KHUTAB I - E (21-25)

21. THE QUR’ĀN’S PROPHECY (1)

          The first proof of the authenticity of the Qur’ān as the words of Allah is its inimitability through its eloquence. The second is its prophecy, and the third is its scientific expression.

          We have seen in history many prophecies that did not come true. The Communist Manifesto stated in 1848 that Germany would be the first country that will lead Communist revolution. More than 130 years have passed and the revolution has not taken place in Germany. Karl Marx predicted that the sun of the Red Republic would rise in the sky of Paris, and until now this has not yet occurred. Hitler stated in a speech in Munich in March 14, 1931 that victory would be on his side, and the whole world knows that his end was defeat and suicide. But the prophecy of the Qur’ān has been proved by history to become true.

          The Prophet and early Muslims were facing three groups of potential oppositions: the Meccan idolaters, the Jewish capitalists, and the hypocrites.  When the situation at Mecca became worse, the Prophet and his followers migrated to Abyssinia (Ethiopia) and then to Madinah. They were in great difficulties for they had left their property at Mecca. They lived at the courtyard of the mosque at Madinah, for they had no place to live. They were about 400 in number. Among them was Abū Hurayrah, who said: “You saw me staggering between the pulpit of the Prophet and the room of ‘Ā'ishah [the Prophet’s wife], and people said that I was mad. I was not mad, but I was hungry.”

          In this worse condition of Muslims the Qur’ān repeatedly promised and prophesized the victory on their side. Allah says:

   كَتَبَ اللَّهُ لَأَغْلِبَنَّ أَنَا وَرُسُلِي إِنَّ اللَّهَ قَوِيٌّ عَزِيزٌ (المجادلة:۲۱).

“Allah decreed.  It is I and My messengers who must

 prevail. For Allah is Strong, Mighty.” (Q. 58:21) 

Again Allah says:

يُرِيدُونَ لِيُطْفِئُوا نُورَ اللَّهِ بِأَفْوَاهِهِمْ وَاللَّهُ مُتِمُّ نُورِهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْكَافِرُونَ. هُوَ الَّذِي أَرْسَلَ رَسُولَهُ

بِالْهُدَى وَدِينِ الْحَقِّ لِيُظْهِرَهُ عَلَى الدِّينِ كُلِّهِ وَلَوْ كَرِهَ الْمُشْرِكُونَ.(الصف:٨-٩)

“Their intention is to extinguish Allah’s light (by blowing)

 With their mouths: but Allah will complete His light, even

 though the unvelievers may detest (it). It is He Who has

 sent His Messenger with the guidance and the religion  

  of truth, that he make it prevail over all religion,

though the unbelievers be averse.” (Q. 61:8-9)

This prophecy came true later when the whole of Arabia came under Muslim rule.

          The use of singular in the verse “over all religion” instead of using “over all other religions” in plural in the above verse, A.Y. Ali gives us his commentary as follows:

“There is really only one true Religion, the Message

 of Allah submission to the will of Allah:this is called Islam.

  It was the religion preached by Moses and Jesus; it was the

 religion of Abraham, Noah, and all the prophets, by whatever

 name it may be called.  If people corrupt that pure

light, and call their religions by different names, we must

bear with them, and we may allow the names for

convenience.  But Truth must prevail over all.”

          The second prophecy was the victory of the Romans over the Persians a few years after they have been defeated.  Allah says:

الم. غُلِبَتِ الرُّومُ. فِي أَدْنَى الْأَرْضِ وَهُمْ مِنْ بَعْدِ غَلَبِهِمْ سَيَغْلِبُونَ. فِي بِضْعِ سِنِينَ

 لِلَّهِ الْأَمْرُ مِنْ قَبْلُ وَمِنْ بَعْدُ وَيَوْمَئِذٍ يَفْرَحُ الْمُؤْمِنُونَ. بِنَصْرِ اللَّهِ يَنْصُرُ مَنْ يَشَاءُ

وَهُوَ الْعَزِيزُ الرَّحِيمُ. وَعْدَ اللَّهِ لَا يُخْلِفُ اللَّهُ وَعْدَهُ وَلَكِنَّ أَكْثَرَ النَّاسِ لَا يَعْلَمُونَ.

(الروم:۱-٦).

