Malfuzat - Volume VIII — Page 287
27 December 1905 287 ordinary dream. This belief is incorrect. And those who believe that the Holy Prophet went to the heavens with his physical body in the Mi‘r a j are also wrong. Instead, the true account and correct belief is that the Mi‘r a j took place in the manner of a vision with a state of being composed of light. It was a state of being, but one composed of light; and it happened during a state of wakefulness, but in the form of a vision and composed of light which cannot be fathomed by the denizens of this world except those who have experienced that state. Otherwise, the Jews had themselves demanded the miracle of ascending into the heavens with the physical body and the material sense of awareness, in response to which it was said in the Holy Quran: 1 ْلُق َناَحْبُس ْيِّبَر ْلَه ُتْنُك اَّلِا اًرَشَب اًلْوُسَّر۰۰ ْلُق َناَحْبُس ْيِّبَر ْلَه ُتْنُك اَّلِا اًرَشَب اًلْوُسَّر۰۰ [Meaning:] Say, my Lord is Holy; I am simply a human Messenger. Humans never fly off into heaven like this. This practice of Allah has been in operation since time immemorial. The Holy Quran Takes Precedence over Hadith Another mistake among most Muslims is that they give prec- edence to the Hadith over the Holy Quran, though this is wrong. The Holy Quran has the status of certainty, while the status of Hadith is conjectural. Hadith is not the judge, rather the Quran is the judge over it. Yes, Hadith is a commentary of the Holy Quran; it should be accorded only such status as it merits. It is necessary to believe a hadith to the extent that it 1. S u rah Ban i Isr a’i l, 17:94 [Publisher]