The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 266
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 266 to the Holy Prophet sa in light of his lofty and immense magnificence under divine wisdoms. In any case, by the clear instructions of the Holy Qur’ān, the matter has been expounded that the Isrā’ was not a physical experience. Quite the contrary, it was a spiritual journey, the superlative purpose of which was to exhibit various powerful signs of God. Similarly, with regards to the Isrā’ , clear indication can also be found in Ḥadīth that it was a spiritual experience and not a bodily and physical journey. As such, there is a narration that when the Holy Prophet sa claimed that Allāh the Exalted had taken him from Masjid-e-Ḥarām in Makkah to Masjid-e-Aqṣā 1 in Jerusalem, at this, the infidels of Makkah, some of whom had seen Jerusalem and also knew that the Holy Prophet sa had never gone to Jerusalem, objected that if this is true, present a scene of Jerusalem before us. Upon this, the disposition of the Holy Prophet sa became restless. Although he had seen Jerusalem in a dream, the Holy Prophet sa knew well that in the case of a dream, it is possible that his depiction of the mind may not correspond with the apparent. Moreover, excluding the precise sights of his dream, the Holy Prophet sa did not even have an idea of the common landmarks in Jerusalem. For this reason, at this objection of the infidels, the thought that people may stumble naturally worried the Holy Prophet sa , but Allāh the Exalted immediately brought the actual scene of Jerusalem before the eyes of the Holy Prophet sa. Witnessing it before his eyes, the Holy Prophet sa described the various landmarks of Jerusalem to the infidels, 2 upon which they were silenced in embarrassment. Now, if the Isrā’ took place with this physical body and the Holy Prophet sa had actually witnessed the scenes of Jerusalem with his physical eyes, then what was the need for him to be worried, and for Allāh the Exalted to show him a scene of Jerusalem again? The apprehension of the Holy Prophet sa at this objection of the Quraish, and the showing of this scene by God Almighty to the Holy Prophet sa again clearly proves that the Holy Prophet sa did not actually visit Jerusalem. This sight was shown to him only when the objection was made. In his first vision during the Isrā’ an illustration of Jerusalem was only shown to him as an abstract depiction, upon which the Holy Prophet sa could not have 1 The Distant Mosque (Publishers) 2 * Ṣaḥīḥ Bukhārī, Kitābut-Tafsīr, Tafsīru Sūrati Banī Isrā’īl, Bābu Qaulihī Subḥānalladhī Asrā bi- ‘Abdihī. . . . . , Ḥadīth No. 4710 * Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Kitābul-Īmān, Bābu Dhikril-Masīḥ bin Maryam wal-Masīḥid-Dajjāl, Ḥadīth No. 428 * Tafsīrul-Qur’ānil-‘Aẓīm, By Abul-Fidā’ ‘Imād-ud-Dīn ibni Kathīr, Volume 5, p. 18, Tafsīru Sūrati Banī Isrā’īl , Under verse no. 2, Dārul-Kutubil-‘Ilmiyyah, Beirut, First Edition (1998)