“A.L.M.  The Romans have been defeated—in a land

 close-by [i.e., Syria and Palestine]: but they (even) after

 (this) defeat of theirs,will soon be victorious—within a few

 years. With Allah is the command,in the past and in the

 future: on that day shall the believers rejoice—with the

 help of Allah. He gives victory to whom He will, and He

 is Exalted in Might, Most Merciful.(It is) the promise of

 Allah. Never does Allah depart from His promise:

but most men understand not” (Q. 30:1-6)

          These verses were revealed in 616 C.E., the seventh year of the prophetic mission, shortly after the defeat of the Romans. The Persians were Magians, sun and fire worshippers with whom the Meccan idolaters took side, while the Romans were Christians, People of the Book, with whom the Muslims took side. When the Persians defeated the Romans, the Meccan idolaters wanted to ridicule the Muslims and said: “Our friends, the Persians, are defeating your friends, the Romans. In the same way we shall defeat and crush you if you do not give up your new religion.” But the Muslims told them that the Romans would be the victors in a few years. They made a bet.  At that time making a bet was not yet prohibited. Ten camels for every year passed. If the Romans were not the victors within three years, the Meccans would win the bet and take thirty camels from the Muslims. The Prophet told Abū Bakr to extend the time of the bet to nine years, because the word بِضْع (a few) in Arabic means the number between 3 to 9, and the Romans would   be victorious in 9 years at the latest according to Qur’ānic prophecy. The Meccans agreed to extend the time to nine years.

          This is what happened: The Roman emperor at the end of the 7th century was Maurice, but he neglected the political condition of the empire.  He was dethroned by Phocas. But Maurice had helped Chosroes II of Persia to regain his throne, had even given him his daughter to marry. Chosroes was angry and attacked Phocas. Antioch and Jerusalem fell to the Persians in 614-5 C.E.

          At the same time, a son of the governor of the Roman colony in North Africa, Heraclius, secretly dispatched his force by sea and succeeded in killing Phocas. But he could not resist the Persians. Chosroes destroyed the churches, killing nearly 100 thousand peaceful Christians, built temples for worshipping fire, forced people to convert to Magian and worship the sun and fire, and took the cross to his capital Madā’in (Ctesiphon) in Iraq. From Jerusalem he wrote to Heraclius asking him why he did not ask his God to help him to take Jerusalem  back from his (Chosroes’) hand.

          Heraclius sent a messenger and sued for peace, but Chosroes was angry and said: “I want Heraclius to be brought and chained under my throne. I will not make peace with the Romans until they abandon their religion and worship the sun, our god.”

          After six years of fighting, Chosroes agreed to make peace on condition that the Roman emperor paid him: 100 talents of gold (one talent equals to 26 kg), 1000 talents of silver, 1000 horses, 1000 cloth of silk (one cloth equals to appr. 30 m), and 1000 slave girls.

          Heraclius was desperate. He fought and won in six battles using his sea force in which his enemy was weak. The fourth battle occurred in 624 C.E., the same year of the battle of Badr, the eighth year of the bet. The Muslims were very happy for their victory at Badr and the Romans’ victory in Syria.  This was meant by the Qur’ān ic verse: “…on that day the believers shall rejoice in Allah’s help.”

          The fifth battle occurred in 625 C.E., the same year in which the battle of Uh.ud occurred where the Muslims were defeated. The Romans succeeded in freeing all territories captured by the Persians. It was also the ninth year of the bet. The Meccans should have paid 90 camels to the Muslims for their loss in the bet, but this did not happen. 

          The last battle between the Romans and the Persians took place in Iraq      in December 627 C.E. A few months earlier Chosroes had torn the Prophet’s letter asking him to accept Islam. On this, the Prophet said that in the same way the Persian empire would be torn into pieces.   

Chosroes was arrested and imprisoned in his palace by his own son who had killed eight of his brothers. Chosroes died on his fifth day in the prison, while his son, after eight months rule, was killed by his own brother who sued later for peace with the Romans. In March 628 C.E. Heraclius entered his capital Constantinople welcomed by thousands people of the inhabitants of the city.       The comment of the great historian Edward Gibbon on this event is that the Qur’ānic prophecy was the remotest one to come true because the first decade of Heraclius’ rule indicated the fall of the Roman empire.

