Mi'raj
Mi'raj | Prophet Muhammad
- Mi'raj - meaning - Ladder, elevation, going up
- Isra - meaning - journey at night
- Shab - meaning - night
Sahih Hadith gives an account of Muhammad visiting the heavens whilst sat on an animal named Burak (a donkey type animal). It happened during night, and as it took Muhammad to the heavens above, it is called Miraj or Shab-e-miraj. On reaching there Muhammad met Prophet Moses, Prophet Adam, Prophet Ibrahim amongst other angels. It also mentions that Prophet Adam gets happy when he sees his virtuous souls residing in heaven and at the same time gets upset on seeing the sinful beings suffering in hell. Muhammad spoke to god who gave orders from behind a curtain. Read the full description below.
Sahih Al-Bukhari 349
Allah's Messenger said, "While I was at Mecca the roof of my house was opened and Gabriel descended, opened my chest, and washed it with Zamzam water. Then he brought a golden tray full of wisdom and faith and having poured its contents into my chest, he closed it.
1st Heaven
Then he took my hand and ascended with me to the nearest heaven, when I reached the nearest heaven, Gabriel said to the gatekeeper of the heaven, 'Open (the gate).' The gatekeeper asked, 'Who is it?' Gabriel answered: 'Gabriel.' He asked, 'Is there anyone with you?' Gabriel replied, 'Yes, Muhammad I is with me.' He asked, 'Has he been called?' Gabriel said, 'Yes.' So the gate was opened and we went over the nearest heaven and there we saw a man sitting with some people on his right and some on his left. When he looked towards his right, he laughed and when he looked toward his left he wept. Then he said, 'Welcome! O pious Prophet and pious son.' I asked Gabriel, 'Who is he?' He replied, 'He is Adam and the people on his right and left are the souls of his offspring. Those on his right are the people of Paradise and those on his left are the people of Hell and when he looks towards his right he laughs and when he looks towards his left he weeps.'
2nd Heaven
Then he ascended with me till he reached the second heaven...
When I went over the second heaven, there I saw Yahya (i.e. John) and ‘Isa (i.e. Jesus) who were cousins of each other. Gabriel said (to me), ‘These are John and Jesus; pay them your greetings.’ ....
3rd Heaven
Then Gabriel ascended with me to the third heaven ... there I saw Joseph. Gabriel said (to me), ‘This is Joseph; pay him your greetings.’ So I greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said, ....
4th Heaven
When I went over the fourth heaven, there I saw Idris. Gabriel said (to me), ‘This is Idris; pay him your greetings.’ So I greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said,....
5th Heaven
So when I went over the fifth heaven, there I saw Harun (i.e. Aaron), Gabriel said, (to me). This is Aaron; pay him your greetings.’ I greeted him and he returned the greeting to me and said,
6th Heaven
When I went (over the sixth heaven), there I saw Moses. Gabriel said (to me),’ This is Moses; pay him your greeting. So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to me and said, ‘You are welcomed, O pious brother and pious Prophet.’ When I left him (i.e. Moses) he wept. ...
7th Heaven
Then Gabriel ascended with me to the seventh heaven....
So when I went (over the seventh heaven), there I saw Abraham. Gabriel said (to me), ‘This is your father; pay your greetings to him.’ So I greeted him and he returned the greetings to me and said, ....
Order of 50 prayers down to 5 prayers
"Then Allah enjoined fifty prayers on my followers when I returned with this order of Allah, I passed by Moses who asked me, 'What has Allah enjoined on your followers?' I replied, 'He has enjoined fifty prayers on them.' Moses said, 'Go back to your Lord (and appeal for reduction) for your followers will not be able to bear it.' (So I went back to Allah and requested for reduction) and He reduced it to half. When I passed by Moses again and informed him about it, he said, 'Go back to your Lord as your followers will not be able to bear it.' So I returned to Allah and requested for further reduction and half of it was reduced. I again passed by Moses and he said to me: 'Return to your Lord, for your followers will not be able to bear it. So I returned to Allah and He said, 'These are five prayers and they are all (equal to) fifty (in reward) for My Word does not change.' I returned to Moses and he told me to go back once again. I replied, 'Now I feel shy of asking my Lord again.'
Then Gabriel took me till we '' reached Sidrat-il-Muntaha (Lote tree of; the utmost boundary) which was shrouded in colors, indescribable. Then I was admitted into Paradise where I found small (tents or) walls (made) of pearls and its earth was of musk."
Two Conclusions from Mi'raj
- Prophet Muhammad did not see Allah / God. He saw Allah from behind a curtain. He could clearly get his orders but did not see his face.
- Birth, death rebirth is a continual process - When Muhammad visited the first heaven, there were people present in heaven and hell seeing whom Prophet Adam was either happy or sad. This disproves that birth and death only happens once because as per Islam, Qayamat (judgement day) hasn't happened so far and without qayamat taking place there is no possibility of anyone being present in heaven or hell. Until the day of judgement everyone is supposed to be in their graves.
Did Prophet Muhammad ever meet Supreme God?
During Isra and Mi'raj, Prophet Muhammad met Allah who spoke behind a curtain. He gave Muhammad a message which Muhammad disseminated amongst his followers and meticulously followed it.
Supreme God Kabir also appeared before Muhammad and tried to give him knowledge about himself. By then Muhammad had a great following. It was therefore not easy for him to follow the words of the Supreme God with ease.
During conversation of Muhammad with God Kabir, Muhammad told God Kabir that he met Allah who was present behind a curtain. On this God Kabir said the following lines.
Ho aavaaj jahaan parda poshi | hai vah mard ki hai vah joshi ||
Jab lag takht najar nahin aavey | dil vishvaas kaun vidhi paave ||
God Kabir in the above lines is saying that the one who speaks from behind a curtain and does not appear in front, does that god have any guts. Is he an alpha male? Until one can see the throne of the God, how can one develop faith. One who remains hidden is not worth believing.
The conversation between God Kabir and Muhammad is inked in a holy scripture called Kabir Sagar. You can read the full conversation between Muhammad and Supreme God Kabir.
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