AFP

IT is perhaps no exaggeration to claim Lailat-ul-Miraj as the most momentous occasion in the annals of not only the entire human race but of all creations. It was on this glorious Night of Ascension that a creation was permitted to cross for the first time the "Ultimate Boundary," symbolically represented by a Lote -- Tree named Sidratul Muntaha, beyond which none, not even the archangel Jibrail (AS) favoured by or "brought near" Allah (mukarrabun), had ever been allowed to pass.

It was on this auspicious Night that the Creator enabled a creation to reach, through a long Journey immeasurable by mortal reckoning, the "Sublime Throne," achieve the closest proximity to Him, and "see of the Signs of his Lord, the Greatest" in full bloom.

The Journey mentioned above refers to the Glorious Ascension (Mi'raj) of the holy Prophet (pbuh), testifying so eloquently to the divine eminence which he was to achieve and to the unsurpassable greatness to which Islam was to rise.

It was a Monday on the 27 of Rajab, one year and five months before the Emigration (Hijrat) to the holy Medina that the holy Prophet (pbuh) was first transported through a unique journey from the holy Makkah to the seat of the earlier revelations in Jerusalem, and then taken through the Seven Heavens, and blessed with the unique opportunity to meet the Most Gracious and Most Merciful Rabbul Alameen.

On that sacred Night of Ascension, Hazrat Muhammad (pbuh) was at Makkah in the house of his cousin Bibi Ummahani (RA), sister of Hazrat Ali Murtaza (RA). Having said his night prayers the holy Prophet (pbuh) was asleep with "closed eyes but a wakeful Kalb." It was Jibrail (AS) who roused him from 'sleep' and said, "Allah sends you greetings and invites you, and I have come to take you to Him. Allah desires to show the Wonders and to dignify you in a manner as He has not done with anybody else before. No one ever heard this nor could anybody ever conceive of it."

Accompanied by Jibrail (AS), the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) went to the holy Ka'ba, performed the circumbulation of Ka'ba (Tawaf) seven times, and sat for a while at the Hatim of the Holy House. Mounted on the Buraq, he then set forth toward the Great Unknown. He was first carried to Masjid-ul-Aqsa in Jerusalem. It is said that an assembly of angels received the holy Prophet (pbuh) with the ovation: "Salam be on you, O the first (Ya Awwalu); Salam be on you, O the Last (Ya Akheru); Salam be on you, O the Saviour (Ya Hasheru)."

The Apostle of Allah (pbuh) objected that the terms were applicable to Allah alone. But the angels explained that the holy Prophet (pbuh) was the first because Benign Providence created his Noor before anything else was created; he was the last because only his itercession (Shafa'at) as the saviour of sinners would be accepted by God on the Day of Judgment.

After leading a two-rakat prayer at Baitul-Mukaddas in which all the one lac and 24,000 Prophets participated, the Apostle of Allah set out for the Seven Heavens.

As he passed through verious Heavens, he had the unique privilege to see Allah's "Signs" in various shapes and forms. It is claimed that he saw with his own eyes Bahrun Naqam, the great Sea the waves of which wrought Great Deluge inundating the whole world of the Prophet Noah (pbuh). He also had the unique distinction of seeing during his lifetime Hazrat Azrail (AS) in the fourth Heaven, Hazrat Michayeel (AS) in the fourth Heaven, Hazrat Michayeel (AS) with the Great Scale (Mizan) in the sixth Heaven, and Hazrat Israfil (AS) with his Great Horn (Soor) in the seventh Heaven.

The Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) also met a good number of his predecessors during his Journey through the Heavens. He met Prophet Adam (AS) in the first Heaven, Prophets Isa and Yahya in the second, Yusuf, Dawood and Sulaiman in the third, Musa, Marium and Asiya in the fourth, Ibrahim, Ismail, Yaqub and Lut in the fifth, Noah and Idris in the sixth, and the Prophet Ibrahim (peace be on all the Propkhets) once again in the seventh Heavens.

In the Seventh Heaven the holy Prophet (pbuh) again led a two-rankat prayer at the Baitul Mamur mosque in which all the angels of the seventh Heaven participated. As the advanced further, he reached Sidratul Muntaha, the Lote-tree.

It is indeed remarkable that even at this stage where the spiritual knolwedge of man could reach no higher, the Prophet of Islam (pbuh) remained unperturbed. The Sufis interpret the Lote-tree in Islam to be what the Burning Bush in the valley of tuwa was to Moses (AS). Only, in the case of Moses (AS) it was but a prefigurement of the divine effulgence on this earth: in the case of Muhammad (pbuh) it was the Division Glory in Heaven itself, and it was "shrouded in mystery unspekable." This was indeed "the Greatest of the Signs of the Lord."

The holy Prophet (pbuh) advanced further and reached Hijabe Zarbaft where Jibrail informed him that he (Jibrail) was unable to proceed any further. According to the Tafsir Ruhul Bayan, however, Jibrail (AS) halted at Sidratul Muntaha.