(E. Gibbon, The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, vol. 5, p. 74, quoted by Wahiduddin Khan, al-Islām Yatah.addā, p. 117)

 22.  THE QUR’ĀN’S PROPHECY (2)

          When the verse وَأَنْذِرْ عَشِيرَتَكَ الْأَقْرَبِينَ (الشعراء : ۲۱٤)  “And admonish thy nearest kinsmen (Q. 26:214)  was revealed the Prophet gathered his kinsmen and said to them: “If I tell you that a horseman in the valley is going to attack you, will you believe me?”  They said: “Yes, for we have never found you lying.” “Well,” said the Prophet, “I am warning you of an impending punishment.” He asked them to follow him and become Muslims.  But his uncle Abu Lahab threw stone at him and said; “May you perish the whole day, O Muhammad!  Are you gathering us just to tell us this?”  He told people that the Prophet was a liar and that they should not believe him. Then Allah revealed Surat al-Masad (Qur’ān, chapter 111) as follows:

تَبَّتْ يَدَا أَبِي لَهَبٍ وَتَبَّ. مَا أَغْنَى عَنْهُ مَالُهُ وَمَا كَسَبَ. سَيَصْلَى نَارًا ذَاتَ لَهَبٍ.

وَامْرَأَتُهُ حَمَّالَةَ الْحَطَبِ. فِي جِيدِهَا حَبْلٌ مِنْ مَسَدٍ. (اللهب:۱-٥)

“Perish the hands of the Father of Flame!  Perish he! No

profit to him from all his wealth, and all his gains!  Burnt

soon will he be in a fire of blazing flame!  His wife shall

carry the (crackling) wood—as fuel—A twisted rope

of palm-leaf fibre round her (own) neck!” (  Q. 26:214) 

This is one of many examples in the verses of the Qur’ān which speak profusely about various events which came true in later times.   

          We see from Islamic history that many archenemies of the Prophet changed into staunch supporters of Islam. Such persons deserved to be forgiven and rewarded, such as Khālid b. Walīd who fought the Prophet in the battle of  Uh.ud, and ‘Umar who had even wanted to kill the Prophet.  Abū Lahab, the nickname of the Prophet’s uncle ‘Abd al-‘Uzzā (lit. “servant of the idol ‘Uzzā”) was singled out. The Qur’ān had passed its judgement on him, and so he died accursed a week after the battle of Badr. He is the only enemy of the Prophet mentioned by name in the Qur’ān. Allah did not care whether a man was the Prophet’s own uncle or not.

          Strangely enough, Abū Lahab had loved the Prophet when he was still young. He freed the slave-girl who reported to him the birth of the Prophet. The Prophet and his uncle Abū Lahab were neighbours, and earlier, before Muhammad became a prophet, his uncle’s son ‘Atabah and ‘Utaybah married his daughters Ruqayyah and Umm Kalthūm. After the prophetic mission, they became divorced. Ruqayyah married to ‘Uthmān, and when she died he married Umm Kalthūm.

          As promised in the Qur’ān, the Prophet remained under divine protection against the innumerable dangers that threatened him from all quarters.  The verse runs as follows:

 وَاللَّهُ يَعْصِمُكَ مِنَ النَّاسِ (المائدة: ٦٧)

“And Allah will defend thee from men

 (who mean mischief)” (Q. 5:67)  

By this verse, the Prophet had been protected against assassination. The promised was fulfilled, for he died in his bed at the age of 63 among his family, in spite of the numerous plots against his life and the 23 years he spent in continuous armed conflict.

      Other Qur’ānic verses promised the protection of the Qur’ān itself against loss and dispersion; this promise was fulfilled.  Allah said in the Qur’ān:

 لَا تُحَرِّكْ بِهِ لِسَانَكَ لِتَعْجَلَ بِهِ. إِنَّ عَلَيْنَا جَمْعَهُ وَقُرْآَنَهُ (القيامة:۱٦-‍‍ ۱٧).

“Move not thy tongue concerning the (Qur’ān) to

 make haste therewith. It is for Us to collect it and

 to recite it.” (Q. 75:16-17)

Allah also reassures:

  إِنَّا نَحْنُ نَزَّلْنَا الذِّكْرَ وَإِنَّا لَهُ لَحَافِظُونَ (الحجر: ٩).

