The Holy Quran with Five Volume Commentary (Vol 3) — Page 543
PT. 15 BANI ISRĀ'ĪL CH. 17 وَأَتَيْنَا مُوسَى الْكِتَبَ وَجَعَلْنَهُ هُدًى And We gave Moses the. 3 Book, and We made it a "2:54, 88; 23:50; 32:24; 40:54. in the Caliphate of Umar. The words of the verse also lend support to the view that the Vision constituted a prophecy about the great future of Islam. The Distant Mosque (d) that the Prophet saw in the Vision represented his own Mosque at Medina, Jerusalem stood for Medina and his going to Jerusalem signified his Migration to Medina. The Vision begins with the words Glory be to Him) which سبحان الذي indicated that the Migration of the Prophet would redound to the Glory of God. The word by itself shows that the Vision embodied a prophecy; for a physical journey to the Temple at Jerusalem could not be regarded as evidence of the Glory of God. But as establishment of the Islamic State at Medina was to fulfil a prophecy, that event did serve as evidence of Divine glory. Thus the words, Glory be to Him Who carried His servant by night from the Sacred Mosque to the Distant Mosque, signified that God would take the Holy Prophet to a Mosque resembling (the Distant Mosque) at Jerusalem so that His word might be fulfilled. The words, We might show him some of Our Signs, pointed to the great possibilities of the Prophet's journey to Medina. The Prophet's Migration to Medina served as a prelude to the glorious future of Islam which was then hidden from the eyes of the world and thus God's great 1751 signs were manifested. The reason why the Holy Prophet's Mosque the Distant المسجد الاقصى was called was Mosque), and why Medina shown to him in the Vision in the form of Jerusalem was that the blessings which God had conferred on the Mosque at Jerusalem were also in store in a greater measure for the Prophet's Mosque at Medina. The Prophecy implied in the words, Who carried His servant by night, was fulfilled when the Prophet left Mecca at dead of night. He did not undertake this journey of his own accord but in pursuance of God's express command. And as in his Night Journey to Jerusalem in the Vision he was accompanied by the Archangel Gabriel, so in his Flight to Medina he was accompanied by his most faithful companion, Abū Bakr. The word "Gabriel", which means "Man of God", fitly applies to Abū Bakr and portrays his spiritual eminence. The Vision may also be taken as referring to a spiritual journey of the Holy Prophet to a distant land in some future time. It meant that when spiritual darkness enveloped the entire world, the Prophet would appear in spirit a second time in the person of one of his followers, in a land far away from the scene of his first advent-in the Punjab. A pointed reference to this second advent of the Holy Prophet is to be found in 62:3-5.