The Life & Character of the Seal of Prophets (sa) - Volume I — Page 268
Seal of the Prophets - Volume I 268 the infidels of Makkah sought a sign from the Holy Prophet sa demanding, “Show us your ascension into the heavens,” under the divine will of God, he responded, “Holy is Allāh! I am but a man sent as a messenger, and it is against the custom of Allāh for a man sent as a messenger of Allāh to ascend into the heavens in this way. ” It is astonishing that the Holy Qur’ān has mentioned this occurrence in this very chapter, Banī Isrā’īl, where the Isrā’ has also been recorded. 1 Similarly, in various other verses as well, it is clearly mentioned that an individual cannot escape the material limitations of this world. 2 After the elucidation of these two principal misunderstandings pertinent to the Isrā’ and Mi‘rāj , we now take up the actual occurrence. In other words, what were the details of these two visions? From which perspective did they substantiate the verses of God and when did they occur? First we take up the Mi‘rāj. Mi‘rāj is an Arabic word, which has been derived from َ عَرَج , which means ‘to ascend’. Therefore, it is for this reason that in Arabic, Mi‘rāj is also a ladder, which is an instrument and means by which to climb upwards. The details of the Mi‘rāj have been recorded in the Holy Qur’ān as follows: Meaning, “The Lord of mighty powers has Himself taught Muḥammad sa. The One, Possessor of all strength, power and majesty. Hence, (due to this teaching), this messenger was risen so much so that progressing upwards he reached the uppermost horizon. Then he drew nearer to God; and God drew towards him, so that they became as it were one chord to two bows (meaning the bows remain separate but the place where the arrow is released becomes one, and there is no separation in terms of purpose or intent). In this state, God revealed 1 Banī Isrā’īl (17:94) 2 * Al- Mursalāt (77:21-27) * Al-An‘ām (6:15)