“We have, without doubt, sent down the message; and We

   will assuredly guard it (from corruption).” (Q. 15:9)

      The Prophet had a vision that he and his companions entered the Holy Mosque at Mecca where they circumambulated the Ka‘bah, shaved and cut their hair. As we know, prophets’ visions are true visions. But when they tried to enter the Holy City, they were stopped by the Meccan infidels at H...udaybiyyah in 6 A.H. In order to avoid unnecessary bloodshed the Prophet signed the Treaty of H...udaybiyyah and postponed his pilgrimage to the next year. Some people started doubting the vision of the Prophet, saying: “We have neither shaved nor cut our hair, not even seen the Ka’bah. Where is, then, the vision?” Then Allah revealed the following verse:

لَقَدْ صَدَقَ اللَّهُ رَسُولَهُ الرُّؤْيَا بِالْحَقِّ لَتَدْخُلُنَّ الْمَسْجِدَ الْحَرَامَ إِنْ شَاءَ اللَّهُ آَمِنِينَ مُحَلِّقِينَ رُءُوسَكُمْ

وَمُقَصِّرِينَ لَا تَخَافُونَ فَعَلِمَ مَا لَمْ  تَعْلَمُوا فَجَعَلَ مِنْ دُونِ ذَلِكَ فَتْحًا قَرِيبًا (الفتح: ‌۲٧)

“Truly did Allah fulfil the vision for His Messenger;

ye shall enter the Sacred Mosque, if Allah wills, with

minds secure, heads shaved, hair cut short, and without

fear.  For He knew what ye knew not, and He

granted, beside this, a speedy victory.” (Q. 48:27)

          Again this prophecy came true when the Muslims set out for Mecca with the objective of performing pilgrimage without difficulty in 7 A.H.  Among them was Walīd Jr., Khālid’s brother. During his stay in Mecca, Walīd looked for his brother. He could not find him, so he wrote him a letter.  The letter said: “It is so strange that you do not know the truthfulness of Islam. The Messenger of Allah, peace be upon him, asked me about you and said: ‘Where is Khālid?’ I told him, ‘Allah will bring him.’”

          After reading the letter Khālid went to Madinah to see the Prophet and embraced Islam.  The Prophet said to him,

           “Praise be to Allah Who has guided you. I know you are a bright man.”

          “O Messenger of Allah,” said Khālid, “pray to Allah that He may forgive me for what I did against you.  I did not know any better.”

          “Islam washes away the sins done before becoming a Muslim,” said the Prophet. “O Allah, forgive Khālid for what he did.”

          In the same year, 8 A.H., a year after he received his brother’s letter inviting him to Islam, Khālid became a general of his former enemy, one of the leaders of the Muslim army that conquered Mecca, the conquest that had been prophesized by the Qur’ān.

          At the fare-well pilgrimage in 10 A.H. the Prophet recited to the Muslims the last Qur’ānic verses revealed to him, as follows:

 الْيَوْمَ أَكْمَلْتُ لَكُمْ دِينَكُمْ وَأَتْمَمْتُ عَلَيْكُمْ نِعْمَتِي وَرَضِيتُ لَكُمُ الْإِسْلَامَ دِينًا (المائدة: ٣)

“This day I have perfected your religion for you,

 completed my favour upon you, and have chosen

 for you Islam as your religion.” (Q. 5:3)

          This verse had, in fact, been a prophecy of the end of the Prophet’s message. A year after making this announcement, the Prophet left the wordily life, after discharging the Trust and delivering the Message. He died on Monday 12 Rabī‘ al-Awwal 11 A.H., the same day and date where he had been born 63 years before.

23.  THE CONSTRICTED BREAST

          If we ponder the Qur’ānic verses and study them carefully we shall find them enchanting to our mind. Allah urges us to study the Qur’ān carefully, and said:

  أَفَلَا يَتَدَبَّرُونَ الْقُرْآَنَ أَمْ عَلَى قُلُوبٍ أَقْفَالُهَا  (محمد: ۲٤)

“Do they not  then earnestly  seek to understand the Qur’ān,

 or is that there are locks upon their hearts?” (Q. 47:24)

 Again He said:

  كِتَابٌ أَنْزَلْنَاهُ إِلَيْكَ مُبَارَكٌ لِيَدَّبَّرُوا  آَيَاتِهِ وَلِيَتَذَكَّرَ أُولُو الْأَلْبَابِ  (ص: ۲٩)

“(Here is) Book which We have sent down unto

thee, full of blessings, that they may meditate on

its signs, and that men of understanding

 may receive admonition.” (Q. 38:29)

          Now let us ponder the following verse:

فَمَنْ يُرِدِ اللَّهُ أَنْ يَهدِيَهُ يَشْرَحْ صَدْرَهُ لِلْإِسْلَام وَمَنْ يُرِدْ أَنْ يُضِلَّهُ يَجْعَلْ

 صَدْرَهُ ضَيِّقًا حَرَجًا كَأَنَّمَا يَصَّعَّدُ فِي السَّمَاءِ (الأنعام: ۱۲٥)

"Those whom Allah willeth to guide,--He

 openeth their  breast to Islam; those  whom

 He willeth  to leave straying,--He maketh

 their  breast close and  constricted, as they

had to climb up to the skies…" (Q. 6:125)

          Earlier commentators said that the meaning of the above verse is that the hearts of those whom Allah leaves straying will be so narrow that iman (faith) will not enter into it, like the impossibility of ascending to the sky.  But in fact, this verse has a deeper and scientific meaning.

