The Significance of the "Mi'raj-un-Nabi"
The night of ascension of the Holy Prophet s.w.

When we study the event of the Prophet Muhammad's s.w heavenly ascent which is known as "mi'raj-un-nabi", we learn that in order to understand its full implication we need to imbibe the literal as well as the religio-spiritual impact.

Speaking of the event as it took place, we may first refer to the Quranic verse that describes it. Surah Isra, verse 1: "Glory be to Him Who took His votary to a wide and open space from the Sacred Mosque to the distant Mosque whose precincts We have blessed, that We may show him some of our signs. Verily He is All-Hearing All-Seeing."
Apart from this, the details that have come down to us via the scholarly record of commentators tell us that, it was on a blessed night when Gabriel was sent to the Prophet Muhammad s.w to summon him to the Divine Presence. He thus came to the Prophet s.w awaking him, and asking him to accompany him on the journey of ascent. The Prophet s.w was made to ride the Buraq [a celestial horse-like animal with wings and a human face]on which he first came to Jerusalem. Here at the Masjid-al-Aqsa he was met by an assembly of all the previous Prophets who requested him to lead them in prayer. Complying with their wish he did so, after which the Prophet s.w ascended through the seven heavens to the Divine Presence. On his way passing through all the heavens, he was introduced to the various angels and the different Prophets residing in each heaven. Reaching the outer limits of the heavens known as "Sidrat-ul-Muntaha", Gabriel took leave of him saying that he had to cross the last threshold by himself in order to enter the direct Divine Presence. Thereby the Prophet s.w arrived at that "maqam" or station which no other being has been able to reach. After communion with God, he prepared for his return journey and came back into the world of man.

Among the companions and commentators there has been some dispute as to the nature of the Prophet's nightly journey. Some have claimed it to be a bodily experience where he traveled physically while others including his wife Hazrat Ayesha r.a, Tabari, Zamakhshari, Ibn Kathir and Hassan Basri have emphatically declared it to have been a profound spiritual experience where his body did not move from its place. This however cannot be reduced to the value of a mere dream either, for there is a difference between a real spiritual, psychical experience and a regular dream. In a dream, a dreamer sees mere reproductions of forms already existing in his mind, but in a spiritual experience of such intensity, there is definite soul travel and actual witnessing. Thus we may say that the Prophet's s.w soul itself went on the night journey and witnessed things that a soul witnesses only after tasting death. The Prophet's s.w experience is remarkably superior to any other spiritual experience for it is improbable for bodily organs to perform or record what he did in that state.

Religiously speaking, that event had a profound impact on the understanding of faith in the community of believers. It was also during this experience that the ritual prayer of "salat" was made binding upon the community of Muhammad s.w. Therefore the Prophet s.w has said, "As-Salat-al-mi'raj-ul-momineen", meaning that prayer is the ascension of the believer. It is through the act of prayer and its various postures that the one who is praying is progressively moving closer to the Divine Presence. The postures involved in the performance of salat actually recapitulate the different stages of the Prophet's s.w ascension. When we perform the salat we are infact following the Prophet's footsteps in reaching the Divine Presence. The culmination of this is in the act of prostration where the self is totally annihilated and relinquished at the feet of the Divine. One becomes aware of ones own nothingness and total helplessness before the Magnificence of the Divine.

Additionally, it showed that the doctrine of Islam that was being preached by the Prophet Muhammad s.w was not a new doctrine, but a continuation of the previous revelations that had been coming through the different Prophets before him. Therefore, we may understand that religions are not destinations, but are infact way-stations enroute to God. The revelation of the Quran was perfecting and completing what Allah had been revealing in stages as the religion for mankind. The significance of the ascent from Jerusalem also testifies the unbroken link of the Prophet Muhammad s.w with all the other Israelite Prophets who came before him. It was a confirmation rather than a cancellation. The act of the Prophet s.w leading the other Prophets in prayer showed that his Message completed what had come before it, putting the seal of finality on the office of prophethood.

The spiritual relevance of the event is also fascinating. Many sufi saints and thinkers of Islam have suggested symbolical interpretations of the event. It has been looked upon as the model for the return to God in this life. Imam Ghazzali in his "Miraj-ul-Salikeen" says, that if a man wishes to ascend to the Divine Presence, he must seek to develop his rationality by studying the proofs available within himself and in the outer world. For proofs are ladders by which creatures mount up to their Lord.
Sufi poets like Attar and Rumi described the Mi'raj as the ascending level of the soul's perfection. In this way the spiritual climb or mi'raj is only within oneself.
According to Hazrat Inayat Khan, the symbology is described thus that it is termed as an initiation in the higher spheres of knowledge. The Prophet's journey from Mecca to Jerusalem means from the outer temple of peace to the inner temple of peace; in other words from the outer world of awareness to the inner world of knowing; from the outer sanctuary to the inner sanctum, which is the Heart of Man. As Allah says the expanses of the of the heavens and the universe cannot contain Me, but I abide in the Heart of my True Servant. Therefore in order to reach the Divine Presence man has to turn inward, toward the depth of one's origin. The Buraq is a heavenly creature with wings, the body of a horse and the face of a human. According to Murshid Inayat Khan the wings denote the soul or mind, the body is the physical form of the human, and together both represent the human perfection manifested in the face. The Buraq may also symbolize the Breath, for it is the breath alone that in an instant reaches from the outer world into the inner world. Gabriel represents the intellect or reason. As he was the Prophet's s.w companion and guide on the night journey, similarly, intellect or reason guides man on his journey to the Divine Presence. The Buraq and Gabriel could not go beyond a certain point, indicating that intellect and the self take one only a certain distance in mystical realization, beyond which one must abandon both if one wishes true union. In other words dying to the self, is being born to eternal life. The Prophet s.w thus arrived near the single remaining curtain between the human and the Divine and lost himself in utter surrender. This has been described in the Quranic words as "Qaaba Qawsayn". Qaab is the bow and Qawsayn is the space where the arrow fits in an outstretched bow. The line in the middle is the line of creaturely station that demarcates the difference between Lord and creation.

After having tasted this sweet union with the Ultimate, the Prophet s.w embarked upon his return journey. A parallel is also found in the journey of spiritual ascent of the seeker when he/she journeys through the seven stages of the nafs or self, culminating in Fanafi'Allah or annihilation in God. This is subsequently followed by Baqa bi'Allah or resurrection in God which signifies the return. The return in spiritual terms is coming alive in true God-realisation and embracing life with this new found consciousness.

Each one of us can take up this journey to the heights of existence, taste the joy of union and live in constant bliss, only if we were to follow the footsteps of the Prophet s.w in his moral, intellectual, and spiritual ascent.




By Naila Amat-un-Nur

June 2007