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IN PROGRESS 2006-7 In the excellent translation of Arthur .J. Arberry (d. 1969) the most important qur'anic texts are as follows -- my transliteration and notes added.
SOME ISLAMIC SOURCES
Islamic URLs about the Isra-Mi`raj
The Prophet Ascends to the Seventh Heaven 125 [78] Ibn Ḥumayd—Hārūn b. al-Mughirah and Ḥakkām b. Salm— 'Atbasah—Abū Ḥāshim al-Wāṣiṭī—Maymūn b. Siyāh—Anas b. Mālik: At the time when the Prophet became a prophet, he used to sleep around the Ka`bah as did the Quraysh. On one occasion two angels, Gabriel and Michael, came to him and said, "Which of the Quraysh were we ordered to come to?" Then they said, "We were ordered to come to their chief," and went away. After this they came from the Qiblah and there were three of them. They came upon him as he slept, turned him on his back, and opened his breast. Then they brought water from Zamzam and washed away the doubt, or polytheism, or pre-Islamic beliefs, or error, which was in his breast. Then they brought a golden basin full of faith and wisdom, and his breast and belly were filled with faith and wisdom. Then he was taken up to the earthly heaven. Gabriel asked for [1158] admittance, and they said, "Who is it?" "Gabriel," he said. "Who is with you?" they said. "Muhammad," he answered. "Has his mission commenced?" they asked. "Yes," he said. "Welcome," they said, and called down God's blessings on him. When he went in, he saw before him a huge and handsome man. "Who is this, Gabriel?" he asked. "This is your father, Adam," he replied. Then they took him to the second heaven. Gabriel asked for admission, and they said the same as before. Indeed, the same questions were asked and the same answers given in all the heavens. When Muhammad went in to the second heaven he saw before him two men. "Who are these, Gabriel?" he asked. "John and Jesus, the two maternal cousins," he replied. Then he was taken to the third heaven, and when he went in he saw before him a man. "Who is this, Gabriel?" he asked. He replied, "Your brother Joseph who was given preeminence in beauty over other men as is the full moon over the stars at night." Then he was taken to 125. Ibid. 263-71, with slightly different material. [79] the fourth heaven, and he saw before him a man and said, "Who is this, Gabriel?" "This is Idrīs," he said,126 and recited: And we raised him to high station. [= Q. 19:57] Then he was taken to the fifth heaven, and he saw before him a man and said, "Who is this, Gabriel?" "This is Aaron," he said. Then he was taken to the sixth heaven, and he saw before him a man and said, "Who is this, Gabriel?" "This is Moses," he said. Then he was taken to the seventh heaven, and he saw before him a man and said, "Who is this, Gabriel?" "This is your father Abraham," he said. Then he took him to Paradise, and there before him was a river whiter than milk and sweeter than honey, with pearly domes on either side of it. "What is this, Gabriel?" he asked. Gabriel replied, "This is al-Kawthar, which your Lord has given to you, and these are your dwellings." Then Gabriel took a handful of its earth and lo! it was fragrant musk. Then he went out to the Sidrat al-Muntahā, 127 which was a lote tree bearing fruits the largest of which were like earthenware jars and the smallest like eggs. Then his Lord drew nigh, "Till he was distant two bows' length or nearer." Because of [1159] the nearness of its Lord the lote tree became covered by the like of such jewels as pearls, rubies, chrysolites, and colored pearls. God made revelation to his servant, caused him to understand and know, and prescribed for him fifty prayers (daily). Then he went back past Moses, who said to him, "What did he impose your community?" "Fifty prayers," he said. "Go back to your Lord," said Moses, "and ask him to lighten the burden for your community, for your community is the weakest in strength and the shortest-lived." Then he told Muhammad what he himself had suffered at the hands of the Children of Israel. The Messenger of God went back, and God reduced the number by ten. -----------------------------------