          People in ancient time believed that the outer space had an atmosphere like the earth. It was said that the Greek emperor Alexander the Great wished to ascend to the sky in a carriage flown by birds.

          The air consists of 20 % oxygen that is very important for our lives.  Without oxygen men, animals and plants cannot survive. When people invented the balloon, they ascended to the sky until they reached a height of 30 km; when they used rockets and planes so that they reached higher altitude, they found out that even a single foot raised in the sky caused the decrease of air pressure and oxygen. It is known that after the altitude of 10 km suffocation occurs because of lack of oxygen.

24.  WATER CYCLE

          For every nation Allah sent a prophet, and to every prophet Allah gave a miracle as evidence of his prophethood, such as the staff of Prophet Moses (Musa, p.b.u.h.), or the revival of the dead by Prophet Jesus (‘Īsā, p.b.u.h.).  But the miracles of earlier prophets were only heard and not witnessed by us. As for the greatest miracle of the last prophet Muhammad (p.b.u.h.), namely, the Qur’ān, we hear it, we see it, we read it.  Its eloquence is inimitable. It is a miracle for Arabs and non-Arabs, for the laymen and the genius.

          Until the 16^th century, people still believed that the waters of the oceans, under the effect of winds, were driven toward the inner parts of the continents. Then they returned to the oceans through the great abyss called the Tartarus which has been known since Plato’s time. According to Aristotle (Plato’s student) water was condensed in cool mountain caverns and formed underground lakes that fed springs. In the 16^th century, Bernard Palissy described for the first time the coherence of the water cycle. Today, we know that it is the infiltrated rainwater that feeds the springs. But the Qur’ān has described it long time ago:

أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ أَنْزَلَ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مَاءً فَسَلَكَهُ يَنَابِيعَ فِي الْأَرْضِ ثُمَّ يُخْرِجُ بِهِ زَرْعًا مُخْتَلِفًا أَلْوَانُهُ (الزمر: ۲۱)

“Seest thou not that Allah sends  down rain from

 the sky, and leads it through springs in the earth?

 Then He caused to grow, therewith, produce

 of various colours.”  (Q. 39:21)

          In another verse of the Qur’ān, the formation of a cumulus cloud which contains hails and causes rain, storm of thunder and lightning, and which causes pilots as well as those who are near to it to be temporarily blind is mentioned. Allah says:

  أَلَمْ تَرَ أَنَّ اللَّهَ يُزْجِي سَحَابًا ثُمَّ يُؤَلِّفُ بَيْنَهُ ثُمَّ يَجْعَلُهُ رُكَامًا فَتَرَى الْوَدْقَ يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلَالِهِ

وَيُنَزِّلُ مِنَ السَّمَاءِ مِنْ جِبَالٍ  فِيهَا مِنْ بَرَدٍ فَيُصِيبُ بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ وَيَصْرِفُهُ عَنْ مَنْ يَشَاءُ

 يَكَادُ سَنَا بَرْقِهِ يَذْهَبُ بِالْأَبْصَارِ (النور:٤٣)

“Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently,

 then joins them together, then makes them into a heap?—then

 wilt thou see rain issue forth from their mist.  And He sends

 down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein is

 hail: He strikes therewith whom He pleases and He turns

 it away from whom He pleases. The vivid flash of its

 lightning well-nigh blinds the sight.” (Q. 24:43)

          The type of the cloud expressed in the above verse is the one that grows vertically. It is called cumulus because of the vertical accumulation of clouds. It can reach the height of 15 km or even more. Therefore it looks like a mountain. It consists of three parts: the higher part consists of white crystal ice; the middle part (layer) consists of the mixture of the falling crystal ice from above and drops of cold water which is below zero; the lowest part consists of mostly drops of water or ice crystals and is on the point of falling down to the earth. This type of cloud, the cumulus, is the only one that contains ice crystals, or hail. This is the scientific interpretation of the verse: “And He sends down from the sky mountain masses (of clouds) wherein hail.”

