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Mi'raj Night (Part III)

Rasulullah was hurt very much during the day. Performing an ablution, he began to entreat his Allah, ask for forgiveness and pray so that people would have iman [1] and attain to happiness. Being very tired, hungry and aggrieved, he lay down on the mat and soon fell asleep.

At that moment, Allahu ta'ala commanded to Hadrat Jabrail [2] 'alaihissalam':

"I have afflicted My Beloved Prophet so much. I have hurt his blessed body, his tender heart so much. But he still entreats Me. He does not think of anything besides Me. Go! Bring Me My Beloved! Show him My Paradise and Hell. Let him see the blessings I have prepared for him and for those who love him. Let him see the torment I have prepared for those who disbelieve him, who hurt him with their words, writings and actions. I will console him. I will cure the wounds of his tender heart." Within a moment Jabrail 'alaihissalam' was near Rasulullah. He found him sound asleep. He did not have the heart to wake him up. He was in a man's figure. He kissed under his blessed foot. Because he does not have a heart or blood, his cold lips woke Rasulullah. At once he recognized Jabrail 'alaihissalam' and, fearing that Allahu ta'ala might have gotten offended with him, he said, "O my Brother, Jabrail! Why are you here at such an unusual time? Have I done something wrong, have I offended my Allah? Have you brought bad news for me?"

Jabrail 'alaihissalam' said, "O You, the Highest of all creatures! O You, the Beloved of the Creator! O You, the Master of Prophets! O You, the Honourable Prophet, the source of goodness and superiorities! Your Allah sends His salam [3] to you. He bestows upon you the blessing which He has given to no other prophet, to no creature. He invites you to Himself. Please get up. Let us go." They went to the Ka'ba [4], where someone came to them, cleaved open his chest, took out his heart and washed it with the water of Zemzem. Then he put it back in its place. Then, riding on a white animal named Buraq brought from Paradise, they went to the Masjid-i Aqsa [5] in Jerusalem in a moment. Making a hole in the rock with his finger, Jabrail 'alaihissalam' tied Buraq there. The souls of some past prophets, in their own figures, were present there. He offered Hadrat Adam, Hadrat Nuh (Noah) and Hadrat Ibrahim, respectively, to become the imam so that they would perform the salat in jama'at [6]. Asking for an excuse and saying that they were defective, they all refused it. Hadrat Jabrail suggested Rasulullah. "When you are present, no one can be the imam [7]," he said. After thesalat, they went out of the masjid and by some unknown ascent passed the seven layers of heavens in one moment. At each heaven he saw a great Prophet. Jabrail 'alaihissalam' remained in Sidra, saying, "If I go as farther as a hair's breadth I will burn and perish." Sidrat-ul-muntaha is a tree in the sixth heaven. After seeing Paradise, Hell and innumerable things, Rasulullah, on a carpet of Paradise named Rafraf, passed the Kursi [8] , the 'Arsh [9] , the world of souls, and reached the heights decreed by Allahu ta'ala in an unknown, incomprehensible and unexampled manner. Without place, time, direction and manner, he saw Allahu ta'ala. Without eyes, ears, means and place, he spoke with Allahu ta'ala. Attaining blessings that could be known or comprehended by no creature, he came back to Jerusalem and thence to Umm-i Hani's house in the blessed city of Mekka. The place where he had lain down had not become cold yet, nor had the motion of the water in the bowl come to a standstill. Umm-i Hani, who had been walking about outside, had dozed off, unaware of everything. On his way from Jerusalem to Mekka he met a caravan of Quraish. A camel in the caravan was frightened and fell down.

[4] Ka'ba(t al-mu'azzama): the big room in the great mosque in al-Masjid al-Haram in Mekka.
[5] masjid: mosque; al-Masjid al-Haram: the great mosque in Mekka; al-Masjid ash-sharif (as-Sa'ada, an-Nabi): the mosque in Medina, built in the time of the Prophet ('alaihi 's-salam) and later enlarged several times, in which his grave is.
[6] jama'at: a congregation of Muslims. One person performs namaz in the front; the others, behind him, preform it like him by adapting themselves to him. The person who performs it in the front is called the imam. Those who perform it behind him are called the jama'at.
[8] Kursi: see the 'Arsh.
[9] 'Arsh: the end of matter bordering the seven skies and the Kursi, which is outside the seventh sky and inside the 'Arsh.