the love of the world would have found entrance into thy heart.” We progressed until we arrived in Jerusalem, when a person met us who had three goblets, which he offered to me. One of them contained milk, the other water, and the third wine. By the advice of Jebrâil, I selected the milk and drank it. When we reached the farther temple [of Jerusalem], and entered it, a Muedhdhin was calling the people to prayers. I preceded, whilst a company of angels and of prophets followed my example. When I had terminated my prayers I saw prophets standing at my right and at my left, all of whom saluted me. I beheld a ladder, the steps whereof were alternately of silver and of gold. By means of it I ascended into the heaven of the world, where I beheld Esma’il [Ishmael] sitting on a chair of light, with a company of men standing around him. I saluted him, and advanced to the second heaven, where I beheld two angels of perfect beauty and stately presence, one half of whom was of [the nature of?] snow and the other of fire; still, they neither commingled nor quarrelled with each other. They saluted me, saying: “Glad tidings to thee! For all blessings are with thee.” When I arrived in the third heaven I saw an angel the like of whom in beauty and elegance I had never beheld. He was complacently and blandly sitting on a chair of light, with numbers of other angels around him. Arriving in the fourth heaven, I perceived a celestial spirit sitting with great dignity on a throne of light. I saluted him. He replied with pride, and on account of his haughtiness he neither smiled nor spoke with anyone. He said to me: “O Muhammad, I see all blessings and felicities united in thee. I congratulate thee!” After reaching the fifth heaven I was made aware of hell. I beheld [from a distance] a black, dark, and fearful region, and I saw Mâlek* sitting at the side thereof engaged in punishing and tormenting the wicked. He had wings and hair. When I arrived in the sixth heaven I perceived an angel sitting on a chair of light praising and magnifying the Lord. His wings and hair were inlaid with rubies and emeralds. I saluted him, and he greeted me, congratulating me on the prosperity and happiness that awaited me; and he also said: “I constantly utter blessings upon thee.” When I reached the seventh heaven I beheld an angel sitting on a chair of red rubies. Not everyone could approach him, but whoever did so was well received. I saluted him, and he replied, pronouncing benedictions. When I arrived near the final lote-tree I saw a world full of brilliancy and splendour. It was so bright that it dazzled my eyes. Wherever I looked round I perceived heavenly angels engaged in worshipping the inscrutable Creator. I asked: “O Jebrâil, who are these people?” He replied: “They have never any other occupation besides worshipping God. They have their places, which they never leave. There is not one of us but has his appointed place.” As I passed them by I saw four rivers, the water of each being of a different colour, and many angels, who were singing hallelujahs and praises, all engaged in their appropriate modes of adoration. As I passed them by I saw a boundless ocean, the end whereof I was [of course] utterly unable to see. Near it I perceived a large river and an angel pouring water from the ocean into it, whence it was flowing to all places. Near that ocean I saw also a great valley, larger than any I had ever beheld, and although I looked much, I could see neither the beginning nor end thereof. At the side of the valley I perceived an exalted, glorious, and refulgent angel, who called me to himself. When I arrived near him I asked: “What is thy name?” He replied: “Mikâil; I am the greatest of angels. Ask me about anything which is difficult to thee, and about anything thou longest for, that I may reply to all thy queries.” I replied: “I suffered much trouble and fatigue till I reached this place. My intention in coming here was to behold and to know God the Most High. Guide me to Him that I may attain my wish, derive the greatest profit therefrom, and then return to my house. Then that angel took me by the hand and led me beyond several thousands of curtains, taking me to a world where I saw naught resembling the things I had seen in these worlds [or heavens I had visited]. When we reached the Lord of glory I heard the words: “Approach me and come nearer.” Then I lost the faculty of motion and of sensual perceptions. I felt all happiness and ecstasy, forgetting everything from awe of the Lord. Everything I knew and felt was so intensified by the delight of the happiness in approaching Him that I might have been considered as beside myself. I smiled at the proximity, and trembled, but the words “Come nearer” were heard. I trembled, whereon I again heard the words: “Fear not. Compose thyself.” When I advanced nearer the salutation of the Lord reached me in sounds the like of which I had never heard before. Then the allocution came: “Say praises.” I replied: “I am unable. Thou art such as Thou hast Thyself said.” The words were then heard: “Say whatever thou desirest and whatever thou seekest.” I said: “I crave permission to put questions that my doubts may be removed.”’ Then his lordship the apostle proposed his doubts and obtained the solution thereof. Then also the principles of the religious law, such as fasting, prayers, etc., were settled for the religious and civil government of the world. The prophet says: ‘When I returned from this journey to my house the bed-clothes were still warm,’ and the apostle of God spoke the truth. This narrative of the ascension has been copied by the author of these pages from the tradition of the above-named celebrated individual without any addition or omission; but He [i.e., God] knows best what is correct.