          After the Second World War, scientists used radar to take pictures showing the gradual formation of the cumulus cloud. They found that it started with some small clouds being driven upwards by air currents. Then every two or more small clouds are being bound together. This is the scientific interpretation of the verse: “Seest thou not that Allah makes the clouds move gently, then joins them together, then makes them into a heap?”  “Heap” means “accumulation” and this type of cloud is called cumulus.

          Strangely enough, this is the only type of cloud that produces storms of thunder and lightning which can temporarily blind our eyes. This is the scientific interpretation of the verse: “The vivid flash of His lightning almost blinds the sight.”

          There is another type of cloud which forms itself horizontally so that it covers the sky. It does not produce thunder or lightning or hail. It is called stratus cloud. It is from the word stratum meaning “level”. This type of cloud has been referred to by the Qur’ān as follows:

    اللَّهُ الَّذِي يُرْسِلُ الرِّيَاحَ فَتُثِيرُ سَحَابًا فَيَبْسُطُهُ فِي السَّمَاءِ كَيْفَ يَشَاءُ وَيَجْعَلُهُ كِسَفًا فَتَرَى الْوَدْقَ

يَخْرُجُ مِنْ خِلَالِهِ فَإِذَا أَصَابَ  بِهِ مَنْ يَشَاءُ مِنْ عِبَادِهِ إِذَا هُمْ يَسْتَبْشِرُونَ (الروم:٤٨)

“It is Allah Who sends the winds, and they raise

 the clouds: then does He spread them in they sky as

 He wills, and break them into fragments, until thou seest

 rain-drops issue from the midst thereof: then when

 He has made them reach such of  His servants

as He wills, behold, they do rejoice!” (Q. 30:48)

          If you are on board a plane you can easily distinguish between these two types of cloud: one is like a mountain, and the other is like a carpet and is closer to the surface of the earth; planes usually fly above it. The Arabs call this flat cloud the “autumn cloud.”

 25. ISRĀ’ AND MI’RĀJ

          On the 27^th of Rajab every year Muslims all over the world commemorate Isrā’ (the night journey of the Prophet from Mecca to Jerusalem) and mi’rāj (the Prophet’s ascension to the heaven and beyond).

          Before isrā’ and mi’rāj the Prophet had suffered much: after three years of boycott by the Quraysh, his wife Khadījah and his uncle Abū T.ālib died. After the death of Abū T.ālib, the pagan Quraysh tribe became bolder to torment the Prophet. They put a camel’s uterus on his shoulder while he was prostrating in prayer by the Ka‘bah. They threw dust on him. ‘Uqbah bin Mu‘īt. strangled him while he was praying; fortunately, Abū Bakr came to rescue, throwing down the man, saying, “Are you going to kill a man just because he says that Allah is his Lord?” When the Prophet went to T.ā’if, 60 km east of Mecca with Zayd bin H...ārithah to call people to Islam, they threw stones at him. His absence from Mecca was known by the Meccans, and they did not want him to come back to Mecca. Fortunately, a neighbour called Mut.‘im bin ‘Adī, one of the Meccan chiefs, wanted to protect him, so he and his man came to the Prophet outside the city and escorted him into the city.  The Prophet stayed the night at his cousin’s house Ummu Hāni’ (the daughter of his uncle Abū T.ālib) who was also his nursing sister. The Prophet was so humiliated and annoyed on earth, yet he received the greatest honour a human being had ever had in heaven.

          After all these miserable conditions, it was time for Allah to console the Prophet and to show his exalted position. One night, the angel Gabriel and Michael came to the Prophet, opened his breast and cleansed his heart with the water of Zamzam (the well-known well inside the Holy Mosque in Mecca), then made him ride on a mysterious animal called Burāq. They went to al-Masjid al-Aqs.ā (the Farthest Mosque) in Jerusalem where they had been awaited by the prophets before him, such as Abraham, Moses, David, Solomon and Jesus, peace be upon them. They had been sent by Allah to receive and to welcome the Prophet there.