127 The "lote tree of the utmost boundary" is spoken of in the description of Muhammad's second vision in Surah 53:14. The following phrase about being "distant two bows' length or nearer" is from verse 9 describing the first vision. Though many Muslim scholars associate the second vision with Muhammad's "night journey" or ascent to heaven, this is improbable since the main verse referring to tlu· "nighl journey" (17:1) was revealed about the middle of the Meccan period, wlirĸMs tin· passage s.TM 'N almost certainly refers to a very early experience. ____________________________________________________________________ 8ο Muhammad at Mecca Then he passed Moses again, who said, "Go back to your Lord and ask him to lighten the burden further." This continued until he had gone back five times. Once more Moses said, "Go back to your Lord and ask him to lighten the burden," but the Messenger of God said, "I am not going back, although I do not wish to disobey you," for it had been put into his heart that he should not go back. God said, "My speech is not to be changed, and my decision and precept is not to be reversed, but he (Muhammad) lightened the burden of prayer on my community to a tenth of what it was at first."128 Anas: I never encountered any scent, not even the scent of a bride, more fragrant than the skin of the Messenger of God. I pressed my skin to his and smelt it. The First Male to Believe in the Messenger of God 'Alî b. Abī Tālib Abu Ja'far (al-Tabarī): There is a difference of opinion among the early scholars as to who after his wife Khadljah bt. Khuwaylid first followed the Messenger of God, believed in him, held true the message which he brought from God, and prayed with him. Some say that the first male to believe in the Messenger of God, pray with him, and hold the truth of the message which he brought from God was 'Alī b. Abī Tālib. Among those who take this view, whose reports we have heard, are the following: Ibn Humayd—Ibrahim b. al-Mukhtār—Shulbah—Abu Balj— 'Amr b. Maymun—Ibn 'Abbas: The first to perform the prayer was 'Alî. Zakariyyä b. Yahya al-Darir—'Abd al-Hamîd b. Bahr—-Sharīk b. 'Abdallah b. Muhammad b. 'Aqil—Jābir: The Prophet was commissioned as prophet on Monday, and 'Alî performed the prayer on Tuesday. Ibn al-Muthannā—Muhammad b. Ja'far—Shu'bah—'Amr b. Murrah—Abu Hamzah—Zayd b. Arqam: The first to accept Is- 128. Literally, this runs: "he lightened the prayer for my community toa tenth." The translation adopted assumes that these words area continuation of tlu· speech of God, and seems to make best sense of "my"; hul then· a iv otlu· ı pnssihilii ics
The Beginning of the Prophetic Mission 81 lam with the Messenger of God was 'Alı b. Abı Ţalib. I mentioned this to al-Nakha'ī, and he denied it, saying, "Abu Bakr was the first to accept Islam." Abu Kurayb—Wakī'—ShuTbah—'Amr b. Murrah—Abu Hamzah the mawla of the Ansar—Zayd b. Arqam: The first to accept Islam with the Messenger of God was 'Alī b. Abī Tālib. Abu Kurayb—'Ubaydb. Sa'ïd—Shu^ah—'Amr b. Murrah—Abu Hamzah, a man of the Ansar—Zayd b. Arqam: The first to perform the prayer with the Messenger of God was 'AH. Ahmad b. al-Hasan al-Tirmidhī—'Ubaydallah b. Mūsā—al-'Alā'—al-Minhāl b. 'Amr—'Abbād b. 'Abdallah: I heard 'Alî saying, "I am the servant of God and the brother of his Messenger, and I am the most righteous one (al-siddĩq al-akbar). 129 No one other than I can say this but a liar and an inventor of falsehoods. I performed the prayer with the Messenger of God seven years before other men. Muhammad b. 'Ubayd al-Muhāribī—Sa'īd b. Khuthaym—Asad b. 'Abdah al-Baljî—Yahya b. 'Af'īf— 'Afīf: During the Jahiliyyah I came to Mecca and stayed with al-'Abbās b. 'Abd al-Muţţalib. When the sun came up and rose into the sky, while I was looking at the KaTbah a young man came up and gazed at the sky. Then he turned to face the Kaliah and stood facing it. Soon afterwards a youth came and stood on his right, and soon after that a woman came and stood behind them. The young man bowed, and the youth and woman bowed; then the young man stood erect, followed by the youth and the woman, and then the young man prostrated himself, and they did so with him. I said, "'Abbas, this is a weighty matter." "It is a weighty matter indeed," he said. "Do you know who this is?" "No", I said. "This is Muhammad b. 'Abdallah b. 'Abd al-Muţţalib, my brother's son," he said. "Do you know who this is with him?" "No," I said. "This is 'AH b. Abī Tālib b. 'Abd al-Muţţalib, my brother's son," he said. "Do you know who this woman is who is behind them?" "No," I said. "This is Khadijah bt. Khuwaylid, my nephew's wife," he said "My nephew has told me that his Lord,130 the Lord of Heaven, has commanded them to do what you see them doing. God's oath, I do not ı .u;. This is an implicit claim that 'Ali is superior to Abu Bakr, since "the righteous o ne" (í// s·/< 1:1 κ/ ) is a kindot by ֊na mc regularly gi ven to Abu Bakr by Sunnites. ι tn. Following the variant inhhuliu instead oi t lie nibbuku of the printed text.