Ebn Kathir has related in his chronicle that when his holy and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—returned to Mekkah after his ascension he knew that the Qoraish would accuse him of falsehood; and he was sitting in the mosque of the sanctuary in a melancholy and depressed frame of mind, when the accursed Abu Jahl approached, and derisively asked him whether he had learnt his lesson yesterday. His lordship replied: ‘Yes.’ The accursed Abu Jahl asked: ‘Wilt thou inform the people of this tale?’ His lordship replied: ‘Yes.’ Then Abu Jahl began to shout: ‘O ye Qoraish people, come in!’ Accordingly all the men assembled, and the prophet made his statement, whereon some believed and some did not. It is on record that Abu Jahl went with a company of idolaters to Abu Bakr, and said: ‘Thy friend Muhammad alleges that last night he had been taken to Jerusalem, although he had remained with us since the evening.’ Ssiddiq replied: ‘If he has said so, it must of course be true.’ They queried: ‘Believest thou that he went during a portion of the night from this place to Jerusalem, and that he again returned before morning?’ Ssiddiq replied: ‘I do believe it, because he states that Jebrâil comes down in one moment from the seventh heaven and brings the message of the Most High, whereon he again returns.’ Then Abu Jahl, with his companions, departed abashed. It is said that from that day Abu Bakr was surnamed Ssiddiq.* It is said that many idolaters who had seen the farther temple [of Jerusalem] came to his lordship the refuge of the apostolate, and questioned him for the purpose of trying him about the peculiarities thereof. His lordship said: ‘I described the temple until I was nearly confused. Jebrâil [however] brought the farther temple and placed it near the house of Naufil, where he kept it in my sight. I was looking at it and replying to all the queries of the idolaters.’ After his lordship the apostle had described the farther temple as it really was, the idolaters said: ‘He has correctly described the temple.’ In some translations it is narrated that his holy and prophetic lordship said: ‘I was sitting in a room, when the Qoraish examined me about the ascension. They then questioned me about matters concerning Jerusalem, which I had not borne in mind. Therefore I became more grieved than I had ever been before. Then the Lord of glory kept Jerusalem before my sight, so that I was enabled to answer their inquiries.’ It is said that the reason of the unbelief of those who had not professed Islâm must be attributed to the fact that they were conscious of caravans spending two months in going to Syria and returning to Mekkah. Let us fly to Allah for refuge from error after guidance.
The chief biographers relate that when the seal [i.e., last] of the prophets—u. w. b.—had, by a Divine inspiration, given a description of the farther temple, his opponents challenged him to give information about their travellers and clansmen who were in Syria, which would be more important. His lordship replied: ‘I passed by a caravan from such and such a tribe, who were going in search of a camel which they had lost. In their camp there was a jug of water, and as I was thirsty I drank it. When they arrive you may ask them whether there was any water in the vessel or not.’ He also said: ‘I passed by the caravan of a tribe called so and so. Two men, called so and so, happened to be riding on a young camel, which got scared and ran off from Borâq, in consequence whereof one of those two men fell to the ground and broke his arm. Ask them whether this happened or not.’ They further asked: ‘Where hast thou seen our own camels and the caravan of our relatives?’ He replied: ‘In Shaa’im.’ They continued: ‘What are their goods and provisions?’ He replied: ‘Such and such; this and that man is among them. An ash-coloured camel, covered with striped cloth, precedes their caravan, which will arrive to-morrow at sunrise.’ When his holy and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—had thus given explanations about every caravan, they said: ‘This is another sign.’ The next morning the Qoraish were sitting on a hillock before daybreak, and waiting for the sun, but hoped that the caravan would not arrive, so that they might stretch forth their wicked tongues in reproof against the prophet, and accuse him of falsehood. Suddenly [however] one of them exclaimed: ‘Behold the sun has risen!’ and another shouted: ‘See, the caravan has arrived!’ It is related that as the caravans successively approached the Qoraish verified the words of his holy and prophetic lordship— u. w. b.—and found them all to agree with the facts. But despite all these signs and miracles, those dark-hearted wretches, unwilling to admit the light of the Faith into their hearts, said: ‘We have never heard such words, and this is nothing but evident sorcery.’
Distich: Look at those wretches who saw,
But would not believe, the Divine signs.
The above was a narrative of the journey of his holy and prophetic lordship—u. w. b.—to the sacred world, and of his return to direct the inhabitants of the earth. The writer of these pages says that the detailed accounts of the ascension and the moral reflections connected therewith have been recorded in works written by biographers on that subject, and had they all been copied here the account would have become very prolix. Although most of the U’lâma say that the ascension took place during the twelfth year of the mission, all biographers agree that it happened in the eleventh year when the Anssâr* began to profess Islâm. The musked pen has recorded the events of the ascension in order not to tear the string of the narrative nor to disturb the pearls of words, and will now relate how the inhabitants of Yathreb* professed Islâm.