After leading the prayer with those prophets and thanking them for their greetings, the Prophet said to them: “All of you praise your Lord and I also praise my Lord.” Then he said: “Praise be to Allah who has sent me as a blessing to the whole world and to the whole mankind as an announcer of good news (بَشِيْر) and as a warner  (نَذِيْر), Who has revealed to me the Furqān (i.e., the Qur’ān which makes the distinction between right and wrong) wherein the explanation of everything, Who made my community the best one among the people, Who made my community the middle one, the first and the last, Who made me pleased, Who put away my burden, Who raised my esteem and Who made me a conqueror and a last prophet.” On hearing this, Prophet Abraham told other prophets, “Muhammad has the merits over you in these things.” Then the Prophet was given wine and milk, choosing milk.  Gabriel told him, had he chosen wine, his followers would go astray.

          Then the Prophet ascended with Gabriel to the seventh heaven and beyond. In he first heaven he met Adam, in the second John (Yah.yā) and Jesus (‘Īsā), in the third Joseph (Yūsuf), in the fourth Enoch (Idrīs), in the fifth Aaron (Hārūn), in the sixth Moses (Mūsā), and in the seventh Abraham (Ibrāhīm), peace be upon them. They went further up to Sidrat al-Muntahā (Lotus Tree Heaven) where Gabriel said to the Prophet: “O Muhammad, ascend alone. You are the one who is wanted. Every one of us has his own rank (position), and here is the end of my position. If I step further I will be burned.” This indicates that a human being can have higher position than the angel.

          The Prophet came forward, greeted Allah and said:

التَّحِيَّاتُ المُبَارَكَاتُ الصَّلَوَاتُ الطَّيِّبَاتُ لِلّهِ

“All reference, all worship and all sanctity are due to Allah.”

Allah said:

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْكَ أَيُّهَا النَّبِيُّ وَرَحْمَةُ اللهِ وَبَرَكَاتُه

“Peace be upon you, O Prophet, the mercy of Allah and His blessing.”

The Prophet joined his brothers among prophets in saying:

السَّلَامُ عَلَيْنَا وَعَلىَ عِبَادِ اللهِ الصَّالِحِيْنَ

“Peace be upon us, and upon he righteous servants of Allah.”

The angels said:

أَشْهَدُ أَنْ لَا إِلَهَ إلاَّ اللهُ و أَشْهَدُ أَنَّ مُحَمَّدًا رَسُوْلُ الله

“I bear witness that there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is His messenger.”

The whole world said:

اللّهُمَّ صَلِّ عَلىَ مُحَمَّدٍ وَ آلِهِ وَ صَحَابَتِهِ وَ ذُرَّيَتِهِ وَ التَّابِعِيْنَ لَهُمْ بِإِحْسَانٍ مِنْ أُمَّتِهِ

“O Allah, give blessing upon Muhammad his

  household, his companions, his descendants and those

 who follow them well among his followers.”

          This indicates that what we used to say in the tah.iyyāt (i.e., greetings we cite while sitting) in our prayer is the exchange greetings between Allah and the Prophet, the angels and others. The Prophet said that prayer is the mi‘rāj (ascension) of the believers. The Prophet’s heart was cleansed before mi‘rāj, while we perform wud.ū’ (ablution) before praying.

          Allah enjoined fifty prayers, but following the advice of Prophet Moses, fifty prayers were reduced to five with the same merit and the reward of fifty prayers. If it were not for the advice of Prophet Moses, we would have to pray fifty times a day.

In his mi‘rāj the Prophet encountered many symbolic actions as warnings and lessons to us. For example, he saw people breaking their heads with rocks symbolizing those who neglect their obligatory prayers. In one tradition a man asked the Prophet what Allah loved most in Islam, he said:

الصَّلَاةُ لَوَقْتِهَا ، وَمَنْ تَرَكَ الصَّلاَةَ فَلَا دِيْنَ لَهُ ، وَالصَّلاَةُ عِمَادُ الدِّيْن (رواه البيهقي)

“Prayer on its time, whoever leaves it (abstain from

 doing it) he has  no [practised] religion for him, prayer

is the pillar of religion.” (Reported by al-Bayhaqī)

If we compare the meeting between Allah and the Prophet and between Allah and Prophet Moses, we find that:

1.    In the mi‘rāj the Prophet met Allah in Sidrat al-Muntahā, beyond the seventh heaven, while Prophet Moses met Allah on the earth, in the Sacred Valley of T.uwā’ in Sinai. These two places do not imply fixing a place for Allah, because He is beyond the limitation of time and space.  The places were fixed only for the two prophets, Muhammad and Moses respectively. Allah mentions the place where His signs appeared for Prophet Moses in a burning bush in the following verses:

 وَهَلْ أَتَاكَ حَدِيثُ مُوسَى. إِذْ رَأَى نَارًا فَقَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا إِنِّي آَنَسْتُ نَارًا لَعَلِّي آَتِيكُمْ مِنْهَا بِقَبَسٍ أَوْ

 أَجِدُ عَلَى النَّارِ هُدًى. فَلَمَّا أَتَاهَا نُودِيَ يَا مُوسَى. إِنِّي أَنَا رَبُّكَ فَاخْلَعْ نَعْلَيْكَ إِنَّكَ بِالْوَادِ الْمُقَدَّسِ طُوًى.

