COMMEMORATING THE PROPHET'S RAPTURE AND ASCENSION TO HIS LORD

Shaykh As-Sayyid Muhammad ibn `Alawi ibn `Abbas al-Maliki al-Hasani

I. Introduction

Praise be to Allah Who has chosen His praiseworthy servant Muhammad for the
Message, distinguished him with the sudden rapture on the Buraq, and caused him to
ascend on the ladders of perfection to the high heavens to show him of the greatest
signs of his Lord. He raised him until he reached to the Lote-tree of the Farthest
Boundary where ends the science of every Messenger-Prophet and every Angel
Brought Near, where lies the Garden of Retreat, to the point where he heard the sound
of the pens that write what befell and what is to befall.

There He manifested Himself to him through vision and addressed him intimately in the
station of encounter, accompanying him so that he was no longer alone. There He stilled
his fear in those lofty worlds and He communicated to him what He wished, and revealed
to him what He wished, and taught him what He wished, and explained to him what He
wished. He showed him of the signs of sovereignty and the signs of creation and of the
unseen that point to the uniqueness and perfection of His immense majesty, and the
marvels of His lordly power, and the sublimity of His wisdom without beginning. Glory to
Him, the God that knows the heart's secret and its confidence, and knows what is more
subtle and more hidden! He hears the patter of the black ant's feet on a massive rock in
the dark night.

I bear witness that there is no god but Allah, Who is sanctified in His essence from all
imaginal representation and shades, and elevated above having a partner in His
attributes and acts. I bear witness that our master Muhammad is His servant and
Messenger, whose rank He has raised so that none of the seven skies can reach it, nor
any of the Prophets. For how could they reach his stature when they were shown to him
in the Sanctified House in Jerusalem where Jibril gave him precedence over them so that
he led them in prayer, then apprised him of their places and stations in the heavens,
thereby showing that he is their paramount chief and foremost leader since the
beginning?

Allah bore witness that the Prophet was the Guide through his knowledge and the Just
Instructor in his actions. He elevated his speaking manner above vanity and disgrace; He
freed his innermost being from belying what his eyes saw; and He kept his eyes from
falsehood and transgression. Then he saw his Lord in the station of proximity and
servanthood. Nor did he fall short of uncovering the reality of the event, but he received
all that was communicated to him of both partial and total knowledge.

May Allah's blessing and peace be upon him and upon his Family, the People of
Guidance and Firmness, and upon his excellent and pure Companions, carriers of the
burdens of the Prophetic Inheritance, defenders of the precious Religion with every
burnished sword, who have triumphed and won the highest dwellings of the Abode of
Eternity.

To begin, the indigent in need of the mercy of his generous Lord, Muhammad ibn `Alawi
ibn `Abbas al-Maliki al-Hasani says -- may Allah treat him with His radiant kindness: Allah
has granted me the favor of writing a vast treatise covering the substantial research
which has been done on the subject of al-isra' wa al-mi`raj. Then He expanded my
breast so that I could gather its account into a single text as a separate monograph so
as to allow its access to the people at large. In this way they can familiarize themselves
with that text and recite it in the public meetings and great celebrations in which Muslims
gather to commemorate al-isra' wa al-mi`raj, as is the custom in many countries,
especially in the two Holy Sanctuaries.

I have collated my own work with that of the hafiz al-Shami and Najm al-Din al-Ghayti to
make a single comprehensive text with the mention of additions in their appropriate
places. This text includes most of the different narrations on this subject. I have provided
a light commentary and brief notes explaining the meeaning of rare or difficult words. I
have named this treatise: al-Anwar al-bahiyya min isra' wa mi`raj khayr al-bariyya, "The
resplendent lights of the rapture and ascension of the Best of creation," asking Allah to
grant benefit with it and accept it as purely for His sake. Allah's blessings and peace be
upon our master Muhammad and his Family and Companions.


COMMEMORATING THE PROPHET'S RAPTURE AND ASCENSION TO HIS LORD

II. The striving of the scholars in organizing the account of Isra' and Mi`raj into a single
version

The scholars have striven to organize this account and gather its narrations into a single
version, at the same making mention of some separate additions, in order to facilitate its
perusal and its benefit. In this way they gathered the narrations in one place for the
people at large. This is permitted according to the rules of the experts in the field of
hadith as stated by them. Many of them have used this method in many instances in
which they would join up together the several narrations of different narrators of a single
event as was done with the Farewell Pilgrimage and some of the military raids and
campaigns. The hadith master al-Shami did this with the account of the Prophet's
Rapture and Ascension as well as the hadith master al-Ghayti and a number of other
scholars. This is what al-Shami said on this question in his great book al-Mi`raj for it is
useful:

Know -- may Allah have mercy on me and you -- that each of the hadiths of the
Companions [on this subject] contains what the other does not. Therefore I consulted
Allah Almighty and concatenated them, thus rearranging the account into a single text so
that it would be sweeter to attentive ears, and in order for its benefit to suit all occasions.

If someone says: "Each hadith of the Mi`raj differs from the next and the ascensions may
number according to the number of their accounts: why then did you make all of them
into a single account?" I say: The author of Zad al-ma`ad [Ibn al-Qayyim] said:

This is the path of the feeble-minded among the literalists of the Zahiri school who are
authorities in transmitted texts. If they see in the account a wording that differs from the
version of one of the narrators they multiply the occurrence of the event accordingly.
The correct view is what the Imams of text transmission have said: namely, that the Mi`raj
took place once, in Mecca, after the beginning of Prophethood. It is a wonder how these
have claimed that it took place repeatedly. How can they countenance the conclusion
that every time, fifty prayers are prescribed upon him then he goes back and forth
between Musa and his Lord until they become five, and his Lord says: "I have decreed
what is due Me and have reduced the burden of My slaves," only for him to come a
second time with fifty prayers which he decreases again, ten by ten?

The hadith master `Imad al-Din Ibn Kathir said in his history [al-Bidaya wa al-nihaya],
after noting that Malik ibn Sa`sa`a's version did not make mention of Jerusalem:

Some of the narrators would omit part of the report due to its being known, or due to
forgetfulness, or because he would mention only what he considered important, or
because one time he would feel eager to relate it completely, while another time he
would tell his public what is of most use to them.

He who relates every differing narration to a separate occurrence thereby affirming
several ascensions has strayed widely and said something indefensible and has not
fulfilled his pursuit. The reason is that all the versions contain his meeting with the
Prophets and the prescription of the prayers upon him: how then could one defend
multiplying these occurrences? This understanding is extremely far-fetched nor was it
related from any of the Salaf, whereas if this had indeed taken place several times the
Prophet would have reported it to his Community and the people would have transmitted
it often.

[We hold, as our Master Shaykh Nazim has said, that the night ascensions of the
Prophet to his Lord numbered twenty-three thousand, one in every night of his blessed
life.

Some of the evidence for this is in the hadiths whereby he said:

· "My eyes sleep but my heart does not sleep."20

· "I have a time with my Lord which no Angel Brought Near nor Messenger-Prophet
shares with me."

al-Qari commented on this hadith:

It is inferred from it that what he means by the angel brought near is Jibril, while the
Messenger-Prophet is his brother the Friend of Allah [Ibrahim]. Reflect upon this. This
hadith also points to the station of self-immersion in the meeting expressed in terms of
intoxication, self-effacement, and self-annihilation.21]