The Thirty‑First Word
On the Ascension of the Prophet Muhammad (Upon Whom Be Blessings and Peace)
Note: The Ascension is a question that results from the fundamentals and pillars of belief and follows on after them; it is a light that draws strength from the lights of the pillars of belief. For which reason the Ascension cannot be proved independently to irreligious atheists who do not accept the pillars of belief, because it cannot be discussed with people who neither know Allah the Most High, nor recognize the Prophet (UWBP), nor accept the angels, and who deny the existence of the heavens. Those pillars must first be proved. This being the case, we shall address the discussion to a believer who, since he considers it unlikely, has misgivings about the Ascension; we shall explain it to him. However, from time to time we shall take into account the atheist who is the position of listener and address the matter to him. Some flashes of the truth of the Ascension have been mentioned in others of the Words. Here, at the insistence of my brothers, we seek grace from Allah the Most High that we may unite all those different flashes with the essence of the truth, and with them form a mirror to the beauty of Muhammad’s (Upon whom be blessings and peace) perfections and attainments.
In the Name of Allah, the Merciful, the Compassionate.
Limitless in His glory is He Who transported His servant by night from the Inviolable House of Worship to the Remote House of Worship, the environs of which We had blessed, so that We might show him some of Our signs: for, indeed, He is All‑Hearing, All-Seeing.
It is no less than inspiration sent down to him; ❋ He was taught by one mighty in power, ❋ Endued with wisdom: for he appeared in [stately form] ❋ While he was in the horizon’s loftiest part. ❋ Then he approached and came closer, ❋ And was at a distance of but two bow‑lengths or [even] nearer; ❋ And thus did [Allah] reveal unto His servant whatever He revealed. ❋ The [servant’s] heart in no way falsified what it saw. ❋ Will you, then, dispute with him as to what he saw? ❋ For, indeed, he saw him at a second descent, ❋ Near the Lote-tree of the farthest limit, ❋ Near it is to the Garden of Abode. ❋ Behold, the Lote-tree was shrouded in mystery unspeakable. ❋ [His] eye did not waver, nor yet did it stray. ❋ Truly did he see some of the most profound of his Sustainer’s signs.
Since it is related to our question here, I shall expound two allusions – based on principles of the science of rhetoric – contained in the pronominal phrase for indeed He (innahu), which is part of the vast treasury of the first sublime verse mentioned above. It was also explained in the discussion about the Qur’an’s miraculous inimitability.
After mentioning the journey of Allah the Most High’s Most Noble Beloved (Upon whom be the best of blessings and most perfect peace) from the mosque at Mecca to the mosque in Jerusalem, which was the beginning of his Ascension, the All‑Wise Qur’an says: For, indeed, He is All‑Hearing, All-Seeing. Together with the pronoun in the phrase, for indeed He, which alludes to the furthest point of the Ascension indicated to by the verses from Sura an‑Najm, this phrase refers either to Allah the Most High or to the Prophet (UWBP).
If it refers to the Prophet (UWBP), the rule of rhetoric and the contextual relationship states the following: within this particular journey was a general one and a universal ascent during which the Prophet (UWBP) heard and beheld the dominical signs and wonders of divine art which his eyes and ears happened upon within the universal degrees of the divine names as far as the Lote‑tree of the farthest limit and the distance of two bow‑lengths. It indicates that his insignificant and particular journey was like the key to a journey that was both universal and an exhibition of marvels.
If the pronoun refers to Allah the Most High, it is thus: Allah the Most High invited one of His servants on a journey to His presence in order to entrust him with a duty. After sending him from the Mosque in Mecca to that in Jerusalem, which is where the prophets gather, and causing him to meet with them and demonstrating that he was the absolute heir of the principles of all the prophets’ religions, He took him on a journey through both the outer and the inner dimensions of things, as far as the Lote‑tree of the farthest limit and the distance of two bow‑lengths.
Certainly, the Prophet (UWBP) was a servant and the journey was a particular Ascension, but he had been accorded a Trust that was connected to the whole universe and had been given a light that would change the universe’s colour. Moreover, since he had with him the key to open the door leading to eternal happiness, Allah the Most High described him with the attribute of “seeing and hearing all things” so that he might demonstrate the world‑embracing comprehensive wisdom of the Trust, light, and key – wisdom and purposes which encompassed the whole universe and embraced all creatures.
This profound truth contains four principles.
The First: Why was the Ascension necessary?
The Second: What was the reality of the Ascension?
The Third: What was the wisdom and purpose of the Ascension?
The Fourth: What were the fruits and benefits of the Ascension?