Muritala Ogunfemi wrote: We are told that prophet ride a flying horse straight up to heaven with angel Jubrih together with him according to hadith. But nothing like the word prophte ascend to heaven in koran Q17v1. But God says we made not the vision which we shown you but as a trial Q17v60. Can physical body ascend to heaven? MY RESPONSE The Israa and Miraj refer to, two parts of an miraculous journey that Prophet Muhammad took in one night from Makka to Jerusalem and then an ascension to the heavens. Israa is an Arabic word referring to Prophet Muhammads miraculous night journey from Makka to Jerusalem - specifically, to the site of al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem - as referred to in Surah Al-Israa in the Quran. Holy is He Who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque (in Makka) to the farther Mosque (in Jerusalem) - whose surroundings We have blessed - that We might show him some of Our signs 1. Indeed He alone is All-Hearing, All- Seeing. (Quran 17:1) This is a reference to the event known as Miraj (Ascension) and Isra (Night Journey). According to most traditions - and especially the authentic ones - this event took place one year before Hijrah. Detailed reports about it are found in the works of Hadith and Sirah and have been narrated from as many as twenty-five Companions. The most exhaustive reports are those from Anas ibn Malik, Malik ibn Sasaah, Abu Dharr al-Ghifari and Abu Hurayrah. Some other details have been narrated by Umar, Ali, Abd Allah ibn Masud, Abd Allah ibn Abbas, Abu Said al- Khudri, Hudhayfah ibn al-Yaman, and Aishah among other Companions of the Prophet . The Quran here only mentions that the Prophet was taken from the Kabah to the mosque in Jerusalem, and specifies that the purpose of the journey was such that God might show him some of His signs. Beyond this, The Quran does not concern itself with any detail. However, according to Hadith reports, Gabriel took the Prophet at night from the Kabah to the mosque in Jerusalem on a buraq.* On reaching Jerusalem the Prophet along with other Prophets offered Prayers. Gabriel then took him to the heavens and the Prophet met several great Prophets in different heavenly spheres.The details of the event provided by the Hadith supplement the Quranic account. There is no reason, however, to reject all this supplementary information on the grounds that it is opposed to the Quran. Nevertheless, if someone is not quite convinced and hence does not accept some of the details concerning the Ascension mentioned in the Hadith as true, he should not be considered an unbeliever. On the contrary, if someone were to clearly deny any part of the account categorically mentioned in the Quran, he would be deemed to have gone beyond the fold of Islam. What was the nature of this journey? Did it take place when the Prophet was asleep or when he was awake? Did he actually undertake a journey in the physical sense or did he have a spiritual vision while remaining in his own place? These questions, in our view, have been resolved by the text of the Quran itself. The opening statement: Holy is He Who carried His servant by night from the Holy Mosque to the farther Mosque... (verse 1) itself indicates that it was an extraordinary event which took place by dint of the infinite power of God. For quite obviously, to be able to perceive the kind of things mentioned in connection with the event, either in a dream or by means of intuition, is not so wondrous that it should be prefaced by the statement : Holy is He Who carried His servant by night... ; a statement which amounts to proclaiming that God was free from every imperfection and flaw. Such a statement would make absolutely no sense if the purpose of it was merely to affirm that God had the power to enable man to have either visions in the course of a dream, or to receive information intuitively. In my view, the words of the experience or a dream vision, was an actual journey, and the observation in question was a visual observation.
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 07:41:12 +0000
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