 وَأَنَا اخْتَرْتُكَ فَاسْتَمِعْ لِمَا يُوحَى. إِنَّنِي أَنَا اللَّهُ  لَا إِلَهَ إِلَّا أَنَا فَاعْبُدْنِي وَأَقِمِ الصَّلَاةَ لِذِكْرِي. (طه:٩-۱٤)

“Has the story of Moses reached thee: Behold, he saw a fire:

so he said to his family, ‘Tarry ye; I perceive a fire; perhaps I

can bring you some burning brand therefrom, or find some

guidance at the fire.’ But when he came to the fire, he was

 called: ‘O Moses! Verily I am thy Lord! Therefore  put off

 thy shoes: thou art in the sacred valley of Tuwa’. I have

 chosen thee: Listen, then, to the inspiration (given to thee).

 Verily, I am Allah: there is no god but I: So serve thou

 Me (only)and establish regular prayer for My

 remembrance.” (Q. 20:9-14)

             In other verses Allah specified the place more clearly, as follows:

 فَلَمَّا قَضَى مُوسَى الْأَجَلَ وَسَارَ بِأَهْلِهِ آَنَسَ مِنْ جَانِبِ الطُّورِ نَارًا  قَالَ لِأَهْلِهِ امْكُثُوا

 إِنِّي آَنَسْتُ نَارًا  لَعَلِّي آَتِيكُمْ مِنْهَا بِخَبَرٍ أَوْ جَذْوَةٍ مِنَ النَّارِ لَعَلَّكُمْ تَصْطَلُونَ. فَلَمَّا أَتَاهَا

نُودِيَ مِنْ شَاطِئِ الْوَادِ الْأَيْمَنِ فِي الْبُقْعَةِ الْمُبَارَكَةِ مِنَ الشَّجَرَةِ أَنْ يَا مُوسَى

إِنِّي أَنَا اللَّهُ رَبُّ الْعَالَمِينَ  (القصص:۲٩-٣٠)

“Now when Moses had fulfilled the term, and was

 travelling   with his family, he perceived a fire in the

 direction of Mount Tur.  He said to his family: ‘Tarry

 ye; I perceive a fire; I hope  to bring you from there

 some information, or a burning  firebrand, that ye

 may warm yourselves.  But when he came  to the (Fire),

 he was called from the right bank of the valley, from

 a tree in hallowed ground: ‘O Moses! Verily I am

 Allah, the Lord of the worlds.” (Q. 28:29-30)

 The meeting in mi‘rāj was with preparation. Allah sent Gabriel and Michael to accompany the Prophet to heaven, while Prophet Moses’ meeting with Allah was without preparation: he saw fire at night, told his wife to stay and went to the fire where Allah talked to him. He did not come to talk to Allah, but to take some fire or to find guidance at the fire.  He might have lost his way, he wanted physical guidance, and instead, he got spiritual guidance.

2.    Prophet Muhammad went to heaven on the Burāq, while Prophet Moses walked when he entered the sacred valley T.uwā’. He was ordered by Allah to take off his shoes when he entered the valley, according to some commentators, symbolizes leaving the material world behind when he entered the spiritual one.

3.  Both meetings ended with the injunction of prayers, which indicates the importance of prayers.

The heaven that is spoken about here is not the outer space, the stars and galaxies, but far beyond. The Prophet was not sent to teach astronomy, but to give spiritual guidance, to show the right path, the way to salvation.  Man discovered the universe later by himself.  We know that the nearest star (sun) to us is Alpha Centauri which is 4.3 light years. Until the 1920s, man knew one galaxy only, the Milky Way, in which the sun is one of the stars.  About fifty years later, the astronomers said that the universe contains about five billion galaxies, each with approximately 100 billion stars.

With regard to the isrā’, the mi’rāj, the seven heavens, and the Sidrat al-Muntahā, they are mysteries. We believe in them as we believe in the Resurrection, the Judgement Day, Paradise and Hell.