What followed indeed is unique in the annals of creation. For the first time since the birth of the universe was a creation allowed to proceed beyond Sidratul Muntaha and approach the "Sublime Arsh." The holy Prophet (pbuh) passed through many a screen of Noor and Zulomat and ultimately reached, in the words of the Holy Quran, "the highest part of the horizon." "Then he approached and came closer, and was at a distance of two bow-lengths or (even) nearer." (Chapter LIII, Verses 7-8).

Two bow-shots (counting 100 to 150 yards to bow-shot) would be a clearly visible distance. But Sufi mysticism would interpret: "two drawn bows, with their chords touching", making a complete circle of union.

Muhammad (pbuh), the Last and the Greatest of all the Prophets, had indeed seen the Greatest Signs of Allah. According to Tirmizi, the holy Prophet said: "I saw my Rab with my eyes and Kalb." The Miskat also testifies: "I saw my Rab in His best appearance... I was endued with knowledge of whatever is in the Heavens and on the Earths." And the Holy Quran further adds: "The (Prophet's) heart in no way falsified that which he saw." The renowned exegetes Abdullah Yusuf Ali points out that the 'heart' in Arabi includes the faculty of intelligence as well as the faculty of feeling. The impression conveyed was pure truth; there was no illusion in it."

The holy Prophet (pbuh) then visited Jannat (the Paradise) and Jahannam (the Hell, and returned to Makkah.

It may be mentioned in this connection that it was during this nocturnal journey on the lailat-ul-Mi'raj that Allah had imposed upon the holy Prophet (pbuh) 50 (fifty) salats a day as obligatory prayers for the faithful. On the Prophet Musa's (pbuh) advice, Muhammad (pbuh) asked several times for alleviation and each time Allah, in His infinite Mercy, granted it. But when Musa (pbuh) said 5 (five) daily salats are still too many, the holy Prophet (pbuh) refused to ask for less. In response to Musa's (As) request, Muhammad (pbuh) replied very politely, "I have asked my Lord till I am ashamed, but now I am satisfied and I submit." (Bukhari and Muslim). These obligatory prayers, to be performed five times a day, form one of the pillars of Islam. And the five prayers so enjoined equals fifty in worth and reward. The holy Prophet (pbuh) testifies: "I went back to Him (Allah) and He said, 'They are five and at the same time fifty. What has been said is not changed with Me.' (Bukhari and Muslm)."

The holy Prophet (pbuh) completed the entire Isra (or noctural Journey), comprising the unique Audience with the Creator, visits to the Heaven and Hell offering of prayers various places on Earth and in the Heaves, discussions with numerous Prophets, in an incredibly short period. The astounding feat surprised many. The non-Muslims refused to accept it. Even a few Muslims went to the extent of claiming that the Journey was performed through a Vision. The holy Prophet (pbuh) himself silenced the Quraish who were questioning him about his night journey. Jabir told that he heard God's Messenger say, "When Quraish accused men of falsehood I stood up in al-Hijr then God made Jerusalem clear to me, and I informed them of its distinguishing marks whele I was looking at it." (Bukhari and Muslim).

And the handful of Muslims who unfortunately doubt the physical ascension of the holy Prophet (pbuh) perhaps forget that Allah can do and undo anything and everything. Nothing is impossible on His part. "He is the Best of the planners and when He hath decreed a Plan, He but saith to it, 'Be' and it is" (Chapter III, Verse 47). What more, the miraculous Journey of the Prophet of Islam may sound incredible to an ordinary person shrouded by ignorance about the latest developments in the realm of science, but not to a person who is acquainted with the Theory of Relativity wherein time does not remain constant but varies with the velocity of the object concerned.

The holy Prophet (pbuh) completed the Mi'raj mounted on the Buraq and the very word Buraq emanates from Buraqum which means electricity. This implies that the holy Prophet might have travelled as fast as the electricity, and the modern science still claims that the light, radio waves and various forms of electromagnetic radiation have the fast velocity in the universe which is denoted by 'e' and equals 186,282 miles per second.

The scientists of the Modern Age also admit that if a person manages to travel at the fantastic velocity of light his 'time' will vary enormously in comparison with the passage of time on Earth. No wonder the holy Prophet, mounted on the 'Buraq' and endued with the Divine Blessing of the Lord of the Worlds could so easily perform so many acts in so short a period.

And if the Prophet Abraham (pbuh) could remain unhurt in the midst of the blazing fire kindled by Namrood, if the Prophet Yunus (AS) could survive in the stomach of a whale for several days, if the Magic-Stick of Moses (AS) could turn into a huge and fearful snake, if Adam and Eve could be created without any father or mother almost out of nothing, if Jesus (pbuh) could see the light of day without the help of any father, if the Nile could be split to enable Moses (AS) and his followers to escape to safety, why should it not be possible for Allah to enable His best Servant to ascened to the Heavens in person to meet his Creator?

The writer is former Director General of Islamic Foundation Bangladesh.