ZAMAKSHARI ON QUR'AN 17:1 H. Gätje, [Tr. A. Welch] The Qur'ān and its Exegesis, 74-7. 4. The night journey and the ascension Zamakhsharĩ on Sūra 17:1
One· may ask : Since the (word) asrā in itself already means 'to undertake a night journey', then what does the stipulation 'by night' add to the meaning of the statement? To this I reply: With the expression 'by night' 17 ... God wishes to indicate the duration of the night journey as short, saying that within a (single) night he and his servant accomplished the journey from Mecca to the Syrian lands (ash-sham 18} which (usually) required forty nights. ... There is disagreement regarding the place from which the night journey originated. Some say that it was the holy mosque (of Mecca) (al-masjid19 al-harām) itself. This is likely since it is mentioned in the following account from the Prophet : While I was between being asleep and awake in the apartments near the Ka'ba (al-bait) at the holy mosque, Gabriel came to me with the (steed) Burãq.20 Others say (however) that the journey of Muhammad originated from the dwelling of (his cousin) Umm Hani', the daughter of Abū Ṭālib. In this case the expression 'holy mosque' would indicate the holy precinct (of Mecca) (al-haram), since this area includes the mosque and can thus be referred to by this designation. According to Ibn 'Abbas the entire sacred precinct is a mosque. (Furthermore) the following is related : After the evening prayer Muhammad slept in the dwelling of Umm Hāni , when he was taken on the night journey (to Jerusalem) and returned in the same night. Afterwards he related the story to Umm Hāni , saying: 'The prophets have appeared to me and I have performed the prayer with them.' As he now rose to go to the mosque, Umm Hāni clung to his robe, and he said : 'What do you want?' She answered : 'I fear that your fellow tribesmen will accuse you of falsehood if you relate that to them.' To this he replied : 'What, would they accuse me of lying?', and he went away. Then when Abu Jahl sat down next to him and the Messenger of God related the story of the night journey to him, Abu Jahl called out: 'Men of the (tribe of) Banu Ka'b ibn Lu'ayy, come here !' Then Muhammad related the account to them. While some gave their approval to him, others placed their hands on their heads with astonishment and disapproval. Some people who had believed in the Prophet previously now turned away from him. Some men, however, ran to Abu Bakr, who (after hearing their account) said: 'If Muhammad said this then it is the truth.' When the men then asked: 'Do you then believe (saddaqa) that he did this?', he answered: 'I believe him in matters even more [76] unlikely than this.' For this reason Abu Bakr is called 'the eminently veracious' (as-siddĩq). Among those present, however, were some who had previously travelled to that place and they challenged Muhammad to give a description of it. Jerusalem (bait al-muqaddas) stood clearly before his eyes, so he looked over it immediately and began to describe it to them. They said: 'The description is accurate', and then they added: 'Tell us about our caravans (which are returning from Jerusalem)!' So he told them the number of their camels and their condition and then said : 'They will arrive at sunrise on such and such a day, with a grey camel leading them.' On that day the Meccans went (out from their city) and ran quickly to (the passageway) ath-Thaniyya. Then one of them said: 'By God, the sun is just coming up!' And another said: 'By God, here comes the caravan with a grey camel at the head, just as Muhammad said.' (In spite of this) they did not believe (Muhammad's account of his night journey to Jerusalem), but said : 'This is nothing but manifest magic (sihr mubīn)՝ In the same night (in which the journey to Jerusalem occurred) Muhammad was (also) raised up to heaven; that is, the ascension 21 took its departure from Jerusalem. Muhammad told the (members of the tribe) Quraish also of the wonderful things which he had seen in heaven, that he met the prophets there and went as far as the house visited (by the pilgrims) (al-bait al-ma'mūr 22) and the Zizyphus tree at the far end of heaven (sidrat al-muntahã 23). There is (also) disagreement concerning the date of the night journey. While some say that it occurred one year before the emigration (to Medina), according to Anas (ibn Mālik) and al-Ḥasan (al-Baṣrī) it took place (even) before the mission (of Muhammad as a prophet). (Furthermore) there is disagreement concerning whether the night journey occurred (while Muhammad was) in the state of being awake or asleep. The following is (related) from 'Ā'isha: 'By God, the body of the Messenger of God was not missed (during the night journey); rather, the ascension to heaven occurred with his spirit (rūḥ).՝ According to Mu'awiya (also) it took place only with the spirit. On the other hand, according to al-Ḥasan (al-Başri) it was a vision which Muhammad had in his sleep; yet most Traditions stand in opposition to this contention. The farthest mosque: 2* Jerusalem. At that time no mosque existed farther away (from Mecca) than the one at Jerusalem. [77] The precincts of which We have blessed: God means the blessing of religion and of the present world, for Jerusalem had been since the time of Moses the place of worship of the prophets and the place to which (divine) inspiration was restricted (before the time of Muhammad), and it is surrounded with flowing rivers and fruit-bearing trees. ... He is the One who hears the speech of Muhammad, the One who sees his deeds and the one who knows of his purity and uprightness. ... ______________________________________ MI`RAJ IN THE WRITINGS OF EARLY SHAYKHISM MI`RAJ IN THE WRITINGS OF THE BAB (d. 1850 CE.). http://www.hurqalya.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/03-THE%20BAB/post%201844/jasad.bab.htm
MI`RAJ IN THE WRITINGS OF THE BAHA'-ALLAH (d. 1892 CE.) MI`RAJ IN THE WRITINGS OF THE `ABD AL-BAHA' (d. 1921 CE.) AND SHOGHI EFFENDI (d. 1957 